For those of you that are interested in Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) training, whether you are preparing to graduate high school this spring or have graduated during previously years and are hoping to return to school, should act now—and fast! The deadline for this program is February 15th.
Three Rivers College is offering a two part education for PTAs that will only take two years to complete. Three Rivers has teamed up with the Missouri Health Professions Consortium along with Linn State Technical College to make this program a great success. The program takes place in Poplar Bluff, where the students enrolled there at Three Rivers College will have the chance to complete their general studies courses during their first year in the PTA program (the general studies portion is also referred to part one of two of the program).
To be officially finished with part one of the program, general education classes must be completed and the required medical and health classes must be passed and completed also. When the general studies requirements are met, the enrolled students of the program will continue into their second year at Three Rivers to complete the second phase before moving onto their bright future.
The second year will include the lecture courses that are needed to be a PTA. The lectures will be obtained by the enrolled students from Linn State Technical College through interactive television feed or ITV classes. Not all classes will be taken through ITV courses, the program also includes hands-on labs and clinical practice that will take place on the Three Rivers campus. It is important for the PTA students to get familiar and to get the practice they need in a secure and supervised fashion.
Physical therapy is a job that has had an exploding growth rate over the past couple of years. Due to the baby boomers getting up in age, both physical therapists and PTAs are needed. Missouri, along with many other states across the nation, does not have a high percentage of PTAs or Physical Therapists, causing a large opening of jobs and opportunities for the students or graduates wishing to head into this field. Aside from the baby boomers, there are also many other people who need physical therapy due to sport injuries or slow recoveries from many other injuries. Missouri has not been able to meet the needs for the PTAs or Physical Therapists, but the combination of both Three Rivers College and Linn State have produced a very successful program to help with the high demand.
Three Rivers had the space and the general studies classes set up and ready to go but they knew that they needed an extra helping hand if they were to start up and succeed in a Physical Therapist Assistant program. Linn State has been running a flourishing PTA program for a fairly large number of years and they are one of few community colleges that offer a PTA program for their students. Their PTA program has received a passing rate of 94% on the state board exams and holds a very high job placement for their graduates. It was an obvious choice when the two colleges shook hands and agreed to work together to produce an even bigger and better program for their current and future students.
Three Rivers and their partners in their PTA program are currently accepting applications for the class of 2013. The program is only accepting twelve to fourteen students who will attend Three Rivers College in the fall semester of 2013 and will start part one of the PTA program by enrolling in the general studies classes. If you wish to attend this program in the fall, you must meet the following requirements when you apply: a minimum ACT score of 18, a written essay, recommendations, completing 40 hours of physical therapy observations (in two different locations), and attending an information session. The next informational session will take place on February 20th.
For more information, you can visit linnstate.edu or trcc.edu.
