How To Become A Rehabilitation Aide: What It Is and Career Path

What is a rehabilitation aide and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A rehabilitation aide assists physical therapists and their assistants with treatments for occupational, physical, and mental disabilities and injuries. A rehabilitation aide is also known as a rehabilitation assistant. As a rehabilitation aide, you will work for either government or private hospitals and rehabilitation centers. You are primarily to assist therapists with the preparation and transportation of patients for their treatments. You must ensure that equipment and treatment rooms are cleaned before and after therapy sessions. Also, you are expected to complete paperwork and update each patient's file. In addition, you could be required to perform clerical duties such as responding to patient queries, answering phones, and setting up appointments.

To be a successful rehabilitation aide, you must be highly organized. This will help you to be able to attend to the needs of the patients and also ensure the security and safety of the facilities. You must hold at least a bachelor's degree in nursing, kinesiology, or psychology, and you will earn an average salary of $28,421 in a year.

ScoreRehabilitation AideUS Average

Salary

2.2

Avg. Salary $28,284

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

6.9

Growth rate 24%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.2

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.40%

Asian 7.74%

Black or African American 6.88%

Hispanic or Latino 12.74%

Unknown 4.78%

White 67.45%

Gender

female 72.76%

male 27.24%

Age - 37

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 37

Stress level

6.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.1

Complexity level is basic

7 - challenging

Work life balance

10.0

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a rehabilitation aide

Explore rehabilitation aide education requirements

Most common rehabilitation aide degrees

Bachelor's

60.2 %

Associate

14.7 %

High School Diploma

10.9 %

Start to develop specific rehabilitation aide skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	33.62%
Rehabilitation	17.65%
CPR	6.44%
Direct Supervision	5.14%
Cleanliness	4.50%

Complete relevant rehabilitation aide training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New rehabilitation aides learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a rehabilitation aide based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real rehabilitation aide resumes.

Gain additional rehabilitation aide certifications

Rehabilitation aide certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific rehabilitation aide certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for rehabilitation aides include Certified Nurse Assistant (CNA) and Advanced First Aid & CPR.

More About Certifications

Research rehabilitation aide duties and responsibilities

Manage inventory of supplies and splints for the department.
Manage organization and cleanliness of therapy room and equipment.
Help patients who used wheelchairs and walkers.
Assist patients with ADL's, collect lab specimens, perform EKG's, occasionally perform duty as a patient sitter.

Prepare your rehabilitation aide resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your rehabilitation aide resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a rehabilitation aide resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable rehabilitation aide resume templates

Build a professional rehabilitation aide resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your rehabilitation aide resume.