If you’ve seen the APTA Learning Center, you’re probably wondering if it’s worth it compared to other continuing education sites like MedBridge or Summit Education.
Let’s do a quick comparison of the APTA Learning Center and the largest CEU provider MedBridge to get an idea of how it stacks up against the competition.
What is the APTA Learning Center?
The APTA Learning Center (found here) is a platform created by the American Physical Therapy Association in order to provide continuing education courses and resources available to members.
As a member of the APTA, you have access to the approximate 45 continuing education courses in the learning center, many of which are free with your membership. Within the APTA Learning Center, you have the option to pay $198 in addition to your $295 membership dues to access the “Passport to Learning” modules. These additional 72 classes can be taken online to complete your physical therapy continuing education requirements.
APTA Learning Center Cost: $295 +$125 state dues + $198 = $618 (APTA membership dues + state dues + Passport to Learning)
Online Courses Available: Approximately 100 courses
Obviously if you are a member already and pay your dues regardless of the learning center, your net cost is $198 for the 100 courses available. Compared to other education providers, this is a steep cost for the number of courses to choose from.
MedBridge Education
MedBridge Education has been helping physical therapists with continuing education resources since 2011. They are the largest provider of continuing education for PTs, OTs, and ATCs.
Their online library of courses includes over 1,800 continuing education courses and can easily be sorted by category and discipline.
MedBridge works on a yearly subscription basis, giving you access to every course they offer for $200 using the MedBridge discount code PTProgress. Normally their library of courses runs $375 to $450 but you use the $150 discount to drop the price to $225.
MedBridge Education Cost: $225
Online Courses Available: Over 1,800 courses
APTA Learning Center vs MedBridge Education
Cost: APTA $493 MedBridge $225
From a cost perspective, MedBridge beats out the APTA Learning center, especially with the $150 discount available.
Course Availability: APTA ~ 100, MedBridge ~ 1,800
In terms of courses available, MedBridge has a significantly larger library of courses and specialty certification tracks included at no extra cost.
Is MedBridge Education Worth It?
For $225, you can complete all of your CEUs in a matter of days (both online and via live webinar). For those who are in a time crunch and need access to high quality courses quickly, MedBridge is definitely worth it.
I’ve been using the MedBridge platform for the past 3 years and love the ability to watch videos at 2x speed, follow lecture notes with the videos, and access courses on my phone anywhere I want. I’ve paid hundreds of dollars for an in-person weekend course through other continuing ed providers, but nothing comes close to the quality and convenience of taking my courses with MedBridge.
Is the APTA Learning Center Worth It?
If you’re comparing the number of courses to the cost paid for the APTA membership and also the Passport to Learning track, you may be better off using a different continuing education provider. Even if you are already an APTA member and access the ‘free’ courses available on the Learning Center, you’re limited to about 40 courses that you may or may not be interested in completing. While I’m all about free CEUs, the fact is that you often get what you pay for – and paying an additional $198 to access a mere 72 additional courses in the “Passport to Learning” track available in the APTA Learning Center may not be appealing to most PTs.
Final Verdict
While the APTA doesn’t claim to have the most robust continuing education platform available to physical therapists, their pricing doesn’t seem to fit the offering. If you need to complete additional CEUs and only have about $200 to spend, consider using a company like MedBridge where you can access over 1,800 online (and live webinar) courses and maximize your continuing education budget this year.
