Why to Choose Career as a Physical Therapy Assistant and Technician

In recent times the requirement for qualified and well trained physical therapy assistants and technicians has boomed rapidly. In fact, with the rise in health care standards and number of health care centers and clinics, in the next few years the medical industry expects to look for more qualified physical therapist assistants.

Working Conditions

Working as a physical therapist assistant (PTA) or technician offers you opportunities to work under the direction of a physical therapist in order to aid patients or injured athletes whose ability to move is impaired. Besides this, you will help physical therapists in their daily activities, which include assisting patients during rehabilitation. You may also be required to perform clerical duties like ordering supplies and completing various forms. Apart from all this, as directed by physical therapists, you may even need to prepare documents and relay the patients’ responses and results of a treatment to the physical therapist. It is definitely one of the few careers that demand special skills that can be nurtured through intensive training, but at same time offer benefits and employment scope that is better than any other professions.

Career Advancement

In terms of job security and career advancement, this profession is simply better than others. In fact, working as a PTA offers a number of ways to advance further in your career. One of the best options is to seek additional education and training and become a full fledged physical therapist. Though, many physical therapist assistants generally prefer to advance by specializing in a particular physical therapy area like pediatrics, geriatrics or sports therapy. In addition to this, you may even move into office management where responsibilities primarily include organizing and managing a group of physical therapist or directing a specific physical therapy. Besides this, the profession also offers you ample of opportunities to work in different work centers like-

• Nursing care facilities
• Offices of physical, occupational and speech therapists, and audiologists
• General medical and surgical hospitals

Future Employment Prospect

In terms of employment prospect, many government economists expect the job growth for physical therapist assistants and technicians to be much quicker than the average for all careers in next few years. The profession is anticipated to rank among the twenty-fastest-growing careers. There are several reasons for this employment growth. Many industry experts believe that as per the latest U.S. population, in next few years many more people will need physical therapy. The elderly population is also growing and will continue to do so as baby boomers age is more likely to experience ailments that require physical therapy. Adding to this, as technology advances and better medical treatments become available more and more trauma patients will survive, which in turn will increase the need for physical therapy services.

Salary Outlook

Regarding the salary, the occupation provides a nice platform to earn decent income. Generally, the income for physical therapist assistants is averaged between $33,000 and $50,000 annually and the median annual income for this group reaches approximately $41,360. The important point to note is that the lowest 10 percent earns less than $26,190, while the highest 10 percent earns more than $57,220.

Today certainly it may be considered as one of the few career options that may provide you the long-term job growth and consequential rewards. Handling different responsibilities as a physical therapy assistant or technician, you may be one of the key health care professionals providing care that can be very vital in extending and ensuring healthy life of different patients.