Physical Therapist Assistant Certification and Licensing Exam

If you are trying to achieve a physical therapist assistant certification, you will realize that completing the program can be at a rapid pace and you can soon turn your dream into reality and this should surely give you some relief. However, you should know that after finishing your associate's degree, you still have to prepare for exams to determine if you are really prepared in working in this field and this can sometimes be nerve-wracking for some students. Luckily, most physical therapist assistant schools that offer certification courses also offer prep courses for the state exam and this can help increase your chance in getting a license. To qualify for the licensure exam, you will be required to present your certification from the school that you completed your degree. However, you should know that this cannot be just any school, as it has to be accredited by the CAPTE or the Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. The program that you went through must be recognized by the state board or you will not be qualified for the licensure exam. But this should not scare you as you should have already done your research when opting for an accredited school before enrolling as a PTA student. As mentioned above, after getting your physical therapist assistant certification, you will need to take an exam in order to obtain your license. For that, it is important that you are aware of the exam structure and how it looks like, as well as the requirements necessary to pass the exam. All accredited schools will provide you with a class(es) that will prepare you for the licensure exam, although this preparatory course is slightly different from the exam that you will actually take, it can still help you follow the guidelines and familiarize yourself on how the exam will go. You also have to know that although the license fee, as well as the rest of the administrative requirements, may vary from state to state, the core of the examination is the same for all US states. However, each state has a minimum requirement of competency for a physical therapist assistant to be licensed to practice. After you have finished your associate's degree and once you have your physical therapist assistant certification, you now have to prepare yourself for the state licensing exam. The exam consists of approximately 200 questions and it may or may not be completely computer-based. The questions are given out in multiple choice formats and the score is on a scale of 200 and 800, where 600 are the passing score. The licensing exam will be administered yearly in all states and you will be given 4 hours to finish it. The topics that are usually covered in the licensing exam are intervention, standards of care, codes and ethics. So while you are trying hard to get your physical therapist assistant certification, you also have to pay enough attention to the preparatory course for the licensing exam, as this will be your key to success. Take note that although some states allow assistants to work even without a license, having one is still an advantage, especially in this tough world in the medical field.