Physical Therapist Assistant

Physical therapy is a health profession with the primary purpose of promoting optimal human health and function through the application of scientific principles to prevent, identify, assess, correct, or alleviate acute or prolonged movement dysfunction. The physical therapist assistant (PTA) is a technical health care worker who carries out patient treatments under the supervision of a physical therapist. PTAs find employment in clinics, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, home care agencies, schools, private health and fitness centers, and other settings.

Physical therapist assistants work under the supervision of a physical therapist. Their duties include: assisting the physical therapist with treatment programs according to the plan of care; training patients in exercises and activities of daily living; conducting treatments; using special equipment; administering modalities and other treatment procedures; and reporting to the physical therapist about the patient’s responses.

Accreditation/Credentialing
Madison Area Technical College has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) of the American Physical Therapy Association (1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA 22314; phone 703-706-3245; email: accreditation[at] apta [dot] org). Candidacy is not an accreditation status nor does it assure eventual accreditation. Candidate for Accreditation is a pre-accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program is progressing towards accreditation.