Ackerly joined Stanwood Camano Physical Therapy after graduating from Pima Medical Institute with an Associates Degree in Occupational Science as a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA). Prior to receiving his PTA degree, he graduated with a Bachelor’s in English from Michigan Tech University.
When asked to tell us a little bit more about himself, Ackerly states “I love my job and I hope that it shows. I started in this field because I wanted to give something back to my fellow man… yes, I know that sounds cheesy but it has been my experience that the truth often does. I’m a massive nerd. I enjoy all aspects of physical therapy and to be honest I’m not sure what continues to draw me in, but my idea of fun is volunteering at other clinics to learn, so yeah, I think that I’ve found the right career, and did I mention I’m a nerd?”
Ackerly’s philosophy on patient treatment is that there are many ways to get results in Physical Therapy and functional science makes the most sense. The whole principal behind functional science is that you never let function, or what the body truly does, out of sight. He strongly believes that in order to be an efficient practitioner in the physical therapy field, he must never stop learning because “somewhere out in the world right now, someone is working with a patient and making breakthroughs and I want to learn their technique”. Ackerly believes that he can help patients out the most by educating them on what they are doing and why.