December 22, 2020
Career Opportunities Await OTA and PTA Graduates
By B&SC Blog Team
Waiting lists of up to a year can often limit students wishing to pursue a Physical Therapist Assistant or Occupational Therapy Assistant degree to just that, waiting.
With so many programs enforcing wait lists that keeps students on the sidelines, their career pursuits are put on hold as they wait to hear when they can begin classes. That is not the case at Bryant & Stratton College as students in the OTA and PTA programs are able to enroll without having to sit on a waiting list.
The benefits of starting a degree immediately have been seen firsthand by Jodi Frank and Kathleen Bearfield. Bearfield is the OTA program director at Bryant & Stratton College’s Solon campus and Frank is the PTA program director at the Parma campus. Frank herself had to wait over a year to begin the PTA degree when she decided to change careers, even though she had already earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees
Frank notes that Bryant & Stratton College’s admissions process utilizes a rubric for admissions rather than a first come, first serve system to prevent a student from being stuck on a waiting list. This means the most qualified students can step right into the PTA and OTA degree programs at Bryant & Stratton College.
Students utilize state-of-the-art facilities as part of their OTA and PTA degree programs.
The OTA degree program at Bryant & Stratton College consists of a well-rounded curriculum that combines classroom study with hands-on lab and fieldwork courses. The two eight-week fieldwork rotations place students at different sites for between 32 and 40 hours per week. Upon completion of the program, students are prepared to take the national examination in occupational therapy assisting and set their sights on a number of opportunities for careers in the occupational therapy field.
“Sometimes students think that employment is limited to adult rehabilitation in nursing homes,” Bearfield said. “Although more than 50% of occupational therapy assistants work in these settings in Ohio there are many other opportunities.”
Those additional opportunities open the door for graduates to apply for positions throughout the healthcare industry. Additionally, opportunities to continue their education with the goal of becoming an occupational therapist is a path that many pursue
Bryant & Stratton College has always prided itself on small class sizes and a student-to-teacher ratio that emphasizes one-on-one communication in each class. This is particularly true of the OTA and PTA programs. Frank notes that the PTA program in Parma has a maximum class size of 12 students, giving students an unparalleled personal experience in their classes.
Frank also points out that Bryant & Stratton students have a 100% pass rate on their first attempt of the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE). She also points out the close-knit relationship students will form with advisors and other faculty during their time at Bryant & Stratton. There is a lot of hands-on time during lab because of the small class sizes.
“Our students will meet with either the program director or clinical coordinator every semester to plan for the following semester and rest of the program,” she said. “The clinical coordinator visits each student on each clinical rotation to ensure a positive experience for student and clinical instructor as well.” This occurs in the OTA program as well, with a lot of hands-on time during lab because of the small class sizes.
Frank adds that PTA degree graduates are put on a path to take on patient care in their careers. Noting that PTAs in many cases are following the plan of care set forth by a physical therapist to make determinations and offer treatments to the patients they are seeing.
All of those opportunities begin with a PTA associate degree from Bryant & Stratton. Just as career opportunities as a generalist practitioner in the OTA field starts with the OTA associate degree. These degrees are just a few clicks away. Use the link at the top of this page to request more information and take the first step towards a rewarding career today.
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