Resume guide · Job Zone 3

Physical Therapist Assistantsresume guide.

Assist physical therapists in providing physical therapy treatments and procedures. A strong Physical Therapist Assistants resume shows active listening, monitoring and social perceptiveness, and names the tools you have worked with, such as Microsoft Access, Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office software.

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01Also called

O*NET
Certified Physical Therapist Assistant (CPTA)Home Care Physical Therapy AssistantHome Health Physical Therapist AssistantLicensed Physical Therapist Assistant (LPTA)Licensed Physical Therapy AssistantOutpatient Physical Therapist AssistantPer Diem Physical Therapist Assistant (Per Diem PTA)Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA)Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA)Assistant

02Skills employers expect

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Importance is how much the skill matters to the job; level is how much of it the job demands. Both are worth naming on the resume, in this order.

SkillImportanceLevel
Active ListeningVery highAdvanced
MonitoringHighIntermediate
Social PerceptivenessHighIntermediate
SpeakingHighIntermediate
Active LearningHighIntermediate
Critical ThinkingHighIntermediate
Reading ComprehensionHighIntermediate
Service OrientationHighIntermediate
WritingHighIntermediate
Complex Problem SolvingHighIntermediate

03Knowledge areas

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  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Therapy and Counseling
  • English Language
  • Education and Training
  • Psychology
  • Medicine and Dentistry
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Biology
  • Administrative
  • Public Safety and Security

04Common responsibilities

O*NET

Ordered by importance. Each one is a bullet waiting for a result and a number.

  1. Instruct, motivate, safeguard, and assist patients as they practice exercises or functional activities.
  2. Document patient information, such as notes on their progress.
  3. Observe patients during treatments to compile and evaluate data on their responses and progress and provide results to physical therapist in person or through progress notes.
  4. Instruct patients in proper body mechanics and in ways to improve functional mobility, such as aquatic exercise.
  5. Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.
  6. Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment.
  7. Administer active or passive manual therapeutic exercises, therapeutic massage, aquatic physical therapy, or heat, light, sound, or electrical modality treatments, such as ultrasound.
  8. Transport patients to and from treatment areas, lifting and transferring them according to positioning requirements.
  9. Clean work area and check and store equipment after treatment.
  10. Communicate with or instruct caregivers or family members on patient therapeutic activities or treatment plans.

05Software and tools

O*NET

30 tools across 12 categories. The six largest categories are below; Hot marks a hot technology, In demand a tool employers ask for most often.

Medical software14
  • eClinicalWorks EHR softwareHot
  • Medical condition coding software
  • Laboratory information system LIS
  • BioEx Systems Exercise Pro
  • Rehab Documentation Company ReDoc Suite
  • Beaver Creek Software The THERAPIST
  • Client caseload management software
  • SpectraSoft DocuPRO
  • Arena Health Systems Phys-X
  • Eazy Application Systems QuickEMR
  • Knees Software PT DocTools
  • PhysioTools Tools RG
  • Summit Software CarePoint
  • TherAssist
+ 9 more
Data base user interface and query software3
Action games2
  • Video game software
  • Virtual reality game software
Calendar and scheduling software2
  • Scheduling software
  • SpectraSoft AppointmentsPRO
Electronic mail software2
Accounting software1
  • Bookkeeping software
Billing and invoicing software1
  • Billing software
Office suite software1
Operating system software1
Presentation software1
Spreadsheet software1
Word processing software1

06Education and preparation

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Typical education
Associate's Degree or other 2-year degree
84% of surveyed workers. Others report Bachelor's Degree (15%) and First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work (1%).
Preparation level
Job Zone 3 · Medium preparation
Usually vocational training, an associate degree or a few years of related experience.

07Putting it on your resume

ResumeXRays guidance
BEE · How to show it

Lead with the credential and the record. Job Zone 3 roles usually ask for training, a license or a few years of related experience. Put those on the first screen, then show what you did with them.

Name the tools exactly. This occupation is heavy on named software. A skills section that says "Microsoft Access, Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Windows" matches more job descriptions than a general phrase. Use the spelling employers use.

Show monitoring and social perceptiveness, not just active listening. Monitoring and social perceptiveness rank close to active listening for this occupation. One bullet per role that shows a decision, a tradeoff or a result covers them.

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