Working as an aid while in PT school?

[bnwj89]

I am currently finishing up my first semester of PT school. I am definitely learning a ton, as far as anatomy, kines, manual muscle testing, ROM testing, gait training, transfers, etc but I really feel that to have the information more cemented into my brain, that I should be doing it more often, and to real patients.

I was thinking that having a job as an aide, even 1 day a week, would be a huge supplementary advantage.

Has anyone else worked as an aide during PT school? I was also thinking of finding a clinic that would allow me to shadow once a week or something.

Opinions?

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[PTMattI]

I dont know of many places where you could actually practice PT stuff as an aide / tech. When I was a tech (before school) I mostly cleaned and helped set up patients for modalities / took them through their ther ex.

Personally, I would actually recommend doing some personal training while you are in school. It will give you experience putting together exercise programs for your clients to meet their specific needs; even though this would be in a wellness setting, it could parallel some future patients you may have if you choose to work in an outpatient orthopedic type of practice.

In addition, as a trainer you can practice some basic tests on your clients which you have probably learned in school and still stay within your scope. Tests such as hamstring 90/90, thomas, ober, etc..

 

[DesertPT]

Some schools do not allow students to have employment while enrolled full-time and PT schools, and pretty much all will highly discourage it. It's probably more important to focus on passing your classes and not burning yourself out. You don't actually do any PT as a tech anyway.

 

[CaliPT]

I highly recommend working as a PT aide/tech throughout school if you are able. I waited until my 2nd year of school to begin working as a tech (I wanted to make sure I could handle PT school first , but it has proved invaluable. I worked in AZ, therefore, I was able to do all the modalities, ther-ex, and b/c the PT's in the clinic knew I was a SPT, they filled me in what/why they did particular treatments/modalities/etc. I worked approximately 12-20 hours a week in an outpatient setting. It will depend on what state you work as a tech in, but either way I still use treatment ideas, exercises, and other methods that I learned as a tech moreso than what I learned in school... Nothing beats hands on experience! Best of luck to you!

 

[bnwj89]

I highly recommend working as a PT aide/tech throughout school if you are able. I waited until my 2nd year of school to begin working as a tech (I wanted to make sure I could handle PT school first , but it has proved invaluable. I worked in AZ, therefore, I was able to do all the modalities, ther-ex, and b/c the PT's in the clinic knew I was a SPT, they filled me in what/why they did particular treatments/modalities/etc. I worked approximately 12-20 hours a week in an outpatient setting. It will depend on what state you work as a tech in, but either way I still use treatment ideas, exercises, and other methods that I learned as a tech moreso than what I learned in school... Nothing beats hands on experience! Best of luck to you!

This is exactly what I was thinking, thanks!