Usually, when you go in for a physical therapy session, the therapist sometimes doesn’t do the actual treatment set up. He or she will assign those duties to a therapy assistant. As it turns out, therapists are one of the most in demand professions in the U.S. today. It should come as no surprise that therapy assistants are equally in demand, as are the distance learning course that facilitate their training.
First and foremost, it should be noted there is quite a difference between a therapy assistant and a therapy aide. Aides generally just need a high school degree, are hired on the spot, and are trained on the job. Their responsibility is mainly janitorial, clerical and as an extra set of hands. They don’t do direct therapy. They also don’t need to be registered or certified.
The way the recovery process often works these days is the therapist usually comes up with a program under consultation with a patient’s doctor. From there, the instructions are passed down to the assistant to carry out. Assistants also keep track of a patient’s recuperation for the therapist and doctor, recording progress and other pertinent information.
Unlike the aide, an assistant does have to go to college, either brick-and-mortar or online, and graduate with a minimum of a two year degree. Curriculum is divided into academic classes and hands-on clinical experience. The academic coursework includes algebra, English, anatomy, physiology, and psychology. Clinical work includes certification in CPR, first aid and field experience in treatment centers. Both educators and prospective employers view clinical experience as essential to ensuring that students understand the responsibilities of a physical therapist assistant.
Like the boss, the assistant must be licensed in order to practice. This involves taking a certification exam. One important note an assistant must always keep in mind is many states require they regularly stay on top of the field through continued education. Because of this, most assistants keep subscription accounts with college degrees as a part of the job. One should check with their local state board to see if the live in one of those states.
Compensation is often dependent on where the assistant finds a job. Places of employment can go anywhere from major health institutions to home health care. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that private doctor’s offices are on the lower end of the pay scale, averaging around $44,000. Home health assistants are on the high end, at just about $52,000. It can go over $60,000 with benefits depending on the institution and the hours the assistant puts in.
Last year, it was reported that there were almost 64,000 practicing assistants in the field, with a need for 21,000 more before the decade is over. This need for almost 33% more makes assistants one of the fastest growing jobs in the country. To find out more about this profession and the online graduate degrees that can get you there, two good places to start are with a college career counselor and the occupation’s professional society, the American Physical Therapy Association. A degree can be the gateway into a fulfilling and rewarding career where you help those in pain feel better.