# Physical Therapist Aides

> 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.

- **SOC code:** 31-2022.00
- **Canonical URL:** https://singulariki.com/roles/role-31-2022-00
- **Also known as:** PT Tech (Physical Therapy Technician), Physical Therapist Aide (PTA), Physical Therapy Aide (PTA), Rehabilitation Technician (Rehabilitation Tech), PT Attendant (Physical Therapy Attendant), PT Tech (Physical Therapist Technician), Rehabilitation Aide, Rehabilitation Attendant
- **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):
- Clean and organize work area and disinfect equipment after treatment.
- Secure patients into or onto therapy equipment.
- Instruct, motivate, safeguard, or assist patients practicing exercises or functional activities, under direction of medical staff.
- Confer with physical therapy staff or others to discuss and evaluate patient information for planning, modifying, or coordinating treatment.
- Observe patients during treatment to compile and evaluate data on patients' responses and progress and report to physical therapist.
- 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.
- Record treatment given and equipment used.
- Transport patients to and from treatment areas, using wheelchairs or providing standing support.
- Measure patient's range-of-joint motion, body parts, or vital signs to determine effects of treatments or for patient evaluations.
- Perform clerical duties, such as taking inventory, ordering supplies, answering telephone, taking messages, or filling out forms.
- Schedule patient appointments with physical therapists and coordinate therapists' schedules.

## Skills, tools, capabilities

**Knowledge, skills & abilities** (O*NET, highest importance first):
- Customer and Personal Service _(knowledge)_
- English Language _(knowledge)_
- Active Listening _(essential_skill)_
- Computers and Electronics _(knowledge)_
- Oral Comprehension _(ability)_
- Therapy and Counseling _(knowledge)_
- Monitoring _(essential_skill)_
- Service Orientation _(transferable_skill)_
- Problem Sensitivity _(ability)_
- Speech Recognition _(ability)_
- Reading Comprehension _(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)_
- Reading Comprehension _(Common Skill)_
- Writing _(Common Skill)_
- Time Management _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Word _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(Common Skill)_
- Microsoft Excel _(Common Skill)_
- Instructing _(Specialized Skill)_
- Information Ordering _(Specialized Skill)_

**Tools & technology:**
- Epic Systems _(hot technology)_
- MEDITECH software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Excel _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Office software _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Outlook _(hot technology)_
- Microsoft Word _(hot technology)_
- Medical procedure coding software
- Patient record maintenance software
- Scheduling software

## AI exposure & outlook

- **AI task-overlap index:** 16th percentile (Low) across all occupations — composite of current-era exposure studies (ai-exposure-index-v1).
- **Overall AI exposure (Felten et al.):** 22nd percentile (Low) — source: felten_aioe.
- **LLM task exposure, γ (OpenAI / Eloundou):** 28th percentile (Low) — source: eloundou_gamma.
- **AI assistant applicability (Microsoft):** 7th percentile (Low) — source: microsoft_applicability.
- **Frey–Osborne (2013, historical computerization estimate):** 52nd percentile — kept separate from current-era studies.
- **Remote-capable (Dingel–Neiman):** no — task structure, not who actually works remote.
- **Projected employment (BLS 2024–34):** 2.8% growth (About average); 6.6k annual openings; 45.6k → 46.9k jobs.
- **Pay & employment (BLS OEWS, May 2024):** median $34,520; 44,010 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-31-2022-00_