Daniella Pace

When I was growing up I knew I wanted to pursue a job that was built around helping people. I wasn’t always 100% sure what I wanted to do. My grandmother broke her wrist in a nursing home and I went to a few of her physical therapy appointments which sparked my interest in the field. My Nonie broke her foot and had a bilateral knee replacement and she recovered so effortlessly because of her physical therapists. The combination of these events made me look into the possibility of becoming a Physical Therapist Assistant and ultimately led to me decision to pursue a career in the field. 

I worked in a nursing home as a PTA. I worked with a couple in this nursing home one of which was diagnosed with terminal cancer. His wife and him continued to dream about being back home at their lake house with their grandkids and enjoying the rest of their life together even though there wasn’t a possibly for them. I worked with the husband and prior to his passing he told me how grateful he was for all I have done for him and his wife and to continue to care for his wife after he passed. I still hold his words close in my heart to this day and remember them when I go through work struggles. 

I see the role of PTA’s having a huge impact in the future in physical therapy. I personally feel currently we are not as respected as we should be, but believe that will change within the next ten years. There is a huge shortage of PT’s and PTA’s, but there are more assistants evolving in the field which I believe will make us more valuable in the physical therapy field. 

Advice that I would give someone when looking at wanting to become a PTA is to look into observation hours in many different settings, just because you don’t enjoy one setting doesn’t mean you won’t love another.  I would give the advice of being patient and encourage yourself, there is a lot of learning in the career and it takes time. 

It is important, if someone is looking at becoming a PTA, that they show skills of compassion, patience, empathy, kindness, critical thinking skills, teamwork, and understanding. As a physical therapist assistant, those who come to you injured are struggling with not being able to live their life as they were able to before. You must be patient with them in their struggles, and when attempting ways to have them become pain-free, you must use critical thinking skills if your original interventions do not help the patient. 

My education at Penn College has prepared me for my career as a PTA through their hands-on learning. When I first began clinical, I felt prepared, and that is solely because of what our lab classes taught me. The class size was small, allowing the professors to give every student one-on-one time if it was needed. Our class became a tight-knit group that helped one another out. 

When I originally graduated from Penn College, I wanted to work in an outpatient sports orthopedic clinic while pursuing my bachelor’s degree. Instead, I decided to work as a float PTA for a rehabilitation company where I traveled to three different local nursing facilities. When I decided I no longer wanted to live in Pennsylvania, I was unsure where I wanted to live and heard about traveling therapy, which sparked my interest to be able to see the world and find where I wanted to find my new home.

I enjoyed traveling to different physical therapy facilities and working with a wide variety of therapists. I feel as if in my time as a traveling PTA, I was able to learn more in my career alongside many therapists who have been in the field for a variety of years. Furthermore, I enjoyed getting to travel to different states and exploring different parts of the country — it gave me the ability to continue to work while traveling the country.