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Acceptance of Physical Therapist Assistant Course Work by Programs Preparing Physical Therapists

Ms. Brooks was an Instructor, Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, Program in Physical Therapy, The University of Tennessee Center for the Health Sciences, 800 Madison Ave, Memphis, TN, when this article was written. She is now Staff Physical Therapist, Methodist Hospital-Central Unit, 1265 Union Ave, Memphis, TN 38104 (USA).

I developed and sent a questionnaire to the directors of entry-level physical therapy programs to determine if course work taken in an associate degree program could be credited toward requirements leading to a higher degree or certificate in physical therapy. I sent 86 questionnaires; 45 were returned. Results of the survey revealed that basic science courses taken by the physical therapist assistant (PTA) students are more likely to be credited (up to half of the respondents replied positively) toward a higher degree or certificate than are technical courses like therapeutic exercise, fundamentals of physical therapy, or physical modalities. Moreover, as many as 79 percent of the respondents reported that PTAs would not be granted transfer credit for their technical courses. Of those respondents whose programs do give credit for the technical courses, the courses are usually considered as elective hours. Although the concept of upward mobility appears to remain viable in the educational philosophy of the American Physical Therapy Association, students who view the associate degree program as an entry point into a physical therapy program must be aware of the problems of acceptance of PTA credits in an entry-level physical therapy program.

Key Words: Education • Physical therapy • Physical therapy assistants

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