"Why have you chosen a career in physical therapy?"

That's a question I've been asking for more than 37 years—first as a clinical instructor and then as an instructor within and the coordinator of a physical therapist assistant (PTA) education program. Students' responses vary. They say they want to help people. They reference their thirst for knowledge about the human body—what makes it tick and how they might help repair it. They anticipate the employment opportunities that our profession offers them.

What does it take to be a professional in physical therapy? That, in my view, is simpler to answer. In a word, what it takes, from physical therapists (PTs) and PTAs alike, is passion.