Refreshing is not so easy…..
One of my courses is called PTA Basic Refresher (hmmm…or is it Basic PTA Refresher??). The PTA stands for physical therapist assistant (not parent-teacher association). The 8-week online refresher course was designed to be a review of the two-year physical therapist assistant programs taught in the USA. Obviously, 8 weeks is a short time and 2 years is a long time, so it’s a condensed basic review. Very condensed. Kind of like a part-time (or full-time) job for the students in the course. Many have other part or full-time jobs, families, hobbies, LIVES, etc…..and so this can be very challenging. But they have important goals linked to success in this course. Many are re-entering the workforce after years (6, 13, 20) out of the field. Quite a few have had unsuccessful attempts (1, 2, or 3) at the National Physical Therapy Examination in the past and feel discouraged about their test-taking skills and fearful about their future attempts at the exam.
We focus on test-taking strategies as well as reviewing content/knowledge. It’s the only course of this type offered that I’m aware of, and the fact that it is an online course and can be taken from anywhere in the world (OK anywhere with an internet connection) is pretty cool, IMHO. But still it’s very intense and very challenging. It keeps me up late at night (typing away) but also gives me great joy to hear the success stories. They aren’t all successful, but many are. I have lofty goals to guide these students back into the world of PTA and through one more attempt at “that test.”