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”

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

Related Technology & Tools

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

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