PHYSICAL THERAPIST (PT) OBSERVATION HOURS

Enter all of your paid or volunteer physical therapy (PT) observation hours on the PTCAS application. If you have observed a physical therapist in more than one setting, select the Add New Entry button to enter each additional experience. Not all PT programs require PT observation hours or a signed form as part of the admissions process. Review the online PTCAS Directory pages for program-specific requirements. PTCAS will not determine if you met the minimum observation requirements for your designated PT programs. 

Information for PTAs

If you are a physical therapist assistant (PTA), enter your paid PT experience in this section. Paid experience may or may not be accepted by your designated PT programs.

If Verification Is NOT Required By Your Designated Program(s)

Some PT programs require applicants to have experience in a physical therapy setting, but do NOT require a physical therapist to verify those hours. If a signed PT observation hours verification form is not required by your designated programs, then simply enter your PT experiences on the PTCAS application and select the ‘Paper’ verification type for each. Do NOT print or submit the PT observation hours verification form. You cannot update PT experiences with the “paper” verification type after you e-submit your PTCAS application. 

If Verification IS Required By Your Designated Program(s)

If one or more of your designated PT programs requires a licensed physical therapist to verify your PT experiences, then follow the instructions below. 

  • Electronic PT Signatures Preferred -If verification is required by the PT program, STRONGLY ENCOURAGE THE PHYSICAL THERAPIST(S) TO CONFIRM YOUR HOURS ONLINE USING THE PTCAS PT PORTAL. Select the "electronic" verification type and enter the best e-mail address for contacting the PT. After listing the experience, you MUST click the “Send For Verification” button provided for the experience on the Physical Therapy Observation Hours page of the application. Alert the PT to watch for an automated email from PTCAS with the subject "PTCAS Observation Hour Verification Request". If the physical therapist does not receive an email from PTCAS, instruct the PT to check spam/junk email folders or provide you with an alternate email address.
  • Paper PT Signatures - If the physical therapist does not have Internet access, login to your application, select the "paper" verification type, and print the PTCAS observation hours verification form (PDF) for that particular experience. Deliver the appropriate form to the physical therapist. Each bar-coded form is unique to both the applicant and physical therapist. Arrange for the signed form to be mailed to PTCAS. If the physical therapist previously signed a different (non-PTCAS) form to verify your hours, attach it to the PTCAS verification form and send both forms to PTCAS in a single envelope. Send only one signed form per PT experience, regardless of the number of PT programs you designate.

If one or more of your designated PT programs requires a licensed physical therapist to verify your PT experiences, attempt to verify the accuracy of your PT experience with the physical therapist BEFORE you e-submit your PTCAS application.   If your experiences are verified or re-verified after your designated PT program’s deadline has passed, you may jeopardize your chances for admission.  Your designated PT programs can view your PT experiences as part of your application file, regardless of whether they are verified by a physical therapist.

Updating Your PT Experiences After You E-Submit

You can edit the PT Observation Hours section after you e-submit your completed application to PTCAS.  Any changes will move your PT experience to “unverified” status.  Your designated PT programs may not consider updated or unverified PT experiences in the admissions process.  

Rules for PT Updates: After you e-submit your PTCAS application, you can…

  • add new PT experiences to the application,
  • make edits to in-progress and planned PT experiences on the application if being verified electronically,
  • request a physical therapist to verify your updated or new PT experience,
  • NOT make edits to PT experiences previously marked as “complete”,
  • NOT make edits to PT experiences which have a status of “Verification Requested”, and
  • NOT make edits to PT experiences previously marked with the “paper” verification type (regardless of whether PTCAS has received a signed PT hours verification form for the experience).

If a Physical Therapist Denies Your Verification Request

If a physical therapist receives a paper or electronic verification form and is unable to verify your PT experience as entered on your application for any reason, follow the steps below.  

  • Electronic Verification – If you submitted an electronic verification request to a physical therapist who is unable to verify your PT hours due to inaccuracies, you will receive an automated e-mail from PTCAS that describes why the experience was not verified by the PT .  You must immediately login to your PTCAS application, make the necessary edits to the PT experience by clicking on the “Update” button and saving the changes, and then re-submit the experience for verification by clicking the “Send for Verification” button.  Once resubmitted for electronic verification, PTCAS will automatically email the PT again with instructions on how to verify your revised PT hours or make further recommendations for edits.
  • Paper Verification – If you submitted a paper verification request to a physical therapist who is unable to verify your PT hours due to inaccuracies, you must enter a new observation experience on your application with the correct information and print the verification form (PDF) for the newly entered experience.  Deliver the revised paper form to the physical therapist.  Arrange for the signed paper verification form to be mailed to PTCAS.  After you e-submit, you cannot make additional edits to any PT experiences marked with the “paper” verification type.  Contact PTCAS Customer Service to have your incorrect listing removed from your application.

If a Physical Therapist Rejects Your Electronic Verification Request

If a physical therapist receives an electronic verification form and is unwilling to verify your PT experience because they are unable to validate the information provided, they have the option of rejecting your request.  If your request is rejected, you will receive an automated e-mail from PTCAS letting you know the request has been rejected.  Please check to be sure you have sent the request to the correct physical therapist, at the correct facility, using the correct e-mail address.  Update any incorrect contact information on the experience and resubmit it to the correct physical therapist for verification.

Items on the PTCAS Application

    • Name of Facility - Enter the formal name of the clinic, hospital, or PT facility in which you observed or worked with a physical therapist.
    • Street Address of Facility -Enter the business mailing address for the facility.
    • Name of Physical Therapist - Enter the name of a licensed physical therapist who supervised you during the observation experience and/or can verify your PT observations hours. If the physical therapist will also complete a letter of reference on your behalf, you must also enter the individual's information in the REFERENCE section.
    • Are you requesting a reference from a PT or other individual associated with this facility? Select YES, if you plan to ask the PT above to also submit a reference on your behalf. If you select 'yes', you must also enter the individual's information in the REFERENCE section.
    • PT Request Type - Indicate if the physical therapist will submit an electronic (preferred) or paper signature to verify your PT hours for this experience. Select the ‘Paper’ option if verification is not required by your designated programs.  After you e-submit, you cannot make additional edits to any PT experiences marked with the “paper” verification type.
    • PT License Number - Enter the state licensure number for the physical therapist entered above. If not available, leave item blank. If verification of hours is required, the PT must complete the license number field.
    • State of PT License - Enter the state in which the physical therapist license was received. If not available, leave item blank. If verification of hours is required, ask the PT to complete the state of PT license field.
    • PT Email Address - Enter the business email address for the physical therapist entered above. If not available, leave item blank. Email address is required for electronic PT signatures.
    • PT Phone Number - Enter a daytime phone number for the physical therapist or PT facility entered above.
    • Paid or Volunteer Experience - Indicate if it was a paid or volunteer experience.
    • Type of Experience - Select inpatient or outpatient experience. An inpatient facility generally l admits patients overnight.
    • Select the PT Setting - Select one setting from list. If “Other”, describe setting. If you experienced multiple settings with the same PT, add a new entry for each experience separately in this section.
    • Acute Care – In this setting, the physical therapy is provided to individuals that are admitted to a hospital for short term patient care for reasons such as illness, surgery, accident, or recovery from a trauma. The goal in this setting is to discharge the person as soon as they are medically stable and have a safe place to go.
    • Rehab/Sub Acute Rehab – Use this category for both types of settings described below:
      • Rehabilitation Hospital: In this setting, the physical therapy is provided to individuals that are admitted to a facility or rehabilitation unit with the goal of providing intense therapy to improve the person’s ability to care for themselves (typically three hours or more per day).
      • Sub-Acute Rehabilitation: In this setting, the physical therapy is provided to individuals that are admitted to a special hospital that provides medical and/or rehabilitation care.  The rehabilitation is less intense (typically less than three hours per day)
    • Extended Care Facility /Nursing Home/Skilled Nursing Facility - In this setting, the physical therapy is provided to individuals that are admitted to a facility that typically cares for elderly patients and provides long-term nursing care, rehabilitation, and other services.
    • Outpatient Clinic (also known as a Private Practice) – In this common physical therapy setting, individuals visit a physical therapist in a clinic, office, or other healthcare facility primarily to address musculoskeletal (orthopedic) and neuromuscular injuries or impairments.
    • School/Pre-school - In this setting, physical therapy services are provided within an educational environment, including pre-school, elementary, or secondary  education (high school and vocational) facilities. 
    • Wellness/Prevention/Fitness - In this setting, physical therapy services are provided to individuals with a focus on wellness.  This approach to healthcare emphasizes preventing illness and injury and promoting healthy lifestyle, as opposed to emphasizing treatment of diseases.
    • Industrial/Occupational Health - In this setting, physical therapy services are provided to individuals primarily to help them return to work or for the purpose of enhancing employee health, improving safety, and increasing productivity in the workplace.
    • Indicate Physical Therapy Specialty Area(s) Observed (check all that apply). Enter the number of hours observed in each specialty area to date.
      • Cardiovascular & Pulmonary
      • Clinical Electrophysiology
      • Geriatrics
      • Neurology
      • Orthopaedics
      • Pediatrics
      • Sports
      • Women’s Health
      • Other
    • Status of Experience - Indicate if the PT experience is completed, planned, or in-progress.
    • Total Number of Hours Over Span of Experience (to date) - The PTCAS application will automatically tally your total number of hours at this facility based on the information provided in the previous question.
    • Start Date - Enter the month and year of your start date.
    • End Date - If experience is in-progress, enter the anticipated end date or leave item blank, as appropriate.

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