What does a Physical Therapist Aide do?

Under close supervision of a physical therapist or physical therapy assistant, perform only delegated, selected, or routine tasks in specific situations. Day to day that includes work like clean and organize work area and disinfect equipment after treatment and Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.

What skills should a Physical Therapist Aide put on a resume?

O*NET rates Active Listening, Monitoring, Service Orientation, Coordination, and Reading Comprehension among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.

What software should a Physical Therapist Aide list?

Software recorded for this occupation includes Epic Systems, Medical procedure coding software, MEDITECH software, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Office software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.

What other job titles cover Physical Therapist Aide work?

O*NET records 17 titles for this occupation, including PTA, Physical Therapy Aide, PT Tech, and Physical Therapy Technician. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

What qualifications does a Physical Therapist Aide need?

In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 34% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

Will this resume pass an ATS for a Physical Therapist Aide role?

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Physical Therapist Aide resume example

A resume for a Physical Therapist Aide needs to show the work itself: under close supervision of a physical therapist or physical therapy assistant, perform only delegated, selected, or routine tasks in specific situations. Day to day that means work like this: clean and organize work area and disinfect equipment after treatment; secure patients into or onto therapy equipment. Recruiters and applicant tracking systems both read for the tasks and tools this role actually involves, so the strongest resume names them in your own experience rather than describing the job in the abstract. Below are the tasks O*NET records for this occupation, the software and tools it uses, the titles it is advertised under, and the skills worth naming if they are genuinely yours.

Also advertised as

The same job is posted under many titles. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.

PTA
Physical Therapy Aide
PT Tech
Physical Therapy Technician
Rehabilitation Technician
Rehabilitation Tech
PT Attendant
Physical Therapy Attendant
Physical Therapist Technician
Rehabilitation Aide
Rehabilitation Attendant
Restorative Aide
RA
Therapy Aide
Outpatient Aide
Outpatient Therapy Aide
Physiotherapy Aide

What people in this job call themselves

Titles reported by people actually doing this work, which is often not the title on the job posting.

Physical Therapist Aide (PTA)
Physical Therapy Aide (PTA)
PT Attendant (Physical Therapy Attendant)
PT Tech (Physical Therapist Technician)
PT Tech (Physical Therapy Technician)
Rehabilitation Technician (Rehabilitation Tech)
Restorative Aide (RA)

What this work actually involves

Tasks recorded for this occupation, in O*NET's words. If your experience covers one of these, it belongs on your resume in your own words.

Clean and organize work area and disinfect equipment after treatment.
Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.
Instruct, motivate, safeguard, or assist patients practicing exercises or functional activities, under direction of medical staff.
Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment.
Observe patients during treatment to compile and evaluate data on patients' responses and progress and report to physical therapist.
Change linens, such as bed sheets and pillow cases.
Administer active or passive manual therapeutic exercises, therapeutic massage, or heat, light, sound, water, or electrical modality treatments, such as ultrasound.
Transport patients to and from treatment areas, using wheelchairs or providing standing support.
Perform clerical duties, such as taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering telephone, taking messages, or filling out forms.
Schedule patient appointments with physical therapists and coordinate therapists' schedules.
Arrange treatment supplies to keep them in order.
Assist patients to dress, undress, or put on and remove supportive devices, such as braces, splints, or slings.

19 tasks are recorded in total; these are the most central.

Example bullets for this role

Built from this occupation's own tasks. The brackets stay empty on purpose: we will not invent a number for you, and a fabricated metric is the fastest way to lose an interview you had already won.

Clean and organize work area and disinfect equipment after treatment, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Instruct, motivate, safeguard, or assist patients practicing exercises or functional activities, under direction of medical staff, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].
Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment, for [who or what it served], at [what volume].

Software used in this role

Recorded for this occupation by O*NET. An applicant tracking system matches the exact product name, so write the tool the way the posting writes it.

Epic Systems
Medical procedure coding software
MEDITECH software
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Outlook
Microsoft Word
Patient record maintenance software
Scheduling software
Word processing software

Tools and equipment

The physical equipment this occupation is recorded as using. Worth naming when a posting asks for it by name.

Anti-embolism elastic stockings
Blood pressure cuffs
Canes
Cold packs
Crutches
Electrical stimulation equipment
Electronic blood pressure units
Gait belts
Hot packs
Hydraulic lifts
Hydrotherapy immersion baths
Lower extremity prosthetic devices

Skills an ATS reads for

Worth naming only if they are genuinely yours. Keyword overlap is one input to a resume's score, not a verdict.

Medical procedure coding
Patient record maintenance

What this job rates as most important

O*NET rates every skill for importance to this occupation. These are the highest rated, in order.

01Active Listening
02Monitoring
03Service Orientation
04Coordination
05Reading Comprehension
06Social Perceptiveness
07Active Learning
08Critical Thinking
09Instructing
10Speaking

Knowledge areas

The subject knowledge this occupation draws on, rated by importance.

Customer and Personal Service
English Language
Computers and Electronics
Therapy and Counseling

What qualifications people in this job have

From O*NET's survey of people doing this work. This is what postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.

34%High School Diploma, or the equivalent
25%Associate's Degree
10%Less than a High School Diploma

What level this role is pitched at

O*NET places this occupation in “Some Preparation Needed”. These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Common questions

What does a Physical Therapist Aide do?: Under close supervision of a physical therapist or physical therapy assistant, perform only delegated, selected, or routine tasks in specific situations. Day to day that includes work like clean and organize work area and disinfect equipment after treatment and Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.
What skills should a Physical Therapist Aide put on a resume?: O*NET rates Active Listening, Monitoring, Service Orientation, Coordination, and Reading Comprehension among the most important skills for this occupation. Name the ones that are genuinely yours and show where you used them. A resume that lists skills you do not have is weaker than one that lists fewer.
What software should a Physical Therapist Aide list?: Software recorded for this occupation includes Epic Systems, Medical procedure coding software, MEDITECH software, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Office software. Applicant tracking systems match on the exact product name, so write the tool as the posting writes it rather than describing it in general terms.
What other job titles cover Physical Therapist Aide work?: O*NET records 17 titles for this occupation, including PTA, Physical Therapy Aide, PT Tech, and Physical Therapy Technician. Searching only your own job title hides most of the openings you could apply to.
What qualifications does a Physical Therapist Aide need?: In O*NET's survey of people doing this job, 34% reported their level of education as "High School Diploma, or the equivalent". That is what current postholders reported, not a requirement any single employer sets.
Will this resume pass an ATS for a Physical Therapist Aide role?: No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer's system is configured, including ours. What you can control is that the resume parses cleanly, names the work in the words the posting uses, and does not claim anything you cannot back up.

Related roles

Occupations O*NET records as closest to this one, and worth looking at if this search is not moving.

What this page cannot tell you

No tool outside an employer can tell you how that employer’s ATS is configured, including ours.
This page makes no claim about pay, demand or how many people hold this job. O*NET does not publish that here and we will not estimate it.
Keyword overlap is one input to a resume’s score, not a verdict on you. A resume that names skills you do not have is worse than one that names fewer.

If this is the job you are aiming at, the guide to tailoring a resume covers how to aim one posting properly, and building and exporting a resume here is free.

Occupation data from the O*NET 29.1 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. SpartanResume is not endorsed by USDOL/ETA.