Physical Therapy Assistant Jobs: Background and Credit Checks
Having a criminal record or a bad credit rating does not assure you will not be accepted into a physical therapy assistant program. Yes, you do have to pass a background history check and a credit history check but, it does not mean if you have unpaid tickets or any criminal history at all you will not be accepted.
It is however true that the better your record and the cleaner your police record, the easier time you will have finding an accredited physical therapy assistant program that will allow your enrollment. Being a physical therapy assistant is a job that requires a lot of trust.
You will be going into your patients’ homes or rooms. You will have access to your patients personal information and their personal possessions. The patient has the right to know you have been screened prior to your enrollment in school to see if you are a threat to them, their property, or their money. If a criminal background or a poor credit record are present for you, you should not give up on the idea of being a physical therapy assistant just yet. Find a few different locations in your area that have openings and talk to them about your past. Find out if anyone is willing to give you a chance at employment.
You may be able to suggest a period of probation where you are willing to have a trial period for you to show you are trustworthy enough. Many employers will look at your honesty about your mistakes and your openness to take responsibility for what you have done wrong and will give you a chance. If you cannot get a job as a physical therapy assistant but do not want to leave the field all together, you can check into the job of a physical therapy aid. Aids do not make as much money but, they also do not require a degree. You still will be helping a physical therapist help their patients but, you will not be required to have a degree. Therefore, you will not make as much money as if you were an assistant. Pick and choose carefully. Even with a criminal history it is still possible to obtain a job as a physical therapy assistant.
Often a person will have commited infractions or more serious crimes while ignorantly young not realizing the long term and sometimes permanent consequences to their actions. For some the resulting consequences can be life long including prison and loss of civil priviledges like owning a firearm or working in specific types of career fields.
The situation regarding career opportunities for offenders almost always varies depending on the nature and type of crime, if restitution was met and how long ago the crime was commited. Almost invariably serious felonies where the conviction has not been over turned, pardoned or all together stricken from a persons record, result in a profound narrowing of the convicts opportunites to work anywhere in the health care industry. Many people do not undertand the liability that an organization can face when employing someone with a criminal past. Smart businesses minimize their liabilities as much as possible and there are checks and balances within the health care system for that purpose.
Profound narrowing does not mean impossible. This can only be determined on a case by case basis. Some regions have attorney’s and/or programs that specialize in assisting former offenders with getting their record cleared up, rectifying the damage that was done and increasing their opportunities for a meaningful and rewarding careers even in healthcare. You may be suprised to learn how many professionals are former offenders.
One thing is for certain: The consequences of a criminal conviction most often go much much farther then the offender ever imagines.