I love interacting with and learning from my colleagues and our patients. I enjoy that each day at work brings different challenges – working in an outpatient setting allows for me to work with new patients on a regular basis. We treat patients who need PT for a variety of reasons from all ages.
Our patients are motivated and interested in learning about the PT process and have unique rehab goals. They are eager to share their experiences and tips that work well for them throughout their rehab so that we can offer suggestions to others going through a similar situation.
My experience of community and being treated as an individual during my time attending Villa’s PTA program were highlights for me! I really enjoyed the small class size and having passionate, friendly, and knowledgeable staff members directing our program. Each instructor took time to help answer any questions we had and fostered a positive learning environment. It was a very intensive program and all of us worked extremely hard to be successful, and I think our instructors did an excellent job at guiding us through the program. They cared about our success as much as we did!
My advice to future PTAs would be to always be open to learning new information and be present with patients and instructors. You never know when a piece of information you heard could be valuable to someone who is in pain or is dealing with a medical mystery.
Search for a niche within the PTA realm that fits your strengths and is appealing to you – there are many different settings for PTAs to work in, and even though it might take a little searching to find which one is the right fit, it’s worth it when you do! Show up each day to your job with an attitude of “who can I help today and how” and be open to the fluid nature of working in healthcare. Even if your day doesn’t end up going the way you anticipated it would, I guarantee you will be helpful in providing support to someone. Stay humble and don’t be afraid to be creative!
