P/T & O/T Assistant

RNewbie · Jan 4, 2014

Yes, I'm always seeing jobs for pt/ot assistants. These are mainly for home health positions but I've never personally seen any in the hospital. Maybe they mainly work in home health and rehab settings.

ceccia · Jan 4, 2014

yep. PT/OT assistant is the new thing. Unfortunately the OTs and PTs are getting pushed out of jobs. Mostly it's a reaction to the ACA; facilities (esp. SNF/subacute and outpatient) are freaking out about the idea that healthcare reform may slightly reduce their precious profits. They're trying to cut back on the number of OTs/PTs, in some cases only using them for evaluations, updates and d/c paperwork, and using assistants for all the actual treatment sessions.

My housemate is a PT- graduated last spring with an obscene amount of debt because PT now requires a 3-year clinical doctorate program after 4 years of undergrad. Apparently PTs and OTs are having a hard time finding jobs, esp new grads, because most places want to staff only the minimum number of supervising therapists and as many assistants as possible to save money.

SL2014 · Jan 4, 2014

Good, hopefully it will pull some of the "would have been nurses" away... too many people are becoming nurses because it's marketed so much, then they get on the floor and their heart is totally not in it.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jan 4, 2014

My youngest daughter is enrolled in an OTA program and my son-in-law is trying to get into a PTA program at local colleges. (There are very few of these programs out there outside of the for-profit schools.)

xoemmylouox, ASN, RN · Jan 5, 2014

My youngest daughter is enrolled in an OTA program and my son-in-law is trying to get into a PTA program at local colleges. (There are very few of these programs out there outside of the for-profit schools.)

Yes the ads have been with for profit colleges only.

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jan 5, 2014

My daughter is at the University of Southern Indiana and my son-in-law is at Ivy Tech - both state schools, regionally accredited.

xoemmylouox, ASN, RN · Jan 5, 2014

How long are their programs?

TraumaSurfer · Jan 5, 2014

PTA and OTA are Associates degrees.

A program that is as long as the ADN including similar prerequisites(+Intro to Physics) and usually requires several hours of signed observation along with letters of recommendation just to apply but in the end you are still called "ASSISTANT". The PTA and OTA must still work under a PT or OT in some capacity. They are limited as to what they can do but are still the worker bees in any PT or OT department. They also make less than half of what an RN makes. I can definitely see where that would be a hard sell and a lot of creative marketing would need to be done to get candidates into the program.

example

http://www.mwcc.edu/PDFs/PTAClinicalEducationHandbook.pdf

meanmaryjean, DNP, RN · Jan 5, 2014

My daughter's program is five semesters - the PTA is four I believe.

USI offers a BS in Health Profession which dovetails with the OTA degree and can get graduates admission into their Masters in OT program. Which is what Kathleen wants to do.

xoemmylouox, ASN, RN · Jan 6, 2014

Just saw another school advertising. This really may be the next "shortage".

westieluv · Jan 6, 2014

They also make less than half of what an RN makes. I can definitely see where that would be a hard sell and a lot of creative marketing would need to be done to get candidates into the program.
example
http://www.mwcc.edu/PDFs/PTAClinicalEducationHandbook.pdf

Really? How much do they make? I've always wondered that, because one of the places where we do acute dialysis is a LTAC hospital and I think that most of their therapy staff is made up of assistants. I hope they make at least $15-20/hour, they have a very physical job. Of course, a "good wage" would depend on what part of the country you live in. Where I live, RNs make roughly $30/hour. However, I understand that in some places, Florida being one that sticks out in my mind based on posts I have read here on AN, RNs don't make nearly that much, so PTAs and OTAs would probably not make as much either.