Become a Physical Therapy Assistant

If you are wondering how to become a physical therapy assistant (P.T.A) you will first need to have the required education. In order to meet the professional requirements one will need to have at least an associates degree in PTA education. For those that wish to pursue a career as a fully licensed physical therapist (P.T.) there are various institutes that offer doctorates in P.T. Person's applying for such courses will need to have a bachelor's degree, which has the prerequisites that various universities require for entry level. Firstly you would need to have a strong science background in order to be accepted.

There are several states that encourage students to further their studies in order to allow them to practice in the US. This professional is challenging as well as physically demanding and people that opt for therapy careers need to be healthy and exceptionally fit.

Physical therapists mainly attend hospitals, clinic, and rehabilitation centers as well as do home visits should patients be bedridden. A position of this nature requires a therapist to be able to handle any situation when it comes to patient professionalism as patients attending a physical therapy practice usually have loss of motor control as well as mobility.

In addition to P.T.A's there are also physical therapy aides who are basically assistants to the physical therapy assistants, as well as general support for the licensed physical therapist. These aids help the assistants to provide patients with comfort and reassurance especially patients that are suffering from distress, pain and discomfort. A physical therapist assistant's job is to provide relief to a patient by administering activities that will improve the quality of life due to debilitating conditions such as sports injuries, head injuries, heart diseases, arthritis, paralysis and any other type of injury to the skeletal, muscle and nervous system.

In order to become a physical therapy assistant you will be required to enroll in a recognized program and obtain an associate degree in order to be recognized by the American Physical Therapy Association. Having a high school diploma is a pre-requisite before you will be able to enroll at one of the accredited physical therapist schools or universities. The duration of a physical therapy program is around two years and then one will be awarded an associate's degree. Once you have completed your program you will then need to require a license.

This program offers students the required hands on clinical experience as well as academic studies. In addition is relevant that students are able to comply with the physiology and anatomy and that they are able to work directly with patients. It is also necessary to have a basic knowledge of chemistry, biology, human physiology and algebra. Students will also participate in a advanced first aid program that included CPR.

The requirements to become a physical therapy assistant not only include theory by clinical practice. One needs to also ascertain that a PTA and a physical therapy aide are completely different. For further information you can go online and check out the different programs as well as the requirements for each state.