Finish First  
Call Today! (800) 678-7981
or (614) 416-6200
Home Programs Admissions Career Placement Financial Aid About Us Contact Us Request Information Apply Online
 
 
   
 
 
Physical Therapist Assistant
Program Length: Physical Therapist Assistant program is designed to be completed by full-time students in 18 months
Program Options: 18-Month Associate Degree Program
Program Highlights

Are you a good listener? Are you a problem solver? Do you like to help people? Being a physical therapist assistant is a rewarding career where, under the supervision of a therapist, you’ll spend time working directly with patients to understand their needs. Then, you’ll help implement treatment plans to get them back to optimal physical health. Treatment is generally focused on relieving pain, improving mobility, or lessening disabilities.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, “physical therapists are expected to increasingly use assistants and aides to reduce the cost of physical therapy services. Once a patient is evaluated and a treatment plan is designed by the physical therapist, the physical therapist assistant can provide many parts of the treatment, as directed by the therapist.”

Bradford School's physical therapist assistant program includes courses in kinesiology, therapeutic intervention, manual techniques, and a licensure exam preparation course. Students learn on industry standard equipment and in classrooms designed to simulate a clinical setting.

At Bradford School, you’ll:
•    Learn  physical therapy procedures in a simulated clinical setting
•    Learn essential skills to apply as you advance in your career
•    Be qualified for entry level physical therapist assistant positions*
•    Have access to Bradford School’s placement department to help get you the job

 

*In order to be licensed by the Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Athletic Trainers’ Board, students must pass the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) for physical therapist assistants approved by the physical therapy section of the Ohio Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, and Athletic Trainers’ Board (OPTPAT). They must also pass a jurisprudence examination approved by the physical therapy section on Ohio’s laws and rules governing the practice of physical therapy.

 

Effective August 1, 2012, Bradford School, Physical Therapist Assistant Program has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). Candidate for Accreditation is a pre-accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates that the program may matriculate students in technical/professional courses and that the program is progressing toward accreditation. Candidate for Accreditation is not an accreditation status nor does it assure eventual accreditation.

 

  

 
 
 
Concentration Courses
Mouse over each course title to view the course description. Use the printer friendly icon to print the courses.
 
 
 
 

oThe Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) taxonomic coding scheme was developed in 1980 by the National Center for Education Statistics to facilitate the organization, collection, and reporting of fields of study and program completions.  The CIP titles and program descriptions are intended to be generic categories into which program completions data can be placed, not exact duplicates of a specific major or field of study titles used by individual institutions.  This institution’s programs generally are intended to provide training for occupations associated with multiple CIP codes and each program’s graduates generally occupy a wide variety of positions both following graduation and within a few years.  However, the institution is required to choose one CIP code and believes that a code of 51.0806 is the best representation of expected occupations.  The institution is required to list the following occupations (by name and Standard Occupational Classification—or SOC—code) that the O*NET crosswalk identifies as a representative sample of identified occupations for completers of a program with a CIP code of 51.0806. 

25-1071.00 Health Specialties Teachers, Postsecondary

31-2021.00 Physical Therapist Assistants

31-2022.00 Physical Therapist Aides

The institution notes that, due to the nature of CIP codes and SOC codes, this list of representative occupations may be expected to comprise a subset of actual graduates’ occupations; further, graduates may or may not work in each of these listed occupations.

o        The on-time graduation rate as defined by the U.S. Department of Education for students who completed the program between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012 is not applicable (no graduates).  The definition is the percentage of graduates that completed the program within the normal timeframe.

o        The placement rate  as of October 31, 2012 for graduates between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012  and as reported to ACICS was not applicable (no graduates) for the degree program.  More graduates may have been placed subsequently, as may be shown elsewhere on this site.

o        The overall NPTAE pass rate for graduates is not available as the first class of students does not graduate until February 2014.

o        Tuition and fees charged for completing the program within the normal time for students who start the program between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013 is $31,910.  (Note that financial aid is available for those who qualify and the net price paid may be materially less; please visit www.bradfordschoolcolumbus.edu/aid.)

o        The typical costs for books and supplies for completing the program within the normal time is expected—as of the fall of 2012—to be approximately $3,000 for students who start the program between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013.

o        The total charges for school-sponsored housing for completing the program within the normal time are $13,815 for students who start the program between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2013.

o        Potential applicants may find the following information at www.bradfordschoolcolumbus.edu/catalog.pdf: institutional accreditation; programmatic accreditation; contact information for accrediting agencies and state licensing/approval agencies; admissions policies and practices; policies on transfer of credits to and from the institution; policies and processes for withdrawal and for refunds of tuition/fees; and additional consumer information.

o        Median loan debt for graduates between July 1, 2011 and June 30, 2012 was not applicable.

 

 

 
Request More Information
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Please enter the full year (XXXX) or GED.
 
 

For the entire US, employment of physical therapist assistants and aides is expected to grow by 35 percent from 2008 through 2018, much faster than the average for all occupations. Changes to restrictions on reimbursement for physical therapy services by third-party payers will increase patient access to services and, thus, increase demand. The increasing number of people who need therapy reflects, in part, the increasing elderly population. The elderly population is particularly vulnerable to chronic and debilitating conditions that require therapeutic services. These patients often need additional assistance in their treatment, making the roles of assistants and aides vital. In addition, the large baby-boom generation is entering the prime age for heart attacks and strokes, further increasing the demand for cardiac and physical rehabilitation.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition

Finish First