One of the popular medical jobs that have been gaining recognition in the United States is the physical therapy assistant jobs. Physical therapy is currently one of the most highly in demand jobs all over the world. Athletes, people experiencing problems with mobility, victims of accidents and the elderly require a physical therapist to assist them and to help treat them. The duty of an assistant therapist is to ensure that patients undergoing a therapy do as recommended. Their salary varies from one state to another, but then a physical therapy assistant can easily earn $45,000 annual net salary and up. Like any other profession, the earning potential in PTA jobs depends on different factors like the type of employer they have, their working experience, their qualification, educational background and work location.
In Virginia, the average salary of a PTA ranges from $40,000 to $60,000 while in New York, the salary ranges from $33,000 to $46,000. The salary rate depends highly on the demand for this service and the number of operators in the area. Still, PTA is a great medical career to start with. The educational background required can be obtained through online PTA courses for a maximum of two years. Some even offer six months training program. Through these degree programs, you can easily apply for physical therapy assistant license.
How to Get Physical Therapist Assistant License
A licensed physical therapy assistant can easily find a relevant job. In fact, almost all PTA jobs require a license if not a certification. With the number of the aspiring people trying to get a PTA job, you need to be more competitive to get a high paying position. A PTA license can only be acquired by undergoing PTA training. You need to also consider the school you wish to enroll to, though there are thousands of schools that offer this course, only a hundred of them are accredited by the American Physical Therapy Association Commission. You surely don’t want to spend two years doing coursework and then later find out that your school is not accredited by this commission.
Physical Therapy Assistant Coursework
During training, you will prepare on how to perform PTA duties. The majority of your course study will be focused on these subjects: Introduction to physical therapy, neurological treatment approaches, human diseases and conditions, physiology, anatomy, lifespan human growth and development, orthopedic treatment procedure, kinesiology and more. In the latter part of your study, you will then tackle these subjects: Basic neuroscience and motor development, therapeutic massage, therapeutic procedures, clinical kinesiology, neurological conditions and more. After graduating from a PTA course, you can now take a licensure examination or the National Physical Therapy Examination; once you passed this course, you are now a licensed physical therapy assistant.
Additional Requirement
Aside from educational qualifications, to become a successful physical therapy assistant, you have to work on your personality. This is very important. Effective communication skills can make a huge difference in your career. You would be able to explain important things to their patients. There are difficult patients at times and you would need to be very patient and understanding because these people are in pain. Their inability to move as healthy as before is something that pains them both emotionally and physically.
You should learn how to be patient and you need to have the perseverance to work in hectic and sometimes overlapping schedules. You should also be physically fit because one of the most important parts of your duty is to lift patients and to assist them while they are doing physical exercises. You will also be standing for a long periods so your body might be under a lot of stress. A PTA’s job is not easy, but being able to reach out to people and be able to help treat them is a truly rewarding experience.
