# Physical Therapist Assistants

> Assist physical therapists in providing physical therapy treatments and procedures. May, in accordance with state laws, assist in the development of treatment plans, carry out routine functions, document the progress of treatment, and modify specific treatments in accordance with patient status and within the scope of treatment plans established by a physical therapist. Generally requires formal training.

- **SOC code:** 31-2021.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-31-2021-00
- **Also known as:** Certified Physical Therapist Assistant (CPTA), Licensed Physical Therapist Assistant (LPTA), Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA), Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA), Home Care Physical Therapy Assistant, Home Health Physical Therapist Assistant, Licensed Physical Therapy Assistant, Outpatient Physical Therapist Assistant
- **Frame:** "AI exposure" means task overlap (how codifiable the work is), not jobs lost or a forecast. Every figure below is traced to a named public dataset.

## What this work is

**Core tasks** (O*NET):
- Instruct, motivate, safeguard, and assist patients as they practice exercises or functional activities.
- Document patient information, such as notes on their progress.
- Observe patients during treatments to compile and evaluate data on their responses and progress and provide results to physical therapist in person or through progress notes.
- Instruct patients in proper body mechanics and in ways to improve functional mobility, such as aquatic exercise.
- Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.
- Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment.
- Administer active or passive manual therapeutic exercises, therapeutic massage, aquatic physical therapy, or heat, light, sound, or electrical modality treatments, such as ultrasound.
- Transport patients to and from treatment areas, lifting and transferring them according to positioning requirements.
- Clean work area and check and store equipment after treatment.
- Communicate with or instruct caregivers or family members on patient therapeutic activities or treatment plans.
- Measure patients' range-of-joint motion, body parts, or vital signs to determine effects of treatments or for patient evaluations.
- Train patients in the use of orthopedic braces, prostheses, or supportive devices.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- Therapy and Counseling _(knowledge)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Oral Expression _(ability)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Education and Training _(knowledge)_
- Speech Recognition _(ability)_
- Speech Clarity _(ability)_
- Speaking _(essential_skill)_
- Monitoring _(essential_skill)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(transferable_skill)_

**Skills in demand:**
- English Language _(Common Skill)_
- Active Listening _(Common Skill)_
- Speech Recognition _(Specialized Skill)_
- Social Perceptiveness _(Common Skill)_
- Psychology _(Specialized Skill)_
- Biology _(Specialized Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Inductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Deductive Reasoning _(Common Skill)_
- Critical Thinking _(Common Skill)_
- Active Learning _(Common Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- eClinicalWorks EHR software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Access _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft PowerPoint _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Windows _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Arena Health Systems Phys-X
- Beaver Creek Software The THERAPIST
- Billing software
- BioEx Systems Exercise Pro

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 20th percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 34th percentile (Moderate) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 25th percentile (Low) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 8th percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 13th percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 22.0% growth (Growing fast); 19.8k annual openings; 111.5k → 136k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $65,510; 108,010 employed.

## Sources

- **O*NET** (30.3) — U.S. Department of Labor / National Center for O*NET Development. https://www.onetcenter.org/database.html
- **BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)** (May 2024) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/oes/
- **BLS Employment Projections** (2024–2034) — U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. https://www.bls.gov/emp/
- **Microsoft “Working with AI”** (working-with-ai) — Microsoft Research. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/
- **“GPTs are GPTs” (Eloundou et al.)** (arXiv 2303.10130) — OpenAI / academic. https://arxiv.org/abs/2303.10130
- **AI Occupational Exposure (AIOE)** (Felten, Raj & Seamans) — academic. https://github.com/AIOE-Data/AIOE
- **Frey & Osborne (2013)** (frey-osborne-automation) — academic. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/publications/the-future-of-employment/
- **Dingel & Neiman (2020)** (dingel-neiman-workathome) — academic. https://github.com/jdingel/DingelNeiman-workathome

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_Generated from Singulariki's joined dataset; data snapshot 2026-06-02T21:00:32.945303+00:00. https://singulariki.com/roles/role-31-2021-00_