Johnnie Said:

Best Military Branch for Continuing Education?

We Answered:

air force. they're the most lenient when it comes to scheduling things like that, have the shortest deployment (for those that actually do deploy), and are the most focused on the servicemember

btw i have no clue what the guy above me is takling about. the army doesnt have any programs where you dont have to worry about getting depoyed. when your contract is up you can reenlist for a school option: meaning you dont show up to work and only go to school, but thats only for a semester. and if your unit is deploying you'll have to wait until you get back to go to school. army doesnt give you much time to go to school either. i tried to go every semester, was only allowed to take 1 class during my whole 4 years in.

Frederick Said:

physical therapy assistant question?

We Answered:

There are only two programs in the US that allow for a direct bridge program...Loma Linda University in CA and Findilay in Ohio...otherwise, all PTAs who wish to become PTs must start from "scratch" completing all their pre-requisite courses.

I've advised people over and over...if you want to eventually become a PT, it's best to stick it out for the 6-7 years rather than spend 2 years to get the PTA...and then if you work, you'd possibly go to school part time to complete 3-4 years of prerequistie courses, and then an additional 3 years in the program. In all, the shortest amount of time you could do this would be 8 years. Most PTAs who want to go to PT school wind up working a couple years, then loose focus and never make it to PT school...but a close friend of mine did do it...took her about 8 years total to get her PT degree....and she was adament that getting the PTA degree first did not benefit her in anyway...as she had to start from scratch and that the concepts in PTA school are much different than PT school.

Dana Said:

I need to ask interview questions to a Physical Therapy Assistant.?

We Answered:

I think you better try asking this somewhere other than the quotations section--like Careers and Employment (under Business and Finance category) or health.

Christian Said:

Can I be a Physical Therapy Assistant and...?

We Answered:

AT is at least a BS degree.

You can work as a PTA as you finish the PT degree, but be aware that the PTA degree does not progress you towards the PT degree. Therefore, count on at least 9 year of education. You may also want to consider that there is very little time for working the three years you are actually in PT school. Its a very rigorous schedule.

Eugene Said:

Why did physical therapy change from a bachelors degree towards a doctorate?

We Answered:

There wasn't much difference between the BS and the MPT...but there are very fundamental differences between the MPT and the DPT. Namely, more indepth coursework to allow PTs to function as musculoskeletal front line providers. This requires PTs to have a better understanding of differential diagnosis and medical screening to know when to refer patients to a physician. This included not only more indepth differential diagnosis, but a better understanding or pharmacology, radiology, etc. Not only that, but the profession has become more defined as research continues to lead to a more streamlined and consistent manner of care.

When PT was a BS degree, it was already quite intense...having to complete all your prereqs and general education in two years. Many students couldn't accomplish this (it often required having to take three lab sciences at once...very challenging from a logistical standpoint). Once in the program, it was a two year program. Classes often had to be "downcredited" just so we wouldn't exceed the maximum number of credits allowed by the university. For example, we had several classes where we were in class for three hours a week, but only received one credit. Going to class was like a full time job...8 to 4 or 5 every weekday...not typical for a college student. PT programs started realizing there was just too much information to cram into two years. Therefore, three year programs started being developed...which, in some ways, actually made it easier by spreading it out a little more. Taking that into consideration and also that the prerequisite coursework was taking many students 3 years to complete, the BS program was now practically a 6 year program. The next logical step was to make it a master's program. Once the extra coursework of differential diagnosis and other were added onto the program, it was a natural transition to the DPT.

Going to the DPT was not really intended to increase our salaries, rather, it was intended to make us better professionals.