The application window for the Clark State College Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) program has been extended to August 1 for the fall 2023 semester.
Most PTA courses are composed of two components, an online lecture component and an onsite lab component, which may be taught at the Leffel Lane campus or another College approved site. Onsite labs are currently only offered in Springfield and Columbus, Ohio. Directed practices are in clinical facilities in the greater Springfield, Dayton, Columbus, and Cincinnati, Ohio regions. The College has national contracts with several organizations and may consider clinical placements outside of these regions.
“The deadline is being extended because the lab sections are not full and we want to provide students, who may have missed the original deadline and are otherwise qualified to apply, the opportunity to still be accepted for Fall 2023,” said Terri Dinsmore, PTA professor and program coordinator at Clark State. “We are holding the application deadline open until August 1, 2023 or until the lab sections are full, whichever comes first.”
PTA combines didactic and clinical learning experiences that are within the legal scope of responsibility of physical therapist assistants.
The physical therapist assistant delivers services under the direction and supervision of a physical therapist who completes an initial examination and determines the appropriate treatment plan and goals for the patient. The physical therapist assistant shares the responsibility for administering treatments, instructing patients in exercises and activities of daily living, and documenting the patient’s response to therapy. Graduates will be prepared to function in their role to provide treatment in a variety of settings such as inpatient, outpatient, and home care services.
“Physical Therapy is a rewarding and challenging profession,” said Dinsmore. “People go into this profession because they want to help people get healthy and live better lives. It is hard work to gain the necessary knowledge and skills, but the reward of realizing the role we play in relieving a person of pain or recovering from an injury or an illness back to their normal or better than normal condition, makes it all worthwhile.”
Dinsmore also said unlike other health professions where patient interactions tend to be limited to brief visits, physical therapist and physical therapist assistants get to work with people for extended periods of time and develop real relationships with patients.
Upon successful completion of all aspects of the PTA program, graduates are eligible to take the state licensing examination. Licensure is mandatory for practice as a physical therapist assistant in the State of Ohio. The Ohio OTPTAT Board requires FBI and Ohio BCI criminal records checks as part of the Ohio licensing application process. Visit the Board website at http://otptat.ohio.gov for more information.