Your Best Career? Physical Therapy Assistant Explored!

Discover what it is really like being a physical therapy assistant in this episode of Time We Discuss featuring John Cooper. From helping amputees regain mobility to working with stroke patients and orthopedic injuries, John shares the reality of working as a PTA and what makes this healthcare career both challenging and rewarding.In this conversation, we discuss:What a physical therapy assistant actually doesThe difference between a PTA and a physical therapistPTA education requirements and whether you need a degreeWorking with amputees and prostheticsOutpatient versus inpatient physical therapyHow physically demanding the job really isWork life balance and scheduling flexibilityPaperwork and patient care responsibilitiesContinuing education and career growth opportunitiesThe best and hardest parts of the professionImportant skills needed to succeed as a PTAJohn also shares powerful stories about helping patients recover mobility, improve strength, and regain independence after life changing injuries and medical conditions.If you are considering a career in healthcare, physical therapy, rehabilitation, or allied health, this episode gives you a real world look at what it takes to become a physical therapy assistant and whether this could be the best career for you.Subscribe for more career interviews and behind the scenes conversations about unique jobs and professions.=================================================================Timestamp:0:00 - Intro0:35 - Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) vs. Physical Therapist1:59 - Typical Day as a Physical Therapy Assistant2:40 - Do PTAs Work with All Ages and is it family friendly work?3:18 - PTA and working with amputees4:47 - Do you work shift work or regularly scheduled hours?5:52 - What about Full-Time vs. Part-Time?6:26 - Is being a PTA physically demanding?7:28 - How much time is spent on paperwork as opposed to seeing patients?8:22 - Do you need to go to college to be a physical therapy assistant?11:33 - Ways to pivot out of being a PTA13:45 - The BEST part of being a PTA14:16 - The WORST part of being a PTA14:55 - Do physical therapy assistants have difficult conversations with patients?15:49 - Inpatient vs. Outpatient facilities17:42 - Working with other professions18:32 - Barriers to being a physical therapy assistant19:50 - Unexpected perks of being a PTA20:58 - Continuing education for PTAs22:23 - Patient demographics24:43 - Conference anecdote26:37 - Talent has the floor27:46 - Thank you28:05 - Recap28:57 - Outro=================================================================Guest Information:John Cooper, PTAAlso Mentioned Directly or Indirectly in This Episode:From Clown Haunts to Getting Pied: Being a Clown with Jusby the ClownSpeech Pathologist=================================================================Time We Discuss Links:Official Website: Time We Discuss WebsiteOriginal Music: Original Music furnished by Dan SwiftYouTube: Time We Discuss on YouTubeSpotify: Time We Discuss on SpotifyApple Podcasts: Time We Discuss on Apple PodcastsMore Podcast Platforms: Time We Discuss Podcast on Other PlatformsTwitter/X: Time We Discuss on Twitter/XBluesky: Time We Discuss on BlueskyInstagram: Time We Discuss on InstagramThreads: Time We Discuss on Threads