Physical Therapist Assistant

[mtanner10]

Hello :)

I'm sorry if this article is the wrong category, I wasn't super sure where to put it!

I am interested and considering going to school to become a PTA, last week I was talking with a family member who happens to be a PT and he put the idea in my head. Since then I have no been able to get the idea out of my head and I have started to gather some information via research but I remembered this website and decided this would also be another great place to get information/advice!

I understand the basics of what a PTA is and what they do but I'd love to hear from an actual PTA to get first hand information. I have been considering visiting a physical therapy office to see if I could talk to anyone about it but wasn't sure if that was appropriate, I really want to have as much information as possible before I make a decision like this because I'm scared that if I rush into it that I'll regret it and end up going back to school :/ we all know how expensive college is haha! I'm also open to negative information as well, if you read this and think it is a horrible idea please do not hesitate at all to reply! I'd appreciate the honesty, I am very interested in this as a possible career but I'm not a 100% sure if I should do it or not.

I am also considering getting a BSN, which I know a lot of people are going to tell me to do that instead of PTA and I can understand why but I don't want to cancel out the option of becoming a PTA without considering all of the possibilities. I have read some of the other articles that reference to PTA's but they are outdated and do not provide useful information so I'm hoping I can get more relevant information with my post. This post is super long and unorganized but it requires 600 words so I'm trying to put as much relevant information as I can! With becoming a registered nurse I like how there is so many options for what you can do and that you can advance but with a PTA I like that it is like a normal job where you work a certain amount of hours a day and certain days a week (info. I got from Google). There are so many options and I think that is what makes things more difficult for me when it comes to making a decision, I don't want to make the wrong choice and when it comes to careers I really don't know how to determine what is right from wrong. A lot of people in my family did not attend college so when I ask for their advice they give me advice based off which career choice will offer the most income and I don't know if money is what I should be basing these choices off of. I really need help and any advice that any of you could offer me, I'm trying to come to a final decision within the next 2 to 3 weeks (time crunch I know) but I feel like if I don't put a deadline on it I'll just keep circling around and never make a decision.

A big thank you to whoever takes time out of their day to read this or reply to it. You have no idea how appreciated it will be and I am excited to see what people have to say positively or negatively. Also, feel free to provide any other suggestions even if it is not PTA or RN :) I'm open to considering anything!

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

Hi there - welcome. We will try to address your concerns. As a nursing site, we don't have many PTAs on here. However, we will try to address your BSN needs. Hope that works.

[TheDudeWithTheBigDog, ADN, RN]

OK, the M-F 9-5 isn't limited to working in therapy. You can do it as nurse. In a hospital. As your first job after graduating.

So now that we've established that you can work the same exact schedule in both, we'll help lead you towards making a decision.

So tell us:

Why do you want to be a PTA?

Why do you want to be a nurse?

And do you really understand the limitations to care for both jobs? (Ex. in many states, a PTA can carry out a physical treatment, but can't plan one.)