Physical Therapy Assistant 's Help Patients Recuperate From Injury

Ever since I was a kid, it has been my life goal to help as many people I can. I have moved around in many different areas of the medical field, but no career had caught my eye as much as physical therapy. As an athlete, I have been in and out of the physical therapist’s office for a majority of my life. Each time I have went I could not help but be beyond grateful for what these people have done for me; they have given me the ability to play the sport I love despite all the hiccups. Physical therapy is a dynamic field within the field of medicine because as a physical therapist one can make a difference in the lives of his or her patients, enjoy job security, and enjoy a rewarding and personally satisfying career.

Physical Therapy Assistants work under the direction of a Physical Therapist. The assistants use physical treatment to help in the improvement of a person’s mobility and alleviate pain and disability caused by injury or sickness. Physical Therapy

Colleges with a medical department often have a master’s program for physical therapy. (“Physical Therapists”) Physical therapy students have a required amount of field work in order to complete a program. Each candidate must work in an accredited workplace for the field work assignments. This part of the program is extremely valuable and helpful for a new therapist entering the field. Working one on one can be difficult even with all of the educational tools. (Curtis 37)

The physical therapy profession is concerned with treating individuals of all ages. In the future, I plan on being able to comfort individuals undergoing physical therapy by being able to use my compassionate nature, caring, understanding, and the expertise that I will gain, while serving as their physical therapist. In doing the previously mentioned things, I hope to be considered as an important asset to society. I believe that people will be able to increase their viability by seeking my assistance.

Physical therapist assistants spend so much time getting to know their patients. Most of the time, patients will need therapy 3 times a week for at least 4 weeks. Seeing patients that often really lets you get to know someone. I love communicating with people and seeing them improve. I work at a physical therapy clinic and see the connection between the therapist and patient. The patient’s want to be there. They like knowing they can get answers from the therapist providing treatment if they need to ask a question

The article that I chose was published by Mayo Clinic School of Health Science, the title of the article is “Physical Therapy”. The article informs the reader on the roles, goals, as well as the overall definition of a physical therapist. According to the article, “Physical therapists (PTs) work with patients who have impairments, limitations, disabilities, or changes in physical function and health status resulting from injury, disease or other causes.” Therefore, a physical therapist works directly with the population that has a form of impairment in their movement, whether it is from an injury or an illness. The roles of a physical therapist are examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis

Your speed doesn’t matter, forward is forward. No matter where you are, life can give you a second chance. So, within every step back it is possible to take a step forward. No one is ever alone. Someone is always there to help when feelings of hopeless negatives sets in. Physical Therapist Assistants are necessary in hopeless situations to give you an ability to continue moving forward onto your full potential. A Physical Therapist Assistant can help you to manage someone else’s life, so that they can continue with life among the trouble that they have faced.

Physical therapy assistant is a health care professional who provides physical therapy services based on the direction and supervision of a licensed physical therapy assistant. This professional helps individuals of all ages who have medical issues and health-related conditions that restrict their ability to move and carry out functional activities in daily life. A physical therapy assistant can work in various settings such as private practices, hospitals, home health, sport facilities, schools, outpatient clinics, and nursing homes. The physical therapy assistant is also responsible for evaluating the changes in a patient's performance based on the physical therapy provided. The kind of care provided by a physical therapy assistant may incorporate teaching the patient to exercise mobility, the use of physical agents, strength and coordination, electrotherapy, and training for various activities like walkers and crutches ("Who Are Physical Therapist Assistants?" 2012). For an individual to become a physical therapy assistant, he/she is required to be licensed, certified, or registered by the state. In this case, the educational requirements and examination criteria are usually stipulated based on the particular state requiring licensure.

This takes more time and effort from both the patient and the physical therapist assistant. There are patients who will need to adapt to having an artificial limb or being permanently confined to a wheelchair. Patients with these kinds of impairments will be stressed emotionally with the limitations they have with their body; a physical therapist assistant must also help that patient to improve their state of mind. Overall, it’s about helping a patient regain independence as much as possible. Along with the team, a physical therapist assistant will also help with the evaluation of a patient’s condition, “An evaluation can include measuring the patient's strength, range of motion, and functional ability; that is, how well the patient performs certain physical tasks” (Mayo Clinic). Once the evaluation is done, the physical therapist will develop a treatment plan for the patient that the physical therapist assistant has to carry out (Mayo Clinic). When carrying out this treatment plan, the physical therapist assistant must “observe [the patient] before and during therapy, [take note of] their status and [report] to a physical therapist (Bureau of Labor Statistics). If a procedure it a little more complicated both the physical therapist and the assistant will work alongside each other to get the job done. However, most routine visits will be done by the physical therapist assistant alone. They also help patients by teaching them how to use things like canes, braces, walkers,

It was difficult to find the regulations for physical therapy assistants because the information was interspersed in the statutes and rules and in the administrative Code. Much of the law was written more for physical therapist guidance than directed towards the PTA. To apply for an assistant license, the person must be of good moral character, a graduate of an accredited PTA school, pass a board exam, and jurisprudence exam. The license is a certificate and no continuing education is required at this time. The PTA can only practice under the direction of a physical therapist. The assistant cannot evaluate, re-evaluate, discharge, or change a program of a patient and the physical therapist responsible for the patient must be onsite during each treatment. The exception to this rule is in a general supervision capacity. The physical therapist assistant with 2000 hours of supervision in an onsite facility can see a patient independently without onsite supervision (Azsos.gov, n.d.). The physical therapist must be able to communicate with the PTA within 15 minutes, re-evaluate the patient every 4th visit or 30 days whichever comes first and visit the patient the day of communication if needed. There are specific documenting requirements for PTA’s in a general supervision capacity, including documenting the physical therapists name and number, date, intervention and if he PTA consulted with the physical therapist. The

As physical therapist assistants, your goals in providing treatment are to maximize the functional abilities of your patients and improve their quality of life given

First of all, according to introduction to physical therapy, “Physical therapy is a health profession whose primary purpose is the promotion of optimal health and function.” Physical therapy is a form of rehabilitation that physical therapists use to help patients recover from an injury or a physical disability. Many people think that the process of the Physical Therapy is the same in everywhere where a Physical Therapist performed his job. However, that’s not true because a physical therapy depends of many characteristics such as, the disability or the type of the injury of the patient. In fact, to know more about the topic I visited two facilities, which are an outpatient clinic and a hospital to compare and contrast how the PT performed the Physical therapy in each facility.

It is clearly stated on APTA journal. Physical therapist assistants are the only individuals who provide selected physical therapy interventions under the direction and at least general supervision of the physical therapist.3 The physical therapist assistant is the only individual permitted to assist a physical therapist in selected interventions under the direction and supervision of a physical therapist. 4

Physician Assistants are also known as a PA’s; they practice medicine under the direction of physicians and surgeons. They formally trained to examine patients, diagnose injures and illness, and provide treatment. Physician Assistants also evaluate and treat patients under the supervision of doctors and surgeons. A Physician Assistants is a graduate of an accredited Physician Assistant educational program who is nationally certified and state- licensed to practice medicine with the supervision of a physician. Core tasks of a Physician Assistant are they take medical histories and examine patients. They Interpret lab test and make diagnoses, Treat minor injuries with stitches, splints, casts, and prescribes certain medications, The

A current issue the physical therapists in the state of Georgia just confronted this year and successfully attained was gaining limited self-referral or direct access. Previously, physical therapists in the state of Georgia, under the old practice act were only able to conduct a physical therapy evaluation without a referral from a practitioner of the healing arts and provide services for the purpose of fitness, wellness, or prevention that was not related to an injury or disease (GA Physical Therapy Act, n.d.). Updating the Georgia Physical Therapy Act dealt with more than obtaining limited self-referral, it was to modernize the practice act to represent the contemporary practice of physical therapy with respect to what physical therapy means, term and title protection, and patient/client management expectations (Donnelly, 2015, February). This battle began in the beginning of January 2015, and final negotiations reached with the Georgia Orthopaedic Society (GOS) and support of the American Medical Association of