Physical Therapist Assistant

When does the PTA program start?

The next cohort of students admitted to the PTA program will begin Summer quarter 2010. The deadline to apply for this cohort is April 2010.

How do I apply to the PTA program?

This program requires a special application for admission. Admission to the PTA program is selective. Interested students should download the application for admission and make an appointment to meet with an adviser in the LWTC advising department on the Kirkland Campus. For more information, please contact LWTC Advising at advising@lwtc.edu or 425-739-8300. Advisers are also available to help you plan out the courses you need to take in order to apply to the PTA program.

When are the application deadlines?

Summer 2010 Cohort: Complete applications must be submitted to LWTC Enrollment Services by April 23, 2010 in order to be considered for the summer 2010 cohort.

What courses need to be completed in order to apply to the PTA program?

Minimum prerequisite courses for the PTA program (2010 application) are:

• MEDA 116 Medical Terminology (5 credits)
• BIOL 111 Survey of Anatomy & Physiology (5 credits)
• PHYS& 121 General Physics I (5 credits)
• ENGL& 101 English Composition (5 credits)

A cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher is required for the PTA prerequisite courses with a minimum 2.0 earned in each course.

BIOL 111 and PHYS& 121 must have been taken within the last 7 years.

What are the high school requirements to apply to the PTA program?

Completion of a High School Diploma or GED Certificate

What are other requirements to apply to the PTA program?

Please see the current PTA application for complete details regarding requirments to apply to the PTA program.  Some requirments include:

Completion of HIV/AIDS 7 hr training certificate
Observation/work hours in Physical Therapy settings
References from instructors/supervisors
Typed essay
Signed technical standards form

What is the Accreditation Status of the PTA program?

Lake Washington Technical College has been granted Candidate for Accreditation status by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education of the American Physical Therapy Association (1111 North Fairfax Street, Alexandria, VA, 22314; phone: 703-706-3245; email: accreditation@apta.org). Candidacy is not an accreditation status nor does it assure eventual accreditation. Candidate for Accreditation is a pre-accreditation status of affiliation with the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education that indicates the program is progressing toward accreditation.

Where can I learn more about the PTA program at LWTC?

An online PTA Information Session is available on the LWTC Advising website. 

On campus, LWTC hosts quarterly PTA Information Sessions quarterly. Click here for a link to the PTA Information Session schedule.

When does the program meet? Is it part-time or full-time?

The program is a full-time, daytime program with both morning and afternoon courses.   

Where is the program located?

All lecture and laboratory courses will be held on the Kirkland Campus of Lake Washington Technical College. Clinical affiliations occur in a variety of off-campus settings and may range from Tacoma to Bellingham.

About the Program

Degrees and Certificates	Length of Program	Admission Dates
Physical Therapist Assistant AAS	92 credits 6 quarters	Summer quarter

What do PTAs do?

Physical Therapist Assistants (PTAs), provide physical therapy treatments under the direction and supervision of a licensed physical therapist (PT). PTAs help people of all ages who have health-related conditions which limit their ability to move and perform functional activities in daily life.

Where do PTAs work?

The PTA program prepares students to provide entry-level, skilled patient care in a variety of settings. Some of these settings may include hospitals, rehabilitation centers, long-term care facilities, outpatient clinics, sports medicine clinics, and school-based systems.

What will I learn in the PTA program?

The PTA program teaches you how to provide physical therapy treatment interventions and associated data collection skills under the direction and supervision of a licensed physical therapist.  

The PTA program teaches physical therapy treatments for patients with problems of the musculoskeletal (bones, muscles, ligaments), neurologic (nerves, brain, spinal cord), cardiac (heart), pulmonary (lungs), and/or integumentary (skin) systems.

Some of the physical therapy treatment interventions taught in the PTA program include:

• functional training (e.g. gait training, wheelchair managment, and developmental activities)
• posture awareness and body mechanics training
• training patients and caregivers how to use and care for prosthetics and orthotics during functional activities
• training patients and caregivers how to use and care for assistive and adaptive devices
• therapeutic exercises for mobility, strength, balance and coordination
• breathing exercises and coughing techniques
• manual therapy (passive range of motion, therapeutic massage)
• physical agents (heat, ultrasound, cryotherapy, compression therapies, athermal agents, hydrotherapy, traction, and biofeedback)
• electrotherapeutic agents (electrical stimulation)
• wound management (application and removal of dressings or agents)

The PTA program also teaches skills which support physical therapy treatments and a career as a physical therapist assistant including:

• communication
• safety
• understanding and implementing the plan of care
• patient education
• documentation
• information for billing and reimbursement
• social responsibility
• individual and cultural differences
• behavior and conduct
• career development

All programs at LWTC aim to provide students with workplace skills that include Communication, Critical Thinking, Global and Cultural Awareness, Teamwork, and Technical and Information Literacy. Each program will include coursework used to assess student performance in these global outcomes.

What about licensure after graduation?

Should the program be granted Accreditation by the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education (CAPTE), graduates of the LWTC PTA program are eligible to take the National Physical Therapy Exam for the Physical Therapist Assistant (NPTE) and to apply for state licensure.