Professionalism: A Career As A Physical Therapy Student

A Physical therapist is a highly educated, licensed health care professional that can help patients reduce pain and improve or restore mobility. They can teach patients how to prevent or manage their condition so that they will achieve long-term health benefits. To become a physical therapist one must go through years of school and training. My goal of becoming a physical therapist has been my main goal ever since high school. Being in a swim team and helping others out as a lifeguard has motivated to into helping athletes and people with disabilities. To me, working with people would be a fantastic career field for me to pursue. Reaching this goal is harder than most career goals. I will have to go through a pool of candidates that are has motivated as me. This goal that I am trying to accomplish will need a hundred percent of my effort in school and the field itself. Finding “connections in the field of physical therapy will help you find a job faster. Many people will try to get a spot in the career that I want and for me to accomplish my goal, I must be a better candidate than the others.

My career goal is to have my own Physical Therapy practice, and to be my own boss. I want to help revolutionize the ways in which medical personnel approach their patients, as there tends to be a disconnection between patients and medical staff. One of the biggest challenges I will likely face is owning my own practice, because I would first need to work under another company until I gain enough experience and financial wellness to open my own office. However, money and experience are only a small portion of making my business and my vision successful. I will need to be diligent in my pursuits, despite any setbacks that may occur, in an effort to help my practice thrive. My patients will be my number one concern in this respect. If I implement

In order to be successful in the profession as a physical therapist there are several prerequisites a person has to accomplish. One of the first prerequisites to become a physical therapist is you must graduate from a physical therapist educational program and obtain a master or doctoral degree. The master's degree programs for physical therapy typically are two to two and a half years in length, while doctoral degree programs usually last 3 years. In addition to classroom and laboratory instruction, students will complete supervised clinical experience to get a feel of the work environment. The coursework will include physics, biology and chemistry. Other additional coursework included during the physical therapy program is therapeutic procedures, biomechanics, examination techniques, human development, manifestations of disease, and neuroanatomy. You can specialize in one of those certain topics, which will concentrate more on a certain area. Students must also obtain a license in order to practice physical therapy. A license can be obtained by

Beyond the educational requirements for physical therapists are the many other attributes that are needed to be successful. A career as a physical therapist requires a lot of studied skills, personal characteristics and physical fitness. A physical therapist should enjoy working with people and helping others. An ability to listen to patients and understand is important to success. Patients are often a victim of a traumatic experience, injury or are afflicted by a debilitating disease. The emotional distress can often be as trying as the physical dysfunction. (Kottler 11) Communicating and teaching skills are needed to help patients learn new movements and exercises to practice on their own. Physical therapists help patients set goals, regain and strengthen muscles and flexibility. Helping a patient find confidence in the program helps them to

While there may be many experiences and attributes that I possess that will be a catalyst in my success as a physical therapist there are three that I feel have thoroughly prepared me for the physical therapy profession. First is the attribute of empathy. I feel that I am empathetic as a result of growing up with an older brother who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair. I can definitively say that growing up with a sibling who has a disability has shaped me into the person that I am today and has allowed me to develop skills in ways that others may not have been exposed to. This experience will be valuable because when patients are receiving physical therapy, they may feel alone and frustrated with themselves. It is important for myself,

Striving for excellence through determination is essentially beneficial for the student as well as classmates and patients. The end goal of a physical therapy program is to equip students with important knowledge about the field to effectively treat each patient in a safe and informative manner. A patient’s health and well-being is relied heavily upon the therapist’s knowledge while being treated. Optimizing each learning opportunity as a student is critical in becoming a professional and well-educated physical therapist upon

Congratulations on making it to week eight of PTA 324 Physical Therapy Across Practice Settings! We end this course with a look at professional development of the PTA. We will be discussing ideas for lifelong learning and maintaining clinical competence. By being in this course, you have already shown a commitment to professional development and lifelong learning. As we come to the end of this class, reflect on the self-directed learning that you have achieved and how your professional development has been affected by your research and the interactions with your classmates.

Accordingly, altruism became a mainstay. Proctoring physical therapists indoctrinated the fundamental that you put every need of a patient before your own, and always shooting for a higher level of care than the majority would accept. Specifically, they would always let patients come in on occasions separate from their appointments and utilize the exercise equipment as required. As the intern, building a priority to support all patients that came in with total guidance and instruction became predominant. This leads to the other key to professionalism, humility. During my internship, constant quizzing ingrained that you constrain the need to answer every question. Giving a “best guess” will lead to negative repercussions. Correspondingly, observations of the physical therapists themselves refer innumerable times to other professionals; be it the patient’s doctor, another therapist, or a dietitian. Seeing how various physical therapists operated also reinforced the belief of professional duty. The pride every therapist had in the profession, the mentoring that each provided, and the amount of work put towards every patient left my mind with a profound impression. Equally important, the consciousness of unspoiled care and compassion. Listening to other undergraduates and professors explain that you would have “problem patients”; this idea became entrenched in my head when starting. Contrarily, their concepts never materialized. Wanting to help the patients that had numerous struggles, or purely had countless debilitating injuries constituted as the goal. Contemplating unique exercises, finer cues, or improved ways to motivate perpetuated my evenings. Moreover; considering a patient ingenuously as a “knee”, or “rotator cuff”, or even just a patient was never a possibility. They were always people and people with their own particular

Professionalism “is the skill, good judgement, and polite behavior that is expected from a person who is trained to do a job well.” The Physical Therapy field has come to a consensus on a set of core values that they feel are key components of professionalism. These core values include: accountability, altruism, compassion, excellence, integrity, professional duty, and social responsibility. ATPA’s Professionalism Core Value Self-Assessment is a tool to evaluate a physical therapist’s effectiveness in exhibiting professionalism in their practice. By taking the assessment as a student, we’re able to get a baseline to continue to grow upon as we mature in our careers and as professionals. It’s important for us to be mindful of these components

Dr. Winstein’s lecture really spoke to me, as a physical therapy student. There is so much to consider when choosing this career path, as well as so much to strive for. The lecture started with a thought-provoking question:

I am learning about the significance of being committed to patient care and dedicating your life's work to the betterment of every patient. I possess a strong academic history as well as a willingness to commit my time to uplifting of my community. Even as a student who has had some hiccups academically, I am proving that I can overcome adversity and "keep my eyes on prize". Furthermore, I am devoted to being the future of physical therapy and displaying selflessness, dedication, compassion, distinction and authenticity. I have learned to sympathize and empathize with patients, however, at the same time stand firm in the therapeutic methods that need to be implemented for the patient's

On September 8th, 2015, I first began interning for Dr. Dawn Cox and her staff of experienced Physical Therapists at PRANA Functional Manual Therapy in Lancaster, PA as a Physical Therapy Aide. Intermittently, on the first day of my internship, I would ask the therapists “Why choose Physical Therapy as a profession?” One of the Physical Therapists conveyed that aside from the substantial benefits a job provides, it was the intangible materials that gave the profession a meaning. As a student exploring the field of Physical Therapy, I have infallibly witnessed professionalism at PRANA and other Physical Therapy facilities through the therapists’ altruism towards patients -without violating ethical practices as professionals; their apposite use of communication with each individual at the workplace; and their sense of accountability when things go unforeseen.

Being an aspiring student in a physical therapy program has driven me to embody the core values stated by the APTA and demonstrated by my coworkers. Working in the medical field means the well being of others is in your hands. The level of responsibility and accountability required is monumental, and you must be willing to step up to the task. Whereas many students only hold themselves accountable for their own benefit, as a DPT student, you must demonstrate initiative because your actions no longer affect just yourself. First and foremost, you must be responsible in the classroom. Prior to practice, a solid foundation of education and knowledge is critical. One should exercise due diligence in saturating themselves with the knowledge necessary to care for a patient in a safe, timely, and efficient

Excellence: Excellence is a key component behind the practice of evidence-based care in the profession of physical therapy. As a doctoring profession that utilizes high levels of research, the knowledge invested into care will lead to well-constructed successful outcomes. Physical therapy will continue to expand and excel in the quality of patient centered care. I’ve worked hard to meet goals throughout my undergraduate education and will continue to meet higher standards as a graduate student. As a future professional, I will aim far beyond what is necessary to meet basic requirements, and continually pursue growth.

My teaching philosophy is to create an environment that stimulates learning so that students gain the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities to become proficient professionals. While teaching foundational knowledge is important, there are other essential skills and abilities that students must acquire in order to successfully transition from being a student to becoming a physical therapy professional. These skills and abilities include thinking critically as well as interacting and communicating effectively with patients and other health care practitioners. I emphasize to students that it is imperative to realize the impact of developing a therapeutic rapport with patients while providing quality, patient-centered care to optimize the healing process. Therefore, when deciding what to teach, I not only consider the content presented, but also how I can foster discussions with students so that they can apply information based on varying contextual factors. I also attempt to provide students a framework for how to achieve professional excellence, which I aim to model as I fulfill my roles and responsibilities as a teacher and provider of clinical instruction. This framework is rooted in five central tenets: