Will “Physical Therapist Assistants” be Replaced By Robots? 🤔

Job Description

Assist physical therapists in providing physical therapy treatments and procedures. May, in accordance with State laws, assist in the development of treatment plans, carry out routine functions, document the progress of treatment, and modify specific treatments in accordance with patient status and within the scope of treatment plans established by a physical therapist. Generally requires formal training.

Job Details

• The SOC (Standard Occupational Classification) code is 31-2021.00
• The Mean Annual Wage in the U.S. is $ 56,850.00
• The Mean Hourly Wage is $ 27.00
• Currently, there are 85,580 people on this job

Also Known As…

• Staff Physical Therapy Assistant
• Physical Therapy Technician (Physical Therapy Tech)
• Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA)
• Physical Therapist Assistant and Nurse Aide
• Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA)
• Per Diem Physical Therapist Assistant (Per Diem PTA)
• Outpatient Physical Therapist Assistant
• Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant (LPTA)
• Home Health Physical Therapist Assistant
• Certified Physical Therapist Assistant (CPTA)
• Rehabilitation Assistant
• Rehabilitation Aide
• Physiotherapy Assistant

Tasks for “Physical Therapist Assistants”

• Perform clerical duties, such as taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering telephone, taking messages, or filling out forms.
• Communicate with or instruct caregivers or family members on patient therapeutic activities or treatment plans.
• Instruct, motivate, safeguard, and assist patients as they practice exercises or functional activities.
• Administer traction to relieve neck or back pain, using intermittent or static traction equipment.
• Assist patients to dress, undress, or put on and remove supportive devices, such as braces, splints, or slings.
• Perform postural drainage, percussions, or vibrations or teach deep breathing exercises to treat respiratory conditions.
• Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment.
• Fit patients for orthopedic braces, prostheses, or supportive devices, such as crutches.
• Transport patients to and from treatment areas, lifting and transferring them according to positioning requirements.
• Prepare treatment areas and electrotherapy equipment for use by physiotherapists.
• Measure patients' range-of-joint motion, body parts, or vital signs to determine effects of treatments or for patient evaluations.
• Train patients in the use of orthopedic braces, prostheses, or supportive devices.
• Observe patients during treatments to compile and evaluate data on their responses and progress and provide results to physical therapist in person or through progress notes.
• Monitor operation of equipment and record use of equipment and administration of treatment.
• Clean work area and check and store equipment after treatment.
• Attend or conduct continuing education courses, seminars, or in-service activities.
• Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.
• Administer active or passive manual therapeutic exercises, therapeutic massage, aquatic physical therapy, or heat, light, sound, or electrical modality treatments, such as ultrasound.

Related Technology & Tools

• Front-wheel walkers
• Ultraviolet UV phototherapy lamps
• Standing cages
• Patient positioning devices
• Mechanical stethoscopes
• Upper-body isokinetic machines
• Total lift chairs
• Safety goggles
• Reachers
• Arm prosthetics
• Parallel bars
• Reflex hammers
• High-voltage Galvanic stimulation machines
• Crutches
• Ankle-foot orthotics
• Splints
• Quad canes
• Sacro-illiac joint lumbar corsets
• Rotating bed
• Ultrasound machines
• Desktop computers
• Surgical masks
• Therapeutic treadmill exercisers
• Cold packs
• Standing tables
• Interferential electrical stimulation machines
• Digital cameras
• Paraffin baths
• Tablet computers
• Slings
• Platform walkers
• Knee braces
• Intermittent compression units
• Stationary bicycles
• Stretchers
• Lavage hydrotherapy equipment
• Exercise trampolines
• Hand grips
• Cervical traction equipment
• Below-the-knee prosthetics
• Tilt tables
• Automated external defibrillators AED
• Cardiac monitors
• Balance beams
• Lower-body isokinetic machines
• Ergometers
• Safety gloves
• Medical nasal cannulae
• Pulse oximeters
• Functional electrical stimulation FES equipment
• Free weights
• Body-fat calipers
• Goniometers
• Inclinometers
• Electromyographs EMG
• Continuous passive motion CPM equipment
• Mechanical percussors
• Medicine balls
• Protective gowns
• Short wave diathermy devices
• Wrist splints
• Portable oxygen equipment
• Hydrotherapy pools
• Reciprocating walkers
• Powder boards
• Wheelchairs
• Pelvic traction equipment
• Pick-up walkers
• Massage equipment
• Personal computers
• Notebook computers
• Iontopheresis equipment
• Hemi walkers
• Back braces
• Digital video cameras
• Resistive exercise bands
• Blood pressure cuffs
• Whirlpool therapy baths
• Hi-lo manipulation tables
• Swiss exercise balls
• Balance boards
• Gait belts
• Transcutaneous electric nerve stimulation TENS equipment
• Posture grids
• Sliding boards
• Single point canes
• Sequential compression devices
• Plumb lines
• Above-the-knee prosthetics
• Hoyer lifts
• Therapeutic hot packs

• Virtual reality game software
• Rehab Documentation Company ReDoc Suite
• Laboratory information system LIS
• Bookkeeping software
• PhysioTools Tools RG
• Eazy Application Systems QuickEMR
• Client caseload management software
• BioEx Systems Exercise Pro
• TherAssist
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft Outlook
• SpectraSoft AppointmentsPRO
• Microsoft Windows
• dBASE
• Billing software
• Spreadsheet software
• Microsoft Office
• SpectraSoft DocuPRO
• Knees Software PT DocTools
• Video game software
• Arena Health Systems Phys-X
• PhysioGraphic
• Email software
• FileMaker Pro
• Scheduling software
• Word processing software
• Beaver Creek Software The THERAPIST
• Summit Software CarePoint
• Accounting software