"patients," "physical therapy," and "rehabilitation" aren't the only skills we found rehab technicians list on their resumes. In fact, there's a whole list of rehab technician responsibilities that we found, including:
The most important skills for a rehab technician to have in this position are dexterity. In this excerpt that we gathered from a rehab technician resume, you'll understand why: "physical therapist assistants should be comfortable using their hands to provide manual therapy and therapeutic exercises" According to resumes we found, dexterity can be used by a rehab technician in order to "grab bars, tub lifts, stair lifts)" While it may not be the most important skill, we found that many rehab technician duties rely on physical stamina. This example from a rehab technician explains why: "physical therapist assistants and aides are frequently on their feet and moving as they work with their patients." This resume example is just one of many ways rehab technicians are able to utilize physical stamina: "showed that ability to follow the basic physical therapy techniques need to improve that patient's movement, stamina and coordination. " Rehab technicians are also known for compassion, which can be critical when it comes to performing their duties. An example of why this skill is important is shown by this snippet that we found in a rehab technician resume: "physical therapist assistants and aides should enjoy helping people" We also found this resume example that details how this skill is put to the test: "performed job with compassion and encouragement to help them mentally as well as physically. " A thorough review of lots of resumes revealed to us that "detail oriented" is important to completing rehab technician responsibilities. This resume example shows just one way rehab technicians use this skill: "like other healthcare professionals, physical therapist assistants and aides should be organized and have a keen eye for detail" Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical rehab technician tasks: "recorded detailed notes on patient progress and responsiveness to treatment during therapy sessions. " Yet another important skill that a rehab technician must demonstrate is "interpersonal skills." Physical therapist assistants and aides spend much of their time interacting with patients, their families, and other healthcare practitioners; therefore, they should be courteous and friendly. This is clearly demonstrated in this example from a rehab technician who stated: "demonstrated strong interpersonal skills with colleagues, patients, and family members. " See the full list of rehab technician skills.
Before becoming a rehab technician, 47.4% earned their bachelor's degree. When it comes down to graduating with a master's degree, 3.7% rehab technicians went for the extra education. If you're wanting to pursue this career, it may be possible to be successful with a high school degree. In fact, most rehab technicians have a college degree. But about one out of every five rehab technicians didn't attend college at all.
Those rehab technicians who do attend college, typically earn either kinesiology degrees or physical therapy degrees. Less commonly earned degrees for rehab technicians include nursing degrees or business degrees.
Once you're ready to become a rehab technician, you should explore the companies that typically hire rehab technicians. According to rehab technician resumes that we searched through, rehab technicians are hired the most by Reliant Rehabilitation, Tenet Healthcare, and HealthPRO. Currently, Reliant Rehabilitation has 49 rehab technician job openings, while there are 23 at Tenet Healthcare and 19 at HealthPRO.
But if you're interested in companies where you might earn a high salary, rehab technicians tend to earn the biggest salaries at University of California, Berkeley, Minnesota State Fair, and Encompass Health. Take University of California, Berkeley for example. The median rehab technician salary is $47,071. At Minnesota State Fair, rehab technicians earn an average of $36,700, while the average at Encompass Health is $33,465. You should take into consideration how difficult it might be to secure a job with one of these companies.
View more details on rehab technician salaries across the United States.
Some other companies you might be interested in as a rehab technician include Athletico, Physiotherapy Associates, and ATI Physical Therapy. These three companies were found to hire the most rehab technicians from the top 100 U.S. educational institutions.