Welcome to Career Corner, a regular feature in Cougar News which highlights workforce programs at Collin College. Today, we are looking at Rehabilitation Aide.
Housed at the Technical Campus, the college’s Rehabilitation Aide program introduces students to the field of rehabilitation over a two-semester, 11-credit-hour program.
“It’s not just physical therapy, but occupational therapy, athletic training, and sports medicine. Even if you want to pursue a career such as being a doctor, a nurse, or any type of therapist — especially a physical therapist — it’s a great entry level program into that,” said Michael Cox, director of the physical therapy assistant program.
The program provides hands-on training where students perform clinical simulations and scenarios during a second-semester internship class, helping them gain experience in the field.
“Students learn everything from applying hot packs and cold packs to electrical stimulation and ultrasounds. We’re also teaching them how to do transfers — how to move a patient from the wheelchair to the bed — as well as how to use crutches, so we’re giving them that real world experience,” Cox said.
The course work for the program includes an introduction to physical therapy where students learn the history and ethics of physical therapy, as well as teachings in therapeutic exercises, posture analysis, and health care communication, in which students will learn about different ways to communicate with patients.
For students to receive this level of training in an entry-level, pre-professional program is a huge deal, according to Cox.
“I’ve already had a couple of students — one who’s pre-med at Baylor and one who’s pre-physical therapy at UNT — who both emailed me this semester saying how advanced they feel they are in their courses because they took this rehab aide program,” Cox said.
Educational Options
Occupational Skills Award (OSA) 11 credit hours
Careers in Rehabilitation Aide
Similar to a career in Physical Therapist Aide
Average Salary: $28,200
33.6% Job Growth
For more information about the Rehabilitation Aide program, contact Michael Cox at mcox@collin.edu.
* Data for Collin County obtained from JobsEQ and O*Net.
Note: Average salary for occupation as of 2018 and job growth projected from 2019-2026.