Description
Under close supervision of a physical therapist or physical therapy assistant, perform only delegated, selected, or routine tasks in specific situations. These duties include preparing the patient and the treatment area.
- • Clean and organize work area and disinfect equipment after treatment.
- • Observe patients during treatment to compile and evaluate data on patients' responses and progress and report to physical therapist.
- • Instruct, motivate, safeguard, or assist patients practicing exercises or functional activities, under direction of medical staff.
- • Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.
- • Transport patients to and from treatment areas, using wheelchairs or providing standing support.
- • Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment.
- • Record treatment given and equipment used.
- • Perform clerical duties, such as taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering telephone, taking messages, or filling out forms.
- • Maintain equipment or furniture to keep it in good working condition, including performing the assembly or disassembly of equipment or accessories.
- • Administer active or passive manual therapeutic exercises, therapeutic massage, or heat, light, sound, water, or electrical modality treatments, such as ultrasound.
- • Change linens, such as bed sheets and pillow cases.
- • Arrange treatment supplies to keep them in order.
- • Assist patients to dress, undress, or put on and remove supportive devices, such as braces, splints, or slings.
- • Measure patient's range-of-joint motion, body parts, or vital signs to determine effects of treatments or for patient evaluations.
- • Train patients to use orthopedic braces, prostheses, or supportive devices.
- • Fit patients for orthopedic braces, prostheses, or supportive devices, adjusting fit as needed.
- • Participate in patient care tasks, such as assisting with passing food trays, feeding residents, or bathing residents on bed rest.
- • Administer traction to relieve neck or back pain, using intermittent or static traction equipment.
- • Schedule patient appointments with physical therapists and coordinate therapists' schedules.
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
