DPT or PA working in sports?

[Huntrome]

I want to get into the sports medicine field. I'm getting my BS in Athletic Training. The 2 options I'm considering are becoming a PT (Physical Therapist) or a PA (Physician Assistant).

I know a PT can become a sports certified specialist and work in the sports med field. Is there a way that a PA can work in the sports med field?

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[truthseeker]

absolutely, the training that you get as a PA would allow you to dispense meds, order imaging, etc . . . and add to your skills as a trainer. The DPT will add to your rehab knowledge. Either would be helpful and open doors for you. The question is, IF the sports thing doesn't work out, (it is every bit as competitive and good-ole-boy like as coaching in professional or collegiate sports) what would you want to do with your PA/ATC or your DPT/ATC if you were working in a clinic somewhere? that's how I would make the decision.

 

[Huntrome]

absolutely, the training that you get as a PA would allow you to dispense meds, order imaging, etc . . . and add to your skills as a trainer. The DPT will add to your rehab knowledge. Either would be helpful and open doors for you. The question is, IF the sports thing doesn't work out, (it is every bit as competitive and good-ole-boy like as coaching in professional or collegiate sports) what would you want to do with your PA/ATC or your DPT/ATC if you were working in a clinic somewhere? that's how I would make the decision.

I really want to do sports injury rehab, thats where my passion is. It doesn't necessarily matter whether its for a professional / collegiate team or in a sport rehab clinic. The reason behind the DPT/ATC route is to be like a double edge sword because not only will it make me more valuable to whoever I work for since I would be basically 2 people in 1, it also also allows me to not get burnt out with either career. As far as PA/ATC goes, I was trying to use PA/ATC as as shorter pathway to get into sports rehab. Which do you think would be the more efficient pathway?

 

[Corks]

I really want to do sports injury rehab, thats where my passion is. It doesn't necessarily matter whether its for a professional / collegiate team or in a sport rehab clinic. The reason behind the DPT/ATC route is to be like a double edge sword because not only will it make me more valuable to whoever I work for since I would be basically 2 people in 1, it also also allows me to not get burnt out with either career. As far as PA/ATC goes, I was trying to use PA/ATC as as shorter pathway to get into sports rehab. Which do you think would be the more efficient pathway?

As a PA in this clinic, what would you even be doing? I wanted to go into PA before I chose DPT for a lot of reasons. #1, you will not be performing surgeries. #2, you will only be issuing pain meds/hydrocortisone shots/etc, #3, you won't have the autonomy that you will as a DPT.

I guess it depends on what you want to do to help people. I found that I'd rather spend more time with the patient and perform physical tests/assessments/treatments rather than giving out meds. In the end, the difference between the two careers is a pharmacy. I know I'm generalizing here but, you need to figure out what aspects of each career you like, and what you don't like that are specific to the career.

 

[Huntrome]

As a PA in this clinic, what would you even be doing? I wanted to go into PA before I chose DPT for a lot of reasons. #1, you will not be performing surgeries. #2, you will only be issuing pain meds/hydrocortisone shots/etc, #3, you won't have the autonomy that you will as a DPT.

I guess it depends on what you want to do to help people. I found that I'd rather spend more time with the patient and perform physical tests/assessments/treatments rather than giving out meds. In the end, the difference between the two careers is a pharmacy. I know I'm generalizing here but, you need to figure out what aspects of each career you like, and what you don't like that are specific to the career.

I want to be an athletic trainer because they do rehab / prevention of injuries. I know they don't make nearly as much as DPT, at least where I live. So I'm thinking of combining the 2 professions of ATC/DPT to give myself a slight edge. The only reason I was even remotely looking at PA as my graduate study is because it was shorter than DPT. Even though its shorter it would have be more stuff that I don't necessarily have the taste for like surgeries and things of that nature. So I'm definitely going to go with the ATC/DPT route so I get the best of both worlds and combine 2 careers I'm passionate about

 

[NewDPT31]

As a PA in this clinic, what would you even be doing? I wanted to go into PA before I chose DPT for a lot of reasons. #1, you will not be performing surgeries. #2, you will only be issuing pain meds/hydrocortisone shots/etc, #3, you won't have the autonomy that you will as a DPT.

I guess it depends on what you want to do to help people. I found that I'd rather spend more time with the patient and perform physical tests/assessments/treatments rather than giving out meds. In the end, the difference between the two careers is a pharmacy. I know I'm generalizing here but, you need to figure out what aspects of each career you like, and what you don't like that are specific to the career.

I'm a DPT outpatient ortho. My girlfriend is Ortho residency trained PA-C. that's 2+1+3 years. DPT is 3 years.
Her knowledge base is so far above and beyond what mine or any of my DPT friends, even the ones who went to PT ortho residency. It's not just a pharmacy difference.
Surgery IS a huge part of that though, because she does surgery 3 days, and clinic 2 days, and also does ortho urgent care. She is an overnight Ortho consult at a Level 1 trauma. That means the ER docs call her at 2 am and say hey, what the hell do we do.
She has a ton of autonomy, and so do her friends.
You are right about spending time with the patient. Nobody gets to know a patient like the PT. If you like to absorb people in constant pain who don't do their HEP and complain 3 hours a week, or do you want to figure out what's wrong with the patient in the first place. Don't get me wrong, I like being a PT...but it gets pretty draining and monotonous, especially if you work at a conglomorate. I would love to go back in time and do PA. More money and more autonomy.

 

[DesertPT]

I would love to go back in time and do PA. More money and more autonomy.

Do it then. You say you like being a PT but you don't sound like you do. Are you just going to spend the rest of your life being dissatisfied with your patients, your salary and your job in general?

Saying a PA has more autonomy than a PT totally depends on what PT and what PA you are comparing. Depending on who you are comparing it could be exactly the opposite.

Same thing goes for the knowledge base - totally depends who you are comparing and what the question at hand is. But the two professions are not at all the same. PAs can't do what PTs do, and PTs can't do what PAs do. It's like saying well when somebody has rheumatoid arthritis a rheumatologist has lot bigger knowledge base than a PT, so why become a PT when you could become a doctor. It's not fair to compare apples to oranges.

I mean no disrespect at all, I've always enjoyed reading your posts. But this post was surprisingly pessimistic, as you've always seemed pretty passionate about PT in the past.

 

[jesspt]

"If you like to absorb people in constant pain who don't do their HEP and complain 3 hours a week, or do you want to figure out what's wrong with the patient in the first place"

This...I don't get.

 

[jblil]

If you like to absorb people in constant pain who don't do their HEP and complain 3 hours a week (...)

You mean, 3 hours a day. I am working with such a population now.

 

[NewDPT31]

Do it then. You say you like being a PT but you don't sound like you do. Are you just going to spend the rest of your life being dissatisfied with your patients, your salary and your job in general?

Saying a PA has more autonomy than a PT totally depends on what PT and what PA you are comparing. Depending on who you are comparing it could be exactly the opposite.

Same thing goes for the knowledge base - totally depends who you are comparing and what the question at hand is. But the two professions are not at all the same. PAs can't do what PTs do, and PTs can't do what PAs do. It's like saying well when somebody has rheumatoid arthritis a rheumatologist has lot bigger knowledge base than a PT, so why become a PT when you could become a doctor. It's not fair to compare apples to oranges.

I mean no disrespect at all, I've always enjoyed reading your posts. But this post was surprisingly pessimistic, as you've always seemed pretty passionate about PT in the past.

Very True about the difference depending on what your specialty is and where you work. I'm specifically comparing ortho PT to ortho PA. I believe you can enjoy your job and be realistic about it.
I do like PT. I do enjoy a lot of aspects of my job. Is it still 100000x better than sitting at a desk all day? yes.
Both jobs(PA vs PT) have pros and cons, but going back for a PA after spending $250k on a DPT would be stupider than spending $250k on a DPT in the first place(curse you 18 year old self!)

"If you like to absorb people in constant pain who don't do their HEP and complain 3 hours a week, or do you want to figure out what's wrong with the patient in the first place"

This...I don't get.

I deal with a lot of chronic pain patients from low income/high poverty area. 3x/wk x 1 hr. Hour after hour of patients complaining about their pain. Now, yes, it does feel good to help them, but a lot of people with chronic pain just aren't going to get better. You have to "absorb" a lot of negativity from people, and have an outlet to release this negativity(working out, etc). I've seen a lot of friends get burnt out because of this and because they worked at a no mercy 15 patients a day clinic. One of the aspects my girlfriend loves about her job when she works in the clinic is you see the patient for 10 mins or so, and then on to the next one. You find out what's going on, order what you need and figure it out. Now, she works ortho so this is contrast to getting a script from say, a PCP, who has no idea what's going on and just says "arm-eval and treat". There we still get to "figure it out". Depends on what your referral base is.

 

[DesertPT]

Very True about the difference depending on what your specialty is and where you work. I'm specifically comparing ortho PT to ortho PA. I believe you can enjoy your job and be realistic about it.
I do like PT. I do enjoy a lot of aspects of my job. Is it still 100000x better than sitting at a desk all day? yes.
Both jobs(PA vs PT) have pros and cons, but going back for a PA after spending $250k on a DPT would be stupider than spending $250k on a DPT in the first place(curse you 18 year old self!)

Thanks for your reply.

Don't we all have things we'd like to go back and tell our 18 year old selves!

 

[truthseeker]

I don't think it matters. Both will get you in the door, the ATC more than anything. It comes down to what you might like to do once you are burnt out with the hours and demands of the sports population. look farther down the road beyond your 30's and 40s. Im in my late 40s and am getting a bit tired of working all day then covering events 2-3 nights per week.

I really want to do sports injury rehab, thats where my passion is. It doesn't necessarily matter whether its for a professional / collegiate team or in a sport rehab clinic. The reason behind the DPT/ATC route is to be like a double edge sword because not only will it make me more valuable to whoever I work for since I would be basically 2 people in 1, it also also allows me to not get burnt out with either career. As far as PA/ATC goes, I was trying to use PA/ATC as as shorter pathway to get into sports rehab. Which do you think would be the more efficient pathway?

 

[jesspt]

I don't think it matters. Both will get you in the door, the ATC more than anything. It comes down to what you might like to do once you are burnt out with the hours and demands of the sports population. look farther down the road beyond your 30's and 40s. Im in my late 40s and am getting a bit tired of working all day then covering events 2-3 nights per week.

This.

This is what I think a lot of people don't think about when working for a sports team/athlete. I see a ton of burn out. What initially sounds great when you are 20 years old - being "involved" in sports by being involved in their training or rehab, can quickly become an albatross once you start work as a PT or PT/ATC and you realize that the hours suck. I don't know about most of the posters on this board, but the last thing I want to do after working 45-50 hours a week is go spend my Friday night watching a bunch of high school kids (that aren't mine) play football.

 

[atstudent]

This.

This is what I think a lot of people don't think about when working for a sports team/athlete. I see a ton of burn out. What initially sounds great when you are 20 years old - being "involved" in sports by being involved in their training or rehab, can quickly become an albatross once you start work as a PT or PT/ATC and you realize that the hours suck. I don't know about most of the posters on this board, but the last thing I want to do after working 45-50 hours a week is go spend my Friday night watching a bunch of high school kids (that aren't mine) play football.

Heck, that's my Thursday and Friday! lol

 

[truthseeker]

This.

This is what I think a lot of people don't think about when working for a sports team/athlete. I see a ton of burn out. What initially sounds great when you are 20 years old - being "involved" in sports by being involved in their training or rehab, can quickly become an albatross once you start work as a PT or PT/ATC and you realize that the hours suck. I don't know about most of the posters on this board, but the last thing I want to do after working 45-50 hours a week is go spend my Friday night watching a bunch of high school kids (that aren't mine) play football.

I'm 48 and its still fun but getting less so. Two kids, one graduating, one a freshman. basketball season sucks because I have to choose which one I see play. track is nice because they run in the same meets. But, I missed my son's PR in the triple jump because I was working at a meet and someone after the 2-mile was basically tired and they called me over. In another meet, where I was not working, I missed my daughters long jumps (2 of the three) because I was tending to a whiny hurdler with shin splints, and a triple jumper who tweaked his ankle (but then later went on to win the high hurdles, go figure). PLUS it was raining. Hard. I was a little grumpy that day.

 

[atstudent]

So, the NATA and the Strategic Alliance may have thrown a lot of people for a loop this week....

 

[jesspt]

So, the NATA and the Strategic Alliance may have thrown a lot of people for a loop this week....

I think the writing was on the wall for that change for a long time.

 

[dylanh]

So, the NATA and the Strategic Alliance may have thrown a lot of people for a loop this week....

what happened?

 

[atstudent]

The Athletic Training profession will start moving toward an "Entry-Level Masters Degree." Basically, in 7 years all students who wish to become a Certified Athletic Trainer will have to complete a Masters Degree in Athletic Training in order to be eligible to sit for the Board of Certification exam.

 

[FoamCup]

absolutely, the training that you get as a PA would allow you to dispense meds, order imaging, etc . . .

isnt the rumor thats going around saying that DPT will also be able to do these in the near future (one state allows imaging already)

 

[jadedphysiotherapist]

isnt the rumor thats going around saying that DPT will also be able to do these in the near future (one state allows imaging already)

No bc medication is treatment and your license isn't underneath the legal authority of a physician. Rx status for PAs exists since their physician legalities are to be a direct assistance to attendings and their license is underneath the physician. They can never be autonomous although they enjoy hefty reimbursement for a two year (only 12 month didactic) general training period.

Imaging is different since that guides treatment. You also become an allied health competitor outside of your physician referral networks if insurance starts reimbursing since low lvl neuromsk for therapists using manual therapy techniques, graded exercise progression, and noninvasive modalities is the treatment rather than Rx.....and with the imaging, patients wouldn't need to see the physicians for pains, strains, sprains, ongoing symptoms managed by therapy.

The pushback against imaging legalities would be huge though and I personally would think new grads should complete a mentorship for pattern recognition before acting autonomously with those legalities.

It's overutilized in other fields because it's a lazy money grab and you don't receive payment for utilizing less resources.

 

[jadedphysiotherapist]

So, the NATA and the Strategic Alliance may have thrown a lot of people for a loop this week....

I think the writing was on the wall for that change for a long time.

The Athletic Training profession will start moving toward an "Entry-Level Masters Degree." Basically, in 7 years all students who wish to become a Certified Athletic Trainer will have to complete a Masters Degree in Athletic Training in order to be eligible to sit for the Board of Certification exam.

This is old but why?
A post bachelors usually is to screen out students that can withhold massive amounts of material from curriculum changes and extra coursework, prep for different settings a field is in and moving to (in healthcare usually science pushes and collabs) taper supply and demand, or adjust to a tougher market with more responsibility.

There's zero guarantee of increased payment and the debt train explodes.....which is discussed ad nauseum on here. ATC is such a great ROI entry level degree program and job currently.

Unless it's to expand healthcare scope which would make no sense. It's all already working with athletes or working with performance (health and goal setting or injured athletes) which is great.

 

[atstudent]

This is old but why?
A post bachelors usually is to screen out students that can withhold massive amounts of material from curriculum changes and extra coursework, prep for different settings a field is in and moving to (in healthcare usually science pushes and collabs) taper supply and demand, or adjust to a tougher market with more responsibility.

There's zero guarantee of increased payment and the debt train explodes.....which is discussed ad nauseum on here. ATC is such a great debt free entry level program and job.

Unless it's to expand healthcare scope which would make absolutely no sense. It's all already working with athletes or working with performance (health and goal setting. Not "healthcare"...don't mean anything negative there. You just aren't touching IV poles in the hospital) which is great.

Ok, paint me confused because I'm not sure where you're going here... Athletic Training is certainly not "debt-free." You can trust me on that! Also, not sure what you mean about "Not healthcare." Athletic Trainers are certainly healthcare providers. Licensed (or otherwise regulated in 49 states).

 

[jadedphysiotherapist]

Ok, paint me confused because I'm not sure where you're going here... Athletic Training is certainly not "debt-free." You can trust me on that! Also, not sure what you mean about "Not healthcare." Athletic Trainers are certainly healthcare providers. Licensed (or otherwise regulated in 49 states).

My bad. Let me clarify.

Having a bachelors level degree for healthcare is ideal unless your ROI is excellent due to how incredibly heavy grad/professional school debt is compared to undergrad. This has been a big problem for physical therapy.

I'll edit above.....I was implying that the scope is specific to athletes and you aren't necessarily running into cardiac patients rooms with IV poles in a hospital setting. It's healthcare, yes. Just very specific with a linear training pathway to a good job. Idk why elevation to a masters would be necessary without a scope of practice increase which is usually what happens when a profession elevates to entrylevel grad degrees.

And degree elevation definitely is not always in a professions best interest as is evidenced in many healthcare fields that don't have a corresponding ROI for extra debt load

Sorry for coming off poorly.

 

[LPCC2010]

My bad. Let me clarify.

Having a bachelors level degree for healthcare is ideal unless your ROI is excellent due to how incredibly heavy grad/professional school debt is compared to undergrad. This has been a big problem for physical therapy.

I'll edit above.....I was implying that the scope is specific to athletes and you aren't necessarily running into cardiac patients rooms with IV poles in a hospital setting. It's healthcare, yes. Just very specific with a linear training pathway to a good job. Idk why elevation to a masters would be necessary without a scope of practice increase which is usually what happens when a profession elevates to entrylevel grad degrees.

And degree elevation definitely is not always in a professions best interest as is evidenced in many healthcare fields that don't have a corresponding ROI for extra debt load

Sorry for coming off poorly.

I'd assume a masters would give someone a better opportunity at working with highly skilled amateur athletes and professionals, however that is just an assumption.

 

[truthseeker]

right now the ATCs do it with a bachelors. I don't think the masters is going to open those particular doors. I spoke with a current AT student at one of my daughter's college visits and she said the shift to the masters degree for entry level was to stop people from using AT as a stepping stone for PT or PA or MD school. There will be fewer dual credentialed professionals moving forward unless someone develops a dual program. that makes the dual credentialed individual more rare and therefore more valuable.
It will certainly give them more time to learn more things and I think the NATA is trying to expand the practice of ATs into things that have been traditionally more PT patients. That's why there are state by state battles in legislatures with the definitions of scope of practice. which is unfortunate.

 

[jadedphysiotherapist]

right now the ATCs do it with a bachelors. I don't think the masters is going to open those particular doors. I spoke with a current AT student at one of my daughter's college visits and she said the shift to the masters degree for entry level was to stop people from using AT as a stepping stone for PT or PA or MD school. There will be fewer dual credentialed professionals moving forward unless someone develops a dual program. that makes the dual credentialed individual more rare and therefore more valuable.
It will certainly give them more time to learn more things and I think the NATA is trying to expand the practice of ATs into things that have been traditionally more PT patients. That's why there are state by state battles in legislatures with the definitions of scope of practice. which is unfortunate.

This makes zero sense. This will simply put them into unnecessary debt with no pay increases. If they want scope expansion then that would be going to physical therapy school....and getting a physical therapist job which would most likely not be working directly on the playing field or in high school sports or teams like athletic training already does. Or going to med school for Rx privileges, PA for their privileges in the hospital, etc.

And from what from my understanding is, it takes years upon years to actually get scope expansion due to politics many of which doesn't even occur due to other professions. This would be even more controversial than the pharmacy and physical therapy degree creep both of which have had increase in settings for work but not pay increases and reimbursements outside of inflation and regular outside market fluctuations irrespective of more billing ability.

Mandatory masters entrylevel would be an awful decision and I'd assume people would just stop entering the field

I also don't see how they will have the ability to learn more things relevant to their field in that timeframe.....unless knowledge base for ATC has increased so much it's necessary. They would just learn things for a different bachelors degree relating to a different field just like how my undergrad degree outside of the science prerequisites and social science classes prepared me for a different job that had nothing to do with physical therapy.

 

[PT1998]

Hello! As I was reading this forum, I had a ton of questions pop up in my mind!

I see a couple of you are “cursing” your 18 year old selves for making the decisions you did back then, so I really hope I won’t be making the same mistakes as I go onto university. I’m 19 years old and just completed two years of study at a college and took transferable classes such as neuroscience, psych, anatomy, physiology, nutrition and such. I was exposed to the AT profession and applied to a 4 year bachelor in AT ( I’m in Canada). I was initially planning on stopping there and specializing in post concussion treatment and eventually opening a clinic, but lately I have really started to see a pattern of instability in jobs and unsatisfactory income from ATs so sounds like with my goals of being financially secure and eventually wanting to work ima. Clinic setting as a I get older, I was thinking of using AT as a stepping stone for PT or PA later on.

Would you guys recommend I use AT as an undergrad for either of those? Should I just do a kinesiology degree then go from there? This is a hard decision for me because I absolutely love the AT path and being an athlete, I know I will enjoy the sideline thrill of watching the game and running onto the field/court when and if an injury occurs. But I also know that thrill will die down when my adult friends in the future are working less crazy hours and have a more stable income.

 

[truthseeker]

Hello! As I was reading this forum, I had a ton of questions pop up in my mind!

I see a couple of you are “cursing” your 18 year old selves for making the decisions you did back then, so I really hope I won’t be making the same mistakes as I go onto university. I’m 19 years old and just completed two years of study at a college and took transferable classes such as neuroscience, psych, anatomy, physiology, nutrition and such. I was exposed to the AT profession and applied to a 4 year bachelor in AT ( I’m in Canada). I was initially planning on stopping there and specializing in post concussion treatment and eventually opening a clinic, but lately I have really started to see a pattern of instability in jobs and unsatisfactory income from ATs so sounds like with my goals of being financially secure and eventually wanting to work ima. Clinic setting as a I get older, I was thinking of using AT as a stepping stone for PT or PA later on.

Would you guys recommend I use AT as an undergrad for either of those? Should I just do a kinesiology degree then go from there? This is a hard decision for me because I absolutely love the AT path and being an athlete, I know I will enjoy the sideline thrill of watching the game and running onto the field/court when and if an injury occurs. But I also know that thrill will die down when my adult friends in the future are working less crazy hours and have a more stable income.[/Q

IMO there is no undergraduate major better than athletic training to prepare you for the clinical part of being a PT or a PA for that matter. You actually learn to evaluate things and treat things, you have real live "patients" in front of you and mentors behind you. The problem with the NATA moving to an entry level masters is that it makes it much harder to do that and another degree such as PT or PA. You could get the undergrad degree in AT then NOT pursue the masters and go into one of the other fields. The problem is, where before, you graduated, took your test and if you pass but didn't get into the grad program you wanted, you could work as an AT while you improved your applications. Now you can't do that.

 

[PT1998]

IMO there is no undergraduate major better than athletic training to prepare you for the clinical part of being a PT or a PA for that matter. You actually learn to evaluate things and treat things, you have real live "patients" in front of you and mentors behind you. The problem with the NATA moving to an entry level masters is that it makes it much harder to do that and another degree such as PT or PA. You could get the undergrad degree in AT then NOT pursue the masters and go into one of the other fields. The problem is, where before, you graduated, took your test and if you pass but didn't get into the grad program you wanted, you could work as an AT while you improved your applications. Now you can't do that.

I do agree that AT is the best undergrad to prepare for PT and luckily I’m in Canada! So I can still work by completing an undergrad in AT. I could be upgrading courses if need be and improving my application also. Thank you for your insight!

I was thinking kinesiology would be good too because mainting a competitive GPA would be more feasible, as well as all the volunteer and shadowing hours would be less of a challenge to complete with kines versus a undergrad in AT where all 4 years your focus is clinical and practicum hours directed towards your degree. I feel like kinesiology gives a little bit more wiggle room in terms of maintaining a high GPA and gives the flexibility that allows you to go and do extra volunteering, shadowing and maybe even gt a part time job; whereas, AT is very intensive and doesn’t give much room for those things until maybe after you’ve begun working as an AT? Thoughts?

 

[truthseeker]

I do agree that AT is the best undergrad to prepare for PT and luckily I’m in Canada! So I can still work by completing an undergrad in AT. I could be upgrading courses if need be and improving my application also. Thank you for your insight!

I was thinking kinesiology would be good too because mainting a competitive GPA would be more feasible, as well as all the volunteer and shadowing hours would be less of a challenge to complete with kines versus a undergrad in AT where all 4 years your focus is clinical and practicum hours directed towards your degree. I feel like kinesiology gives a little bit more wiggle room in terms of maintaining a high GPA and gives the flexibility that allows you to go and do extra volunteering, shadowing and maybe even gt a part time job; whereas, AT is very intensive and doesn’t give much room for those things until maybe after you’ve begun working as an AT? Thoughts?

What will you do with a kinesiology degree if you don't get into your chosen grad program?

 

[PT1998]

What will you do with a kinesiology degree if you don't get into your chosen grad program?

Well that’s exactly the problem with just doing kines...AT on the other hand will get me a job for sure.

 

[PT1998]

Well that’s exactly the problem with just doing kines...AT on the other hand will get me a job for sure.

However, I could still go into AT after kines if PT doesn’t work out. That option would only take me an extra year if I end up doing kines then AT ( 5 yrs) versus an undergrad in AT right away (4yrs).

Also an undergrad in AT then PT would take 6 years compared to kines then PT which would take 5.

I know I shouldn’t look too much into the time it will take, but what I am getting at is if I choose kines and I don’t get a job then I can go do AT and work with that until I get into PT and best part is they would count the last 20 courses of my kines degree so I would have completed AT and hopefully achieved a competitive GPA for PT... best of both worlds