Split between two....

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I just recently graduated with a bachelor's in recreational therapy (I take the NCTRC exam in October). I decided my last year of college to shoot for PT school, so now I am at a community college taking prereq classes. As I just moved to a new town, I am interviewing for a part-time job to get me by and have two options: (1) In-home care for a man with ALS (monitoring, bathing, feeding, exercises, etc.) It fits my schedule, allows me hours on the job to study (he sleeps most of the day), and pays great. (2) Tech in a PT office. Pays less, but would build up my PT exposure hours.

Additionally, I am shadowing in a PT office nearby about 8 hours a week.

My question - Would the first job be of any benefit to me when applying to school? I would rather take that job unless it won't help me at all. It's not with a physical therapist, but it is patient exposure.

 

[aroszko]

Honestly do the one you can make the most money with and is still flexible. I'm a first year DPT student and in my class I would say maybe 5 or so worked as a PT tech before entering the program. Working at a clinic dosnt always give you the upper hand on applications where as working with an ALS patient might because its something not as common. Personally I would take the in-home care job, in the long run it will help with patient care and if you're interested in home health then its a step in the right direction.

In the end its your choice though, do what works for you best but just make sure you still have time to do observations (in different settings), study and do well in classes, and be able to complete anything else needed for your applications.

 

[DesertPT]

I would take the job that pays best and will allow you to get the best grades. You don't need more than 50 or so hours in outpatient ortho to be a competitive applicant. Breadth is favored highly over depth when it comes to observation/volunteer experience.