What to Look For in Physical Therapist Assistant Programs

Today, students have greater options available for physical therapist assistant programs. This clinical specialty is growing by leaps and bounds and attracting people to pursue it as their career due to the vast number of advantages it carries. There are two major options available:

• Study as an on-campus student in a vocational school or at a community college or university


• Look for online physical therapist assistant programs

PTA Associate's Degree Program

It's a two year degree program divided into five semesters. The curriculum is designed in a way to provide students with both academic coursework as well as practical experience. Where they learn techniques on how to improve their patient's mobility, relieve their pain and treat temporary or permanent disabilities, through various therapeutic techniques and procedures. Anatomy, Physiology, Rehabilitation, Therapeutic Exercises are a few of the courses studied.

But there are various avenues to consider for vocational schools. Such as:

Accreditation

Be sure that the school you plan to go to is accredited by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). Else, you won't be to take the licensing exam to become certified and practice lawfully. Insurance companies also demand certification and in that case the individual is considered disqualified from engaging in clinical practice if not certified.

Transferable Credits

Another cause of concern is whether the credits you acquire at the vocational school are transferable to a regionally accredited college / university. This is important because in case you decide to become a physical therapist later on, then you don't have to start all over again to secure a bachelor's followed by a master's degree from a state college, such as Harvard, Stanford etc.

Previous graduating batches

Another thing to look for in physical therapist assistant programs is that how well the school's graduates have been taken by the industry. It is of great importance for the new student that how is their institute regarded in the industry and if it has a genuine reputation of passing out competent and successful clinicians.

Other considerations

Besides the above, numerous other things come to mind. For instance, how has the curriculum been designed, what's the average class size, coursework and resources, professional instructors etc.

Online Physical Therapist Assistant Programs

Online physical therapist assistant programs are a great blessing for people who are working and don't have the financial luxury to study as full time students. You have flexibility in terms of timings and location as you have the convenience to complete your academic coursework from home or anywhere else. These are also significantly less expensive. Besides this, there are no waiting lists to study the required course as well as little to no restriction on the number of students enrolled in a course.

However, the laboratory and clinical requirements cannot be acquired online and must be done with a professionally certified physical therapist.

How to choose the right online physical therapist assistant program

The following need to be considered when looking for an online program.

• Be sure that the online program you're planning to pursue is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education of the American Physical Therapy Association.


• Review its ranking among other online universities.


• Inquire the passing rate


• Find out about how good is the student teacher network.


• Find out if and how professors can be contacted if required.


• Find out how to contact alumni and co students

The more you research the available physical therapist assistant programs, the better you'll be able to choose the best one that suits your lifestyle, requirements and pocket.