Job Description of a Therapy Assistant
- Physical therapy assistants help physical therapists in providing treatment to patients that improves their mobility and reduces pain. This includes giving instructions on how to use equipment to aid mobility such as artificial limbs, crutches, canes and wheelchairs. Physical therapy also record their progress, keep treatment areas clean, stock medical supplies, fill out insurance forms, and staff the front desk.
- Whereas physical therapy assistants focus solely on physical impairments, occupational therapy assistants have a much wider scope because they help enable people to perform occupations. This includes work, self-care and community activities. Thus they not only focus on physical problems, but mental, emotional and developmental ones as well. Occupational therapy assistants also record patients' progress among other additional duties already mentioned for their physical therapy counterparts.
- Most therapy assistants work in hospitals, home health care centers, nursing care facilities, outpatient clinics, physicians' offices and rehabilitation centers. Their work requires a lot of stooping, kneeling, crouching and lifting since they deal with people with mobility problems. Most therapy assistants work a traditional 40-hour week, although given the around-the-clock nature of health care service, some of them work evenings and weekends.
- Therapy assistants need at least an associate's degree, which can be earned from a community college or technical school. Aspiring physical therapy assistants need to attend programs accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE). For aspiring occupational therapy assistants, their programs need to be accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE).
- According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average physical therapy assistant made an annual salary of around $49,000 in 2009. For the occupational therapy assistant, the annual salary was slightly higher--at $51,000. The agency expects an employment growth of 35 and 30 percent between 2008 and 2018 for physical therapy assistants and occupational therapy assistants, respectively. These rates are much faster than the average of all U.S. occupations.
