Physical Therapist Assistant

Accreditation Status

*Lake Washington Technical College is seeking accreditation 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; accreditation@apta.org). The program has submitted an Application for Candidacy, which is the formal application required in the pre-accreditation stage. Submission of this document does not assure that the program will be granted Candidate for Accreditation status nor does it assure that the program will be granted accreditation.

Future Enrollment

The Physical Therapist Assistant program's anticipated start date is Fall quarter 2009*. Admission to the PTA program is selective. Interested students should contact the advising department to get further details.

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

Fall 2009 ALTERNATE LIST: Complete applications will continue to be accepted until August 1, 2009. Applicants will be ranked based on qualifications and placed on an Alternate List for the Fall 2009 cohort. Should a spot become available for the Fall 2009 cohort, qualified applicants will be admitted from the Alternate List.

Applying to the program: This program requires completion of program prerequisites and a special application for admission.

Prerequisite courses for 2010 include:

MEDA 116 Medical Terminology

BIOL 111 Survey of Anatomy & Physiology

PHYS& 121 General Physics I

ENGL& 101 English Composition

High School Requirements: High School Diploma or GED Certificate

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 program provides students with education in procedural interventions such as teaching exercises for mobility, strength, balance or coordination; training for functional activities such as walking with crutches, canes, or walkers; therapeutic massage; and the use of physical agents and electrotherapy such as ultrasound and electrical stimulation. Students also receive training in nonprocedural interventions such as communication, education, coordination of care and documentation.

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?

Once the program is accredited, graduates of the program are eligible to take the licensing exam (National Physical Therapy Exam for the Physical Therapist Assistant (NPTAE)) and to apply for state licensure.