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Physical Therapist Assistant

Physical Therapist Assistant

 

Start your journey to become a physical therapist assistant (PTA)

The physical therapist assistant (PTA) is a health care professional who works under the supervision of a physical therapist. The PTA works with a variety of patients who have been disabled by illness, accident, or congenital handicap.

The duties of a PTA include assisting the physical therapist in implementing treatment programs that may involve exercise, manual therapy and hydrotherapy; the use of heat, cold, electricity, or sound; and reporting to the physical therapist on the patient's responses. As clinicians, PTAs work in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, rehabilitation centers, and for physical therapists in outpatient independent practice settings.

Following graduation, graduates are eligible to sit for the state licensing examination. A criminal background check is required. The program’s current status is withdraw accreditation; for more information see:

https://www.capteonline.org/about-capte/recent-actions-and-updates/recent-actions

CAPTE STATEMENT ON ACCREDITATION:
Graduation from a physical therapist assistant education program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE) is necessary for eligibility to sit for the licensure examination, which is required in all states. Candidacy is considered to be an accredited status, as such the credits and degree earned from a program with Candidacy status are considered, by CAPTE, to be from an accredited program. Therefore, students in the charter (first) class should be eligible to take the licensure exam even if CAPTE withholds accreditation at the end of the candidacy period. That said, it is up to each state licensing agency, not CAPTE, to determine who is eligible for licensure. Information on licensing requirements should be directed to the Federation of State Boards of Physical Therapy (FSBPT;www.fsbpt.org) or specific state boards (a list of state boards and contact information is available on FSBPT's website. 
 
Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education
3030 Potomac Ave., Suite 100 
Alexandria, Virginia 22305-3085 
phone; 703-706-3245 
accreditation@apta.org
 
Southwest Tennessee Community College is seeking accreditation of a new physical therapist assistant education program from CAPTE. The program plans to submit an Application for Candidacy, which is the formal application required in the pre-accreditation stage, in November 2025. Submission of this document does not assure that the program will be granted Candidate for Accreditation status. Achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status is required prior to implementation of the professional/technical phase of the program; therefore, no students may be enrolled in professional/technical courses until Candidate for Accreditation status has been achieved. Further, though achievement of Candidate for Accreditation status signifies satisfactory progress toward accreditation, it does not assure that the program will be granted accreditation.

 

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