PHYSICAL THERAPIST ASSISTANT (A.S.)
School of Health Sciences

Courses are scheduled through a traditional, full time, day format providing adult-oriented learning environments. Regional Accreditation — The Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association. Affordable Tuition — Full-time financial aid availability and reasonable costs. Faculty — Academic credentials and real-world experience.

Why choose a career as a Physical Therapist Assistant?
Physical Therapist Assistants are skilled personnel who provide services that help improve mobility and relieve pain of patients suffering from injuries or disease. Working under the supervision of a physical therapist, you’ll train patients in the activities of daily living, use special equipment, and evaluate the patient's progress. You might use exercises, massages, electrical stimulation, paraffin baths, hot and cold packs, traction, and ultrasound in working with your client.

If you’re interested in becoming a PTA, you must have a willingness to work with various, sometimes disabling, conditions, such as strokes, amputations, wound care, burns, low-back pain, arthritis, heart disease, fractures, head injuries, and cerebral palsy. You’ll work with all ages, pediatric to geriatric, and you’ll need good communication skills, physical dexterity and coordination, organization, and a positive attitude.

What can I study?
The Physical Therapy Assistant Program at MSU leads to an associate degree and takes approximately five semesters to complete. Students can apply for admission to the PTA program during the spring semester.

The second year of the program covers the technical portion of the PTA program and emphasizes areas specific to a career as a physical therapist assistant.

Why choose MSU?
Employment. Over the past 3 years, graduates of the PTA program who pass the licensure exam and actively seek employment have enjoyed 100% graduate employment rate over the past 3 years.

Student Physical Therapist Assistant Association. The SPTAA provides student interaction, problem solving, and discussion of professional issues among its members. The organization gives PTA students the opportunity to participate in and recognize the importance of community service projects and also provides campus and community representation of the Physical Therapist Assistant Program.

Past community service projects have included the Salvation Army’s Coat Drive, National MS Society Walk, clothing donations to local churches, donations to local food banks and women’s shelters, participation in local health fairs, and an Easter egg hunt for a local day care.

Career
Physical therapist assistants work in a broad range of settings, including hospitals, outpatient clinics or offices, rehabilitation facilities, skilled nursing, extended care, education or research centers, schools, hospices, fitness centers, and other sports training facilities.

The average salary in southern West Virginia for physical therapists is $30,000-$32,000. Employment of physical therapist assistants is expected to grow much faster than the average through the year 2012. Over the long run, demand for PTAs will continue to rise due to the influence of these factors:

1. baby-boom generation is entering prime age for heart attack and strokes, increasing demand for cardiac and physical rehabilitation,
2. future medical developments which permit more trauma patients to survive, creating added demand for therapy services,
3. growing elderly population is particularly vulnerable to chronic, debilitating conditions requiring therapeutic services, and
4. to keep costs down, more physical therapists will design a treatment plan and then utilize assistants to provide many aspects of the plan.

Over the past 3 years, graduates of the PTA program who pass the licensure exam and actively seek employment have enjoyed 100% graduate employment rate over the past 3 years.

Additional Information
Estimated Program Costs
Estimated Tuition: $21,000
Estimated Additional Costs: $788

Health physical
Drug screening
Criminal background investigation
BLS certification (includes CPR)
PTA Program text books
Name pins
Graduation pin
Graduation fee

Student Information Form
PTA Program Overview

Please see our catalog for program and degree requirements.