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Physical therapist technician skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Quoted experts
Jan Kretzschmar,
Jan Kretzschmar
Physical therapist technician example skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical physical therapist technician skills. We ranked the top skills for physical therapist technicians based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 52.4% of physical therapist technician resumes contained patients as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a physical therapist technician needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 physical therapist technician skills for your resume and career

1. Patients

Here's how physical therapist technicians use patients:
  • Escorted patients to treatment areas and administered preliminary rehabilitation care including low-level laser, manual or automatic ultrasound and electric stimulation.
  • Instructed patients through outpatient therapeutic rehabilitation exercises, communicated patient's needs with supervising physical therapist, collaborated with athletic trainers

2. Rehabilitation

Here's how physical therapist technicians use rehabilitation:
  • Instructed patients as to proper exercise techniques and monitored during sessions to ensure safety and facilitate efficient rehabilitation.
  • Assisted licensed physical therapists in implementing post-surgical, post-injury, and general rehabilitation and physical therapy.

3. Patient Care

Patient care entails the diagnosis, recovery, and control of sickness as well as the maintenance of physical and emotional well-being through the use of healthcare providers' services. Patient care is described as services provided to patients by health practitioners or non-professionals under guidance.

Here's how physical therapist technicians use patient care:
  • Assisted physical therapists in direct patient care and patient preparation, both independently and under supervision.
  • Organized weekly staff meetings with emphasis on productivity and patient care - Implemented educational in-services to aid staff and facility.

4. Electrical Stimulation

Electrical stimulation, also known as ESTIM, is a painless procedure that a physical therapy technician facilitates in order to help patients recover faster from different injuries, stroke, and any soft tissue conditions. This kind of physical treatment sends electric pulses into a patient's body to mimic signals from the nervous system, helping train the muscles to perform actions and relieve pain in the process. Electrical stimulation is widely used in many rehabilitation programs all over the world.

Here's how physical therapist technicians use electrical stimulation:
  • Operate and maintain therapy equipment including ultrasound machines, electrical stimulation machines and whirlpools, disinfecting treatment areas and machinery.
  • Assisted Physical Therapists by setting up electrical stimulation and ultrasound.

5. Traction

Here's how physical therapist technicians use traction:
  • Prepare traction onto patient's bed if recommended by their doctors.
  • Experience in using NMES device and mechanical cervical and lumbar traction.

6. Physical Therapy Treatment

Here's how physical therapist technicians use physical therapy treatment:
  • Prepared patients for physical therapy treatment assisting therapist.
  • Assisted with implementing patient physical therapy treatments.

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7. Scheduling Appointments

Scheduling appointments is the practice of finding a free slot with the person(s) you want to meet. The process of scheduling appointments involves finding mutually free time, negotiating follow-ups, sending reminders, and creating new appointments. Scheduling appointments is important to ensure that the timings of consecutive meetings do not clash with each other.

Here's how physical therapist technicians use scheduling appointments:
  • Completed the tasks of inputting records, scheduling appointments, billing information, and taking new patient information.
  • Provided front office administration duties such as in and out-processing patients, billing, follow-ups and scheduling appointments.

8. Front Desk

Here's how physical therapist technicians use front desk:
  • Front desk work including scheduling, answering phones, filing charts.
  • Assisted Physical Therapist with patients as well as front desk/ receptionist.

9. Therapy Equipment

Here's how physical therapist technicians use therapy equipment:
  • Maintained a clean and sanitary therapy equipment.
  • Transported patients and maintained physical therapy equipment.

10. Patient Charts

Here's how physical therapist technicians use patient charts:
  • Reviewed patient charts to determine area of interest and proper care routine prescribed by the Physical Therapist.
  • Put new patient charts together; labeling, filing, faxing plan of cares to physicians.

11. Patient Treatment

Here's how physical therapist technicians use patient treatment:
  • Assisted physical therapists with patient treatment, medical care and transfers per physician orders.
  • Prepared, organized, and disinfected exercise equipment and patient treatment areas.

12. Treatment Rooms

Here's how physical therapist technicians use treatment rooms:
  • Maintained clean, well-organized treatment rooms and gym equipment, performing general maintenance as needed.
  • Prepared treatment rooms for next patient and cleaned equipment after use.

13. Vital Signs

Vital signs are a set of values indicating different body systems' performance. They are measurements of the body's most basic functions. The four major vital signs used in medicine to assess a patient are body temperature, pulse rate, respiration rate, and blood pressure.

Here's how physical therapist technicians use vital signs:
  • Documented patient vital signs before exercises.
  • Measured patients' range of joint motion, body parts and vital signs to determine effects of treatments.

14. Therapeutic Modalities

Here's how physical therapist technicians use therapeutic modalities:
  • Interacted with patients to provide basic therapeutic modalities and gym therapy assistance and instruction.
  • Provided patients with a variety of therapeutic modalities.

15. Therapy Sessions

Here's how physical therapist technicians use therapy sessions:
  • Administered hot/cold treatment to patient's before/after physical therapy sessions.
  • Watch the patient s development during therapy sessions and make notes on how the patient is responding.
top-skills

What skills help Physical Therapist Technicians find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on physical therapist technician resumes?

Jan Kretzschmar

Professor, King's College

The ability to motivate and work in a team.

What soft skills should all physical therapist technicians possess?

Jan Kretzschmar

Professor, King's College

The ability to empathize with patients and make them feel special.

What hard/technical skills are most important for physical therapist technicians?

Jan Kretzschmar

Professor, King's College

Anything related to assessments.

What physical therapist technician skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Adrienne Pinckney PT, DPT, Cert. MDTAdrienne Pinckney PT, DPT, Cert. MDT LinkedIn profile

Clinical Education Team Member & Assistant Professor of Instruction, University of Delaware

Even in light of the pandemic, I believe that entry level physical therapists (DPTs) should avoid taking a gap year after graduation (unless extreme personal circumstances warrant this decision). Licensed physical therapists are essential healthcare workers and are critical to the spectrum of care and recovery of all patients with a myriad of conditions and injuries, including COVID-19. As such, although PTs may not find jobs in the healthcare setting of their top choice, they will not have trouble finding employment in the United States.

If an entry-level DPT has to take a gap year for whatever personal reason, I strongly recommend that they make every effort to seek out PT mentorship and remain connected to the PT world through trying to be physically present in some capacity in a PT/rehab setting (either as a volunteer, PT aide/tech in a facility, administrative support . . . something) or even in any type of facility related to health & wellness (fitness center, wellness center, etc.), in an effort to stay connected to patient care and exercise their observation, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills as a PT clinician. Taking a year off can be very detrimental to passing the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE), which is required for PT state licensure (if the individual doesn't take the exam immediately after graduation), as well as detrimental to their overall skill set as quality physical therapists.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about physical therapist technician

List of physical therapist technician skills to add to your resume

Physical therapist technician skills

The most important skills for a physical therapist technician resume and required skills for a physical therapist technician to have include:

  • Patients
  • Rehabilitation
  • Patient Care
  • Electrical Stimulation
  • Traction
  • Physical Therapy Treatment
  • Scheduling Appointments
  • Front Desk
  • Therapy Equipment
  • Patient Charts
  • Patient Treatment
  • Treatment Rooms
  • Vital Signs
  • Therapeutic Modalities
  • Therapy Sessions
  • Patient Appointments
  • Insurance Benefits
  • Insurance Verification
  • Disinfect Equipment
  • Cervical
  • Walkers
  • Patient Exercises
  • Gait Training
  • Crutches
  • CPR
  • Hippa
  • Manual Therapeutic Exercises
  • Direct Supervision
  • Cryotherapy
  • Iontophoresis
  • Computer System
  • Ice Packs
  • E-stim
  • Clean Environment
  • Patient Safety
  • Therapy Exercises
  • Rehabilitation Programs
  • ROM
  • Therapeutic Massage
  • Ultrasound Therapy
  • Taking Inventory
  • IFC
  • Therapeutic Ultrasound
  • Treatment Tables

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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