A rehab technician's role is to assist physical therapists and patients in a hospital or similar facility. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around gathering a patient's personal information and medical history, escorting them to corresponding rooms, and conducting initial tests and assessments. It is also essential to maintain records of all transactions, updating medical accounts promptly and accurately. Furthermore, a rehab technician may also perform basic treatments under the supervision of a physical therapist. There are also instances when they have to sanitize and clean therapy equipment, all in adherence to the facility's safety regulations and policies.

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Rehab Technician Responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real rehab technician resumes representing typical tasks they are likely to perform in their roles.

  • Make rounds for walkers and wheelchairs for patients.
  • Assist therapist with transfers, monitoring of splints, hot packs, and modalities.
  • Prepare patients for therapy sessions and assist patients to put on devices such as braces and splints.
  • Maintain and clean medical equipment, interact with staff and patients, and occasionally cover the reception desk.Skills UsedCNA and CPR
  • Provide nursing and orthopedic patient care for stroke patients, assisting with rehabilitation, medication and recovery knowledge.
  • Assist physical therapists in the rehabilitation of patients by providing exercise programs and proper treatment for healthy injury recovery.
  • Care for pigs, sheep, goats, and cattle.
  • Perform job with compassion and encouragement to help them mentally as well as physically.
  • Assist technicians in miscellaneous duties such as ear clipping, weaning litters, and special projects.
  • Assist therapist in teaching patients proper use of wheelchairs, braces, canes, crutches, and prosthetic devices.
  • Schedule appointments and record owner and pet information.
  • Maintain and organize hospital records according to HIPPA and hospital policy.
  • Produce proper and timely documentation and charts of patients as required by the hospital administration.
  • Safeguard, motivate, and assist patients with exercises and functional activities under license personnel/therapist.
  • Assist in handling treatment procedures such as cryotherapy, ultrasound, and balance activities.

Rehab Technician Job Description

Perhaps the hardest question to answer when deciding on a career as a rehab technician is "should I become a rehab technician?" You might find this info to be helpful. When compared to other jobs, rehab technician careers are projected to have a growth rate described as "much faster than average" at 26% from 2018 through 2028. This is in accordance with the Bureau of Labor Statistics. What's more, is that the projected number of opportunities that are predicted to become available for a rehab technician by 2028 is 38,000.

On average, the rehab technician annual salary is $28,505 per year, which translates to $13.7 an hour. Generally speaking, rehab technicians earn anywhere from $22,000 to $36,000 a year, which means that the top-earning rehab technicians make $19,000 more than the ones at the lower end of the spectrum.

Once you've become a rehab technician, you may be curious about what other opportunities are out there. Careers aren't one size fits all. For that reason, we discovered some other jobs that you may find appealing. Some jobs you might find interesting include an animal assisted therapist, physical science aide, certified occupational therapy assistant, and occupational therapy assistant.

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5 Rehab Technician Resume Examples

Rehab Technician Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 24% of Rehab Technicians are proficient in Patients, Physical Therapy, and Rehabilitation. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Physical stamina, and Compassion.

We break down the percentage of Rehab Technicians that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 24%

    Managed long-term ventilator patients in rehab setting Performed all respiratory therapeutic procedures including weaning parameters, tracheal down-sizing and PMV trials

  • Physical Therapy, 10%

    Provide non-interpretive therapeutic exercise, mobility skills and wheel chair skills under the supervision of the licensed physical therapy practitioner.

  • Rehabilitation, 10%

    Provided nursing and orthopedic patient care for stroke patients, assisting with rehabilitation, medication and recovery knowledge.

  • Customer Service, 6%

    Documented and provided efficient customer service to clients.

  • CPR, 4%

    Acquired certification in First Aid, CPR and ADE.

  • Cleanliness, 4%

    Promoted safety: Promoted patient safety and environmental cleanliness.

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"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.

    The three companies that hire the most prestigious rehab technicians are:

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    What Animal Assisted Therapists Do

    Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants are professionals who work with licensed occupational therapists in providing therapy to patients. This therapy is usually related to the physical or mobility challenges of a patient. Certified Occupational Therapy Assistants help patients retain their skills, improve on their challenges, and eventually recover. They record the patient's progress after every therapy session. They may also help out in creating treatment plans for the patient. Since they spend a lot of time with patients, their inputs and recommendations are valuable in crafting and adjusting the treatment plan.

    In this section, we take a look at the annual salaries of other professions. Take animal assisted therapist for example. On average, the animal assisted therapists annual salary is $5,167 higher than what rehab technicians make on average every year.

    While their salaries may differ, one common ground between rehab technicians and animal assisted therapists are a few of the skills required in each craft. In both careers, employees bring forth skills like patients, physical therapy, and therapy sessions.

    As far as similarities go, this is where it ends because a rehab technician responsibility requires skills such as "rehabilitation," "customer service," "cpr," and "cleanliness." Whereas a animal assisted therapist is skilled in "pet," "patient care," "data collection," and "behavioral issues." So if you're looking for what truly separates the two careers, you've found it.

    The education levels that animal assisted therapists earn is a bit different than that of rehab technicians. In particular, animal assisted therapists are 3.9% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a rehab technician. Additionally, they're 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    What Are The Duties Of a Physical Science Aide?

    An occupational therapy assistant is primarily responsible for assisting an occupational therapist when handling patients at a clinic or similar setting. Their duties revolve around gathering patient information and medical history, treating patients using the therapist's care plan, monitoring a patient's progress, and maintaining an accurate and extensive record. There are also instances when an assistant must discuss the conditions and extent of treatment to patients and families, as well as monitor supplies and inventory.

    Now we're going to look at the physical science aide profession. On average, physical science aides earn a $46,249 higher salary than rehab technicians a year.

    While the salary may be different for these job positions, there is one similarity and that's a few of the skills needed to perform certain duties. We used info from lots of resumes to find that both rehab technicians and physical science aides are known to have skills such as "acute care," "pta," and "front desk. "

    In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences that are worth noting. For example, rehab technician responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "patients," "physical therapy," "rehabilitation," and "customer service." Meanwhile, a physical science aide might be skilled in areas such as "patient care," "chemistry," "laboratory equipment," and "physical science." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

    On the topic of education, physical science aides earn similar levels of education than rehab technicians. In general, they're 1.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    How a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant Compares

    The third profession we take a look at is certified occupational therapy assistant. On an average scale, these workers bring in higher salaries than rehab technicians. In fact, they make a $22,367 higher salary per year.

    While looking through the resumes of several rehab technicians and certified occupational therapy assistants we discovered that both professions have similar skills. These similarities include skills such as "patients," "physical therapy," and "rehabilitation," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

    Some important key differences between the two careers are a few of the skills necessary to fulfill responsibilities. Some examples from rehab technician resumes include skills like "customer service," "cpr," "cleanliness," and "direct supervision," whereas a certified occupational therapy assistant might be skilled in "patient care," "occupational therapy treatments," "snf," and "adaptive. "

    Interestingly enough, certified occupational therapy assistants earn the most pay in the education industry, where they command an average salary of $51,821. As mentioned previously, rehab technicians highest annual salary comes from the health care industry with an average salary of $29,851.

    Certified occupational therapy assistants typically study at similar levels compared with rehab technicians. For example, they're 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

    Description Of an Occupational Therapy Assistant

    Now, we'll look at occupational therapy assistants, who generally average a higher pay when compared to rehab technicians annual salary. In fact, the difference is about $22,148 per year.

    While both rehab technicians and occupational therapy assistants complete day-to-day tasks using similar skills like patients, physical therapy, and rehabilitation, the two careers also vary in other skills.

    While some skills are shared by these professions, there are some differences to note. "customer service," "cpr," "cleanliness," and "taking care" are skills that have shown up on rehab technicians resumes. Additionally, occupational therapy assistant uses skills like patient care, therapy programs, occupational therapy treatments, and adaptive on their resumes.

    Now, let's take a closer look at the financials in each career. The education industry tends to pay more for occupational therapy assistants with an average of $52,020. While the highest rehab technician annual salary comes from the health care industry.

    Occupational therapy assistants reach similar levels of education when compared to rehab technicians. The difference is that they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Master's Degree more, and 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.