Entry Level Qualification 

12

Career Fields 

Allied & Para Medical Science

For Specially Abled 

Career Entrance Exam 

CUET UG, AIIMS BSC

About Career 

As a physiotherapy assistant, you will carry out the treatment or exercise plan designed by the physiotherapist for patients who seek treatment when they have lost function or mobility of their body due to an injury or illness. You will help patients to regain strength by assisting them in performing various manual exercises.

The registered physiotherapist assigns a PTA’s (Physiotherapy Assistant) duties. They work in close collaboration to heal the patient and make sure that they are doing the exercises accordingly.

Key roles and responsibilities

1. Assist in walking, transfers, and safe mobility.

2. Provide clinical care for assigned patients.

3. Provide the patient and their family education regarding the therapy.

4. Inform the team members about the patient’s performance.

5. Use different techniques such as massages or stretching.

6. Implement the treatment plan as directed by the physiotherapist.

7. Going on house-call rounds to provide therapy to the disabled patients

8. Help the patient in performing his/her particular physiotherapy program.

9. Monitoring and reporting changes in health status to the physical therapist.

10. Assist in clinical treatments.

11. Maintaining equipment inventories.

Career Entry Pathway 

Class 10 all subjects as per the scheme of studies - Class 11-12 Physics, Chemistry, and Biology along with any other subject as per the scheme of studies - Diploma in Physiotherapy.

After Class 12, you can then pursue a Diploma course in Physiotherapy. Diploma in Physical Therapy Physiotherapy programs usually take three years to complete and feature a combination of lecture courses, laboratory courses, and clinical experiences.

Required Qualification & Competencies 

Diploma after school

1. To build a career as a physiotherapy assistant, you must obtain a Diploma in physical therapy assisting. Students can take courses in topics like anatomy and physiology, human growth and development, aging, clinical pathology, neuroscience, and psychology.

2. An entry-level job doesn't need any kind of experience.

Competencies Required

Interests

1. Social: You should have an interest in Social Occupations. Social occupations involve helping or assisting others; these involve working with and communicating with people to provide various services; these may involve educating and advising others.

2. Investigative: You should have an interest in Investigative Occupations. Investigative occupations involve working with ideas and quite a lot of thinking, often abstract or conceptual thinking. These involve learning about facts and figures; involve the use of data analysis, assessment of situations, decision making, and problem solving.

3. Conventional: You should have interests in Conventional Occupations. Conventional occupations involve repetitive and routine tasks as well as fixed processes or procedures for getting things done. These occupations involve working more with data, systems, and procedures and less with ideas or creativity.

Abilities

1. Abstract Reasoning: The ability to understand ideas that are not expressed in words or numbers; the ability to understand concepts that are not clearly expressed verbally or otherwise.

2. Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules and common logic to specific problems to produce answers that are logical and make sense. For example, understanding the reasons behind an event or a situation using general rules and common logic.

3. Emotional Intelligence: The ability to understand your own and others' emotions and feelings; empathy for others; adjusting your behavior or self-control and self-regulation according to others' emotions and situations.

4. Hand-Eye Coordination: The ability to make quick and precise hand movements as per visual observations and understanding (that is, what you see and comprehend).

5. Inter-Personal: The ability to build and maintain good relationships with others at workplaces and elsewhere.

6. Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.

7. Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a long period without being distracted.

8. Verbal Reasoning: The ability to think and reason with words; the ability to reason out ideas expressed in words.

9. Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Knowledge

1. Biological Sciences: Knowledge of plants and animals, their anatomical structure, cell structure, tissues, physiological functions, evolution, and all other related aspects.

2. English Language: Knowledge about English grammar, words, spelling, sentence construction, using English to communicate with others, reading in English, etc.

3. Healthcare Science and Services: Knowledge of different fields which are related to offering various types of healthcare services to people; assisting physicians and surgeons to carry out diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of human diseases, ailments, and disorders. This includes knowledge of different practices apart from medicine which are used to treat and prevent human diseases or to provide holistic healthcare and wellness. This also includes knowledge about drugs and medicines.

4. Personal Care Service: Knowledge of how to provide various assistance and services to others. This includes looking after the needs of individuals, understanding what they need, and providing all assistance at home or elsewhere.

Skills

1. Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, understanding the points being made by others, asking questions, etc.

2. Coordination: Skills in working together with other people to get things done.

3. Critical Thinking: Skills in the analysis of complex situations, using logic and reasoning to understand the situations and take appropriate actions or make interpretations and inferences.

4. Judgment and Decision Making: Skills in considering the pros and cons of various decision alternatives; considering costs and benefits; and making appropriate and suitable decisions.

5. Problem Solving: Skills in analysis and understanding of problems, evaluating various options to solve the problems, and using the best option to solve the problems.

Personality

1. You are always or mostly organized in your day-to-day life and activities.

2. You are always or mostly a soft-hearted person.

3. You are always or mostly helpful to others.

4. You are always or mostly caring, supportive, sympathetic, and kind to others.

5. You remain calm in difficult situations sometimes but some other times you are anxious.

6. You act independently sometimes but do not do so at some other times.

7. You always or mostly prefer to stick within a routine or carry out routine and repetitive activities.

Career - Job Opportunities & Profiles 

After finishing your diploma in physiotherapy, you can get entry-level jobs and profiles in this department. Following are some fresher jobs:

1. Assistant Physiotherapist

2. Sports Physiotherapist

3. Fitness Assistant

4. Self-Employed Private Physiotherapist

5. Rehabilitative Physiotherapist

Some Organizations where you can find jobs:

1. Private Hospitals

2. Public Hospitals

3. Educational Institutions

4. Sports Teams

5. Defence 

6. Rehabilitation Centres for Physical Disabilities

Work Environment

1. Physiotherapy Assistant typically has a 40-45 work hour week. They work in hospitals, outpatient clinics, rehabilitation centers, and private offices with specially equipped facilities. 

2. The need for precision is extremely high owing to the nature of their job, and errors can have bad consequences

3. They have to crouch, stoop, lift, kneel, and stand for long periods. Also, physiotherapy Assistants may have to lift patients or assist them to stand, turn, or walk, while sometimes, heavy equipment might require moving.

Career Growth

1. Growth opportunities are slow in the initial years and then high as you gain more skill & experience. You will start as a trainee physiotherapist working under a senior physiotherapist. After 2-4 years of training, you can become an assistant physiotherapist.

2. Higher-level roles include positions such as assistant department head, department head, chief physiotherapist, or medical officer roles.

Salary Offered  

1. The salary of a Physiotherapy Assistant varies widely depending on the educational qualification, skill, and experience. The reputation and merit of the educational institute are also a big factor in defining initial salaries.

2. As an apprentice or trainee, you will be earning about Rs. 6,000 - 10,000 a month.

3. After 1-3 years of experience, you will be earning about Rs. 8,000-12,000 a month.

4. After 5-10 years of experience, you will be earning about Rs. 10,000-18,000 or more a month.

5. After 12-15 years of experience, you will be earning about Rs. 15,000-30,000 or more a month.

Monthly Earnings In Indian Rupee

1. Entry level: 0 - 2 years of work experience

2. Junior Level: From 1 to 12 years of work experience

3. Mid-Level: From 5 to 20+ years of work experience

4. Senior Level: From 10 to 25+ years of work experience (there could be exceptions in some high-end technical, financial, engineering, creative, management, sports, and other careers; also shortly, people will reach these levels much faster in many careers and some careers, these levels will have no meaning as those careers will be completely tech skill driven such as even now, there is almost no level in a Cyber Security Expert’s job)

Famous Personalities 

Not Available

Work Activities 

As a physiotherapy assistant, one has to be always ready to be involved with the patients directly. From sudden injuries to long-term immobility in certain body parts, a physiotherapy assistant should come in handy in every situation.

1. Decision-making and problem solving-Analysis of data and information; evaluation of alternative decisions and results of decisions; taking the right decisions and solving problems.

2. Getting Information and learning Learning, hearing, reading, using computers, or otherwise obtaining information and learning from it.

3. Assisting and caring for people- Assisting people in availing of services; taking care of people in different situations; offering help and services to others.