July 2022 - PTA Focus

By: Vanessa Simon, PTA

My journey to become a PTA began in 2016 after graduating high school. I became interested in team sports and joined my school’s rowing team. Through all the ups and downs, I loved this sport with my whole heart. From having no experience at all, to winning state championships, I made many memories I will never forget. As with any sport, comes many injuries. Whether it was myself or my teammates, we got to know the athletic trainer really well. During this time, I was able to get a better understanding of rehabilitation after injuries, which opened my mind up to the world of physical therapy. I knew growing up that I always wanted to help people, and now I finally knew how.

I applied to Penn State University-Main Campus majoring in Kinesiology, and after four years, earned my bachelor’s degree. Time flew by and I was stuck with what to do next. I knew eventually I wanted to be a physical therapist, but at the time I was presented with difficulties I did not expect and had to work around them. I was weighing my options and came across a physical therapist assistant program at a Penn State branch campus in Fayette county. I applied as soon as I could and started in the fall.

During my time at Penn State Fayette, I was able to take a greater appreciation for learning. I used all my resources to my advantage and put my best foot forward. I became a peer tutor within our PTA program, as well as becoming the PTA Club president on campus. I was also presented with opportunities to participate in research with my professor, in which we traveled to Atlanta to present our findings at the Educational Leadership Conference this past fall. Currently, I am finishing up my clinical rotations and will prepare to take the licensure exam in October. I am still finding my niche, but so far I am leaning towards a career in acute care. There is something about providing hope in a patient’s darkest days that will never get old.

I hope to be further involved with APTA and APTA PA in the future. I would love to be involved in special interest groups as well as taking part in committees to help further research within the profession. In the future, I hope to also take part in clinical education and become a CI to help new students during their rotations. The journey to get to where I am now has been long, but I have found it to be the most rewarding experience and I wouldn’t have changed a thing.