What would be the best approach on trying to attain a PT Aide position?

[lee9786]

I'm looking to attain a position as a PT aide in my area. I feel this will give me the needed experience working in a PT setting as well as enable me to meet PTs that could potentially write me the letters of recommendation needed for admittance to PT school. What areas of PT do they need the most help?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[MinnDasota]

I believe most hospitals and in-patient facilities usually only have 1-2 aides. You will find most available aide work in outpatient orthopedic facilities because of the high volumes of patients.

I think working as an aide is a good idea. You get to experience a lot about the field that you don't get as a volunteer. Also, you can make more concrete connections in the field.

 

[UCLAbruin08]

i agree with the post above. inpatient clinics usually only have pt assistants to help the therapists since they have a much smaller client base.

in terms of finding an aide position, usually any outpatient facility are hiring aides in greater frequency. so i advise you to just call around the area to various clinics and you'll usually be able to land yourself an aide position. but if that doesn't work, just ask if you can volunteer and they'll probably end up offering you a position which is what happened to me.

 

[lee9786]

thanks for your help.

 

[blazersfan22]

It's pretty easy to get a position in outpatient clinics. I'd suggest either calling around asking for availability or just walking into clinics. For inpatient settings, you'll have to just volunteer there until they eventually have a spot, which can take a while. Regardless, it'll make things a lot easier if you just volunteer for a little while first. If you do that well, the'll probably offer you a position within the first 2 or 3 months. If they don't, 2 or 3 months of volunteering is a good amount of time to put on your application, assuming you do roughly 15-20 hours per week.

 

[lee9786]

thank you blazzers fan. You've all been a great help.

 

[myr11]

make sure to check craigslist and msn.com searching for physical therapy aide PT Aide rehabilitation aide physical therapy technician....sometimes the positions are somewhat hidden but they are there. Don't be afraid of calling local clinics asking if they are hiring PT aides.

 

[pttrac]

Just like everyone said, call around your area in the local outpatient clinics. I emailed and called around when I was looking for a PT Aide position last year and I eventually found one was hiring. Even though it was a small clinic he had about 5 aides and 1 assistant work there. I also volunteered at outpatient and inpatient hospitals for experience and LORs. Hope this helps.

 

[CroakerSoaker]

Just pick up the phone and make some calls; you might be surprised! After working for a year as an aide, i have discovered that many jobs are filled by word of mouth. Sometimes you will luck up and find something on Craigslist or in your local newspaper. Also, if your school has a newspaper don't forget to check that out!

 

[Shugo]

I'm looking to attain a position as a PT aide in my area. I feel this will give me the needed experience working in a PT setting as well as enable me to meet PTs that could potentially write me the letters of recommendation needed for admittance to PT school. What areas of PT do they need the most help?

I think that is a great idea! I have volunteered, observed, and worked in different PT settings but my employment was better than all of those experiences because I worked directly with the patients teaching exercises and performing modalities. This experience gave me a lot to talk about in the interviews and essays that came later when applying to PT school. And as you pointed out you do get to meet potential references for your application in this employment.
Hospitals and Outpatient clinics both hire PT Aides. As others have mentioned I too have noticed that after volunteering at a the PT department of a local hospital a job position came available within a month or two of my time there. I worked in an outpaitent clinic and found this position through craigs list. I don't know how productive just calling random clinics will be for you, my dad recommends it but he's old school 🙂 Good luck, sounds like you are on the right track!

 

[lee9786]

I think that is a great idea! I have volunteered, observed, and worked in different PT settings but my employment was better than all of those experiences because I worked directly with the patients teaching exercises and performing modalities. This experience gave me a lot to talk about in the interviews and essays that came later when applying to PT school. And as you pointed out you do get to meet potential references for your application in this employment.
Hospitals and Outpatient clinics both hire PT Aides. As others have mentioned I too have noticed that after volunteering at a the PT department of a local hospital a job position came available within a month or two of my time there. I worked in an outpaitent clinic and found this position through craigs list. I don't know how productive just calling random clinics will be for you, my dad recommends it but he's old school 🙂 Good luck, sounds like you are on the right track!

Thanks for reviving the thread. I'm in an unfortunate scenario it seems. Maybe someone could offer some advise.

I plan on completing my volunteer/observation hours this summer. The hope was to complete my observation hours and try to attain a PT aide position in the process. Unfortunately there is a time conflict with my prereq classes for the fall semester (pretty much Physics: it's only offered at one time). The only time that the classes are offered are during the day. So my days are tied up with school.

So this leaves work for nights and weekends whenever fall time comes. You see the conflict. I'd like to find work as a PT aide, I'm just not sure if I can unless I find a position that is needed at those times. It looks like finding work as a PT aide isn't going to happen because of time conflicts. It's frustrating when you have two degrees and still have to resort to waiting tables to make an income. Right now working for tips really isn't all that great either given the state of the economy. Maybe I should concentrate on attaining a PT aide position and hold off on taking my prereqs (I pretty much only need physics) until next year. Of course this would set me back another year. any comments/suggestions.?

 

[callmecrazy]

I plan on completing my volunteer/observation hours this summer. The hope was to complete my observation hours and try to attain a PT aide position in the process. Unfortunately there is a time conflict with my prereq classes for the fall semester (pretty much Physics: it's only offered at one time). The only time that the classes are offered are during the day. So my days are tied up with school.

This actually shouldn't be a problem. It's not like you will be in Physics class from 9-5 every day, and many PT clinics do need aids to work into the evening and Saturdays. All of the aide positions I've seen are part-time and the clinics have a "pool" of aides that they use, based on their schedules. You may want to look into positions within a larger system of hospitals, if that's an option available to you; teaching hospitals are usually the most helpful. The clinic I did outpatients volunteering at, was part of a large system of clinics around the city. The aides were all undergrad students that would work at the various clinics during the hours that matched their class schedules. If I were you though, I would not put off your prereqs just to open a few more hours to work as an aide.

 

[lee9786]

This actually shouldn't be a problem. It's not like you will be in Physics class from 9-5 every day, and many PT clinics do need aids to work into the evening and Saturdays. All of the aide positions I've seen are part-time and the clinics have a "pool" of aides that they use, based on their schedules. You may want to look into positions within a larger system of hospitals, if that's an option available to you; teaching hospitals are usually the most helpful. The clinic I did outpatients volunteering at, was part of a large system of clinics around the city. The aides were all undergrad students that would work at the various clinics during the hours that matched their class schedules. If I were you though, I would not put off your prereqs just to open a few more hours to work as an aide.

awesome! I was under the impression most clinics run 9-5 with little flexibility with scheduling. I've been trying to plan things out for the fall. Right now I have a position as biology/physiology tutor at the school I'm at. It was set to take place after classes for the fall semester. If I could attain a position as PT aide though this would be ideal. This would decrease my hours working as a tutor, but I think the work would be held more valuable by admission committees. I wonder, though, how the recession is effecting available positions...? I guess I'll find out very soon. thanks for posting.

 

[UCLAbruin08]

Most clinics are usually flexible with working with aides and their school schedule. I'm working at an out patient ortho clinic and they basically have a morning shift (till lunch) and an afternoon shift (till close). What I like with them is that they work around our class schedule so I think that's a big plus. I'm sure most other clinics who have a large number of aides work like this. The recession has hit the clinic I'm working at just a little, so they have cut some of our hours, but they're hiring new aides since most are leaving for PT school etc, so I'm pretty sure you'll find a place.

The only time I saw different was when I was volunteering at another clinic where it was one aide to one PT, that way each aide worked specifically with a set of patients. (but that was a smaller clinic)

Just ask around, and search for clinics around your area through google, and you'll probably find a handful or so that are hiring.

 

[Shugo]

what ever your decision I would make taking your pre-req's and doing well in them a top priority as that is what is going to matter most to the PT school admission committees.