Physical Therapy Aide Resume Examples and Tips

A physical therapy aide works under the supervision of a physical therapist, performing non-medical tasks such as transporting patients, setting up and cleaning treatment rooms, ensuring optimum functioning of therapy equipment, and implementing treatment plans. Physical therapy aides should have physical fitness knowledge, strong communication and interpersonal skills.

To make a stand-out physical therapy aide resume, use our resume examples and tips below:

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Physical Therapy Aide Resume Example

Top 4 Characteristics of a Best-in-Class Physical Therapy Aide Resume

  1. Summary In your summary statement, highlight your best professional skills, abilities and experience within a few short sentences. For example: “Patient-focused physical therapy aide with 5+ years of experience instructing patients on adaptive treatment devices. Proficient at helping clients overcome resistance to therapy.”
  2. Skills Break this section out into hard skills such as assessing pain tolerance, monitoring vital signs, and emergency First Aid knowledge, and soft skills such as attention to detail, good written and verbal communication skills, and critical thinking.
  3. Work History Limit this section to jobs you’ve held within the past 10 years, zeroing-in on work accomplishments and tasks that show off your best, most appropriate skills. For example: “Performed maintenance therapy and assisted therapists with patient exercises,” or “Maintained and cleaned work areas and disinfected equipment for 50-room facility.”
  4. Education For this role, a high school diploma or equivalent is typically needed, but most employers prefer a certification such as a BLS for Health Care Providers certification from the American Heart Association. List all certifications that you’ve earned here, such as a CPR and First Aid certificate, or a physical therapy aide resume example Certification from the AMCA.

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Find the Right Template for your Resume

Make sure your resume looks its best by using one of these professional templates:

Fresh

This layout uses a strong header to draw attention to the applicant’s name and contact information. Thin lines neatly separate each section, and headings are arranged on the left for easy navigation.

Acclaimed

This template uses an attractive monogram that stands out, while the use of color resume fonts for section headings makes browsing through the document a breeze.

Contempo

This attractive minimalist template aligns your name and contact information at the right for a unique look. The fluid layout is easy to customize, depending on whether you want to emphasize your skills or work history.

To select a template from a complete list of different designs, visit our resume templates section.

Do’s and Don’ts for Your Resume

  • DO review your resume. Physical therapist aides are expected to be reliable and detail-oriented — bring that same mentality to your resume. Reread your document a few times and eliminate spelling or grammar errors. Make sure you’ve included all your important job-specific skills, certifications and work achievements. For more help, use our Resume Builder, which can check your resume for these issues.
  • DO aim for a concise resume. Since most recruiters spend only a few seconds to scan a resume, aim for a document that’s only a page or two long. Leave out any information that doesn’t answer the specific requirements of the job, as spelled out in the job posting. Use bullet points and short phrases rather than verbose sentences, and focus on specific accomplishments rather than daily responsibilities. Even if you are an experienced candidate, include no more than 10 years of experience on your resume.
  • DO tailor your resume to fit the job. If you’re applying for several physical therapy aide jobs, always create a different version of your resume for each application, updating your skills and qualifications to correspond with the requirements for each job. For example, one job might emphasize tasks like “documenting treatment plans,” while another might list “knowledge of medical terminology” as a prime requirement. Make sure you address your capability or experience in dealing with these tasks as you update your resume. For more details, see our article How to Create a Targeted Resume.
  • DON’T forget to mention intangible skills. Since this job role involves constant communication with medical professionals and patients, it’s vital to showcase intangible (better known as soft) skills that demonstrate your interpersonal and people management abilities. Feature soft skills such as compassion, a positive attitude, patience, verbal and written communication, and observational skills.
  • DON’T describe your achievements and experiences without quantifying them. Give your work responsibilities and achievements more depth by describing them using numbers and stats, wherever possible. For example: “Handled 90+ patient sessions per week” gives more context than “Handled patient sessions.”
  • DON’T get long-winded in your resume. Long complete sentences are unnecessary in a resume — avoid sentences that begin with “I” or “my,” and feature phrases that begin with action verbs to create a punchier, more energetic presentation. For example, rather than stating “I was responsible for preparing patient rooms for manual therapeutic exercises. I was also tasked with organizing therapeutic massage and electrical modality treatments,” write “Prepared patient rooms for manual therapeutic exercises, and organized therapeutic massage and electrical modality treatments.”