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Career Pathway—Health Sciences
Physical therapist assistants function under the direction and supervision of physical therapists, carrying out treatment programs using physical modalities, therapeutic exercises, and activities of daily living. They accept responsibility for the patient’s personal care and safety during treatments and carefully observe, record, and report patient conditions, reactions, and responses related to their assignments. The job requires significant physical handling of patients and assuming responsibility for patient safety during the performance of functional activities.
The Physical Therapist Assistant Program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education of the American Physical Therapy Association, a specialized accrediting body recognized by the Council on Postsecondary Accreditation and the United States Department of Education. The program prepares the graduate to take the licensure examination used by those states which require licensure. The Associate in Applied Science is awarded upon program completion.
Prerequisites
Recommended high school units of study are shown at the end of this catalog. High school algebra, biology, chemistry, and physics course work beyond 9th grade level are recommended. Students weak in arithmetic are encouraged to take developmental course work (Mathematics 97 and 98), and students weak in English skills are urged to take developmental course work before entering the program. Post high school applicants to the program are best advised to take as many as possible of the general course requirements of the curriculum before entering the professional program course work. Biology 99 is recommended prior to Biology 201 and 202 if the applicant has not had biology and chemistry in high school, but advanced math and science courses are NOT required for admission. Admission to the program will be based on high school and college grades and American College Test (ACT) scores.
ADMISSION
Admission to the Physical Therapist Assistant Program is selective due to space, clinical site availability, and equipment limitations. Please refer to page 12 for more specific information related to the admission process for the Physical Therapist Assistant Program. The following factors are considered in the selection process:
- ACT or SAT score
- High school and college grade point average
- Specific general education courses taken in college with at least a 2.0 grade.°
Biology 201; Biology 202; Emergency Medical Technician 110; Psychology 220; Communication 101; English 151; Psychology 201; Sociology 201
General Education
The following courses provide general skills of speaking, writing, thinking, analyzing, cooperating, making choices and judgments, integrating, and creating that are required in many problem-solving and task-oriented situations. These courses MAY be taken prior to being admitted to the program.
| CREDITS | |
|---|---|
| Communication 101, Interpersonal Communication | 3 |
| Creativity Elective° | 2-3 |
| English 151, Freshman Composition | 3 |
| Psychology 201, Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| Psychology 220, Developmental Psychology † | 3 |
| Sociology 201, Introduction to Sociology | 3 |
| 17-18 |
° For options to fulfill the Creativity Elective, see page 33.
† Transfer course must cover development through the entire lifespan.
Physical Therapist Assistant Major
Formal admission into the Physical Therapist Assistant Program is required for registration of Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) courses.
| CREDITS | |
|---|---|
| Biology 201, Human Anatomy | 4 |
| Biology 202, Human Physiology | 4 |
| Emergency Medical Technician 110, Medical First Responder* | 3 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 110, Fundamentals of Physical Therapist Assisting | 3 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 112, Kinesiology I | 2 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 114, Physical Therapy Modalities | 4 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 116, Kinesiology II | 3 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 117, Pathology I | 1 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 118, Pathology II | 1 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 119, Orthopedics | 3 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 120, Neurological Concepts | 1 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 121, Functional Techniques | 2 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 122, Pediatrics | 1 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 218, Focused Neurology | 3 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 219, Advanced Intervention Techniques | 3 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 220, Concepts in Physical Therapist Assisting | 2 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 221, Clinical Experience | 1 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 223, Seminar in Physical Therapist Assisting | 2 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 224, Coordinated Clinical Experience I | 4 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 225, Coordinated Clinical Experience II | 4 |
| Physical Therapist Assistant 226, Clinical Exploration | 2 |
| 53 |