I was recently invited to participate in a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Education Summit as part of the activities of a task force which was convened “to develop a consensus-driven prioritized agenda of action items intended to help PTA education (and thereby, PT practice) navigate the future.” Inherent in this objective is a discussion in transitioning PTA degree requirements from an associate degree to a bachelor’s degree. The Needs Assessment below will establish the need to design instruction that will suit the needs of PTA clinicians as defined and determined by the profession.

My final project is a sample course for a proposed BS in Physical Therapy Science degree for licensed, working Physical Therapist Assistants (PTA's) who have an associate's degree. Acquisition of a bachelor's degree allows the practicing PTA to advance their career, to apply into graduate programs. Most, current BS degrees offered online are non-specific to PTA's.  There is therefore a disconnect between the degree being pursued and the profession being practiced by PTA's.  Designing an online, distance education program specifically geared for PTA's while using the PTA's workplace as an active source of learning is advantageous to the PTA and the profession in general. It gives the profession an opportunity to address gaps in knowledge which have been identified by different work groups of the APTA and Academy of Physical Therapy Education (Link: PTA Education Trends: A Report of the Task Force for the Academy of Physical Therapy Education).