Physical Therapist Assistant Associate of Science

Physical Therapy is a health care profession whose practitioners work in a variety of settings including hospitals, private practice, outpatient clinics, home health agencies, schools, sport and fitness facilities, skilled nursing facilities, and work settings. The Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) is a member of the health care team who provides physical therapy services under the direction and supervision of a licensed physical therapist. The PTA helps people from all age groups with health or medical problems who have limited ability to move or perform functional activities in their daily lives. The PTA once graduated and licensed provides care through instruction to patients/clients' exercises for range of motion, strength, and coordination along with mobility training for functional activities such as gait, transfers, and bed mobility with varying assistive devices, wheelchairs, crutches, canes, and walkers. The PTA is also skilled in massage and usage of modalities/physical agents such as electrical stimulation or ultrasound and cryotherapy /thermotherapy. The PTA provides all services under the supervision of a licensed physical therapist. Bakersfield College’s Physical Therapist Assistant Associate of Science Program provides concurrent didactic and clinical education. The program is 24 months in length (excluding prerequisite coursework) and begins each year in January. Students should anticipate making a full-time commitment to the program during the school year. The program is primarily scheduled during the day, but there may be weekend/evening classes or clinicals. Clinical education sites include hospitals, acute rehab facilities, out-patient clinics, and skilled nursing facilities in Kern County. Students may be assigned to any clinical education center in any geographical location and must provide their own transportation to these centers. The Physical Therapist Assistant Associate of Science degree prepares graduates for the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE) and California Law Examination (CLE) for Physical Therapist Assistant by providing theory, skills, and experience needed to perform as an entry-level physical therapist assistant. To achieve the Physical Therapist Assistant Associate of Science Degree students must complete the required general education coursework for an Associate of Science Degree, the required core technica

Associate Degree, 54 credit hours, taught on campus at Bakersfield (Panorama), Delano Campus, Southwest Campus.