As I begin my freshman year of college, I have yet to discover what I want out of my life. One thing I am certain of, is my desire to work in the health care industry. As of right now, I am looking at becoming a physical therapist and it is my number one option. It was not until recently that I had even thought about becoming a physical therapist. All throughout high school, I was strongly set on becoming your everyday physician. When I realized that I wanted to obtain a job that could still be connected with sports, I decided physical therapy instead of an athletic trainer. My reasoning behind choosing physical therapy is that in physical therapy would I not only be able to stay connected with sports, but I would also have the chance to reach out and help others who could have had surgery or been in a life threating car accident and are struggling to learn to walk again. …show more content…
Ever since I was a little kid I have been helping people. I can remember being eight, possibly nine years old playing football in my backyard. One of my neighborhood friends got tackled into a pole and grabbed his shoulder immediately, shouting in sheer pain. I ran over there to see what the problem was, and I found out that he broke his collar bone. My first reaction was to tell one of my friends to go and get my parents and my second was to make a makeshift sling out of a couple shirts of the guys we were playing football with. How I knew how to do that at nine years old I honestly do not know. After rushing my friend to the emergency room, it turns out that he actually broke his collar bone. The doctor told me I did a great job in helping him out by making the sling for him and told me that I should think about becoming a doctor one day. Ever since then I have had my eyes set on becoming
During the interview, the Physical Therapist I conferred with was very thorough and straightforward in his responses to the questions that were given. I decided to interview another one of my mother’s fellow co-workers, Mr. Stephen Chan, considering his new experiences in the Physical Therapy field. I met with Mr. Stephen Chan at the Kaiser Permanente Outpatient Orthopedic Clinic that is located in Union City. The essential subject matters that we discussed consisted of his Major and Minor in college, the Residency Program that he takes part in, variations of attitudes, and advantages in the workforce.
Imagine going up for the perfect lay-up, you make the shot but when you land you twist awkwardly and land on your knee. Laying on the ground, you feel the pain surging through your knee, the first line of defense is an athletic trainer, however if this accident happened when you fell on a wet kitchen floor you could expect much the same care from a physical therapist Athletic Trainers are the first to respond to sport related in game injuries, and provide care after injuries. In contrast physical therapist are not only there to fix accidental injuries, and treat chronic bone and joint they help with plans of care and rehabilitation for athletes and non-athletes after injuries. Physical Therapy play a important role in todays healthcare. Physical Therapy are experts of improving and storing motion , they contribute to their patients ‘ quality of life by keeping them healthy , fit , active and in medications . The first school of Modern Physical Therapy opened in Boston, MA , So Physical Therapy have been around for a long time. The Physical Therapy Association Organized by Mary McMillan. It later became the American Physical Therapy Association.World War ll brings changes to Physical Therapy was done at hospitals as patients recovered from injuries , surgeries or other ailments.
A year and three months ago, I was at football practice. I was on the defensive line. I tripped up the running back, but the running back landed on my left ankle. The result was a fracture on my left tibia. I played on my injury for two weeks. At that moment, I was not able to play football for the rest of the year. During this summer, I injured my back. I began to accumulate information about how to treat my injuries. While I was researching, the words physical therapy popped up. I clicked on them, and the article discussed what a physical therapist does. When I was halfway down the article, it stated that a physical therapist helps people with injuries like mine. After researching, I decided to be a physical therapist.
I chose the path to physical therapy because I love helping people, and it seems very interesting to me. Being involved in sports and exercise almost my entire life, I can easily relate to the treatments/therapy athletes go through when injured. Now I would like to see what it’s like through the eyes of the caregiver. I plan to pursue PT graduate school after WCU and then eventually have my own PT office, or work in a clinical setting.
Now that you have a better understanding about Athletic training, I will explain about physical therapy and why I would like have as a lifetime career. In an article I read, the author Sue Klappa said that, “PT’s reach into our communities through engagement and social responsibility. It compels us to bring hope and love to others. It urges us to learn to see things differently. It holds the promise of defining moments, as we take the time to see things in a new light” (Klappa 2). Klappa is a physical therapist that traveled the world to help others and when she went to different countries. She learned how important physical therapist are in the medical field and how she can get others attention. Starting a career path in physical therapy can
The medical field consists of many specialties that could be hard to choose from. Once the options have been narrowed down, a life-changing choice has to be made. A more in-depth research session can help make an important decision such as this one. Two professions such as a doctor and a physical therapist can be intriguing but both still have their differences. This essay will further simplify a choice between becoming a doctor or becoming a physical therapist by further examining the education span, financial income, and daily routine for both professions.
Entering my first year of college I didn’t have any idea of what I wanted to do. I still didn’t choose a major let alone a career. I was stuck in between wanting to make enough money that my family would be taken care of financially and choosing a career that I wouldn’t mind going in to work every day. The one thing that I was certain of was that I wanted to be able to help people in whatever I chose to do. After careful consideration and exploring the options available to me, I have come to the conclusion that I want to have a career in physical therapy. Physical therapy is the treatment of disease, injury or deformity through physical methods rather than through drugs or surgery.
Educational requirements, opportunities and general demands of the career are only a few of the areas to inquire about in the field of physical therapy. This career is diverse in nature, in that a therapist sees many different ailments ranging from a sprained ankle to rehabilitating someone who has had an amputation. There is a fair degree of difficulty involved in becoming a physical therapist, and due to the high competition involved in entering the various Master’s degree programs as stated earlier, high grades and a positive attitude are very important for success in an interested student’s career. Volunteering is a great way to find out if a person would or would not be interested in entering the practice of physical therapy. This is an exciting career with many opportunities for advancement. This career is also a nice choice for those who become bored with the tedious monotony of a daily routine, since each day is a new experience.
While being able to financially support myself one day still motivated me, I began to appreciate the importance of physical independence as well. I never want to be physically limited and unable to do the things that make me happy, such as snowboarding or kayaking, and I also want to remain independent into old age. This reinforced my desire to pursue physical therapy because I want the opportunity to help others achieve this same kind of freedom that will improve their quality of life. A student and professional must be invested in the patients and be able to empathize with them. Having these abilities will contribute to creating more effective treatment plans and achieving better treatment
My journey to pursue an education in physical therapy actually originates from my early childhood. I endured a very impoverished upbringing and my family’s socioeconomic status was below the poverty line. At a very young age, money became the central issue of my life. I found myself worrying about mortgages, health bills, and grocery money. As I grew older, I vowed to myself that I would not endure my family’s financial burdens into my adulthood. I knew the best way to accomplish this was by obtaining a college degree and having a professional career. However, I was unsure what career I wanted to pursue. I experimented with many different career ideas, but during my sophomore, I discovered my passion and skill for physical medicine. For my
With the help of my family and employers, I resign from my job and enrolled into the University of Houston-Clear Lake. They motivated me into taking the first step into my professional career in where I achieved my bachelor’s degree in Fitness & Human Performance. It was there that I was given the opportunity to do my internship at Proactive Physical Therapy (PPT) and see hands on what to expect in a PT setting. To be a part of someone’s rehabilitation journey, from the moment you first see them at their initial evaluation, to when they are graduating and being discharged, is an incredible feeling to be a part of. A Physical Therapist often encounter patients that are at the lowest point in their life in which they would have to teach, coach, listen and motivate the patient to rehabilitate them. When TW came in for PT, he was down on himself because he had
The medical field is expanding ever so rapidly in today’s society. In the field of Physical Therapy one needs to have the understanding of how the human body works and the injuries one body could sustain. I have chosen a career to help others to battle back from life-changing injuries or surgeries. I will take the first step of joining the medical field by obtaining a physical therapist associates degree. I will become a Physical Therapist Assistant.
I have been exposed to the medical field my whole life. My Mom was a nurse and I would love to listen to the stories she told about her time in the hospital. If anybody asked me at the age of five what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say “a nurse like my mom.” A few years later I decided I wanted to be a doctor from the few times I got to watch the television show “ER”. The beginning of my interest in physical therapy was when I met my fourth grade pen pal, Elmo, at a nursing home. Elmo had muscular dystrophy and only retained control of his right arm and pinky which allowed him to manouver his wheelchair. During one visit where we got to spend the whole day with our pals, the physical therapist at the nursing home came to see Elmo. I was allowed to stay and I remember thinking it was so cool that there was one person to help Elmo retain the little muscle tone and mobility he had left. In sixth grade, my class went to the hospital to sing Christmas caroles and I remember the coolest place being the physical therapy room. I thought it was amazing how patients were learning to walk again or throw a ball.
Physical therapists play an integral role in health care. The vision statement for the physical therapy career is: “Transforming society by optimizing movement to improve the human experience”. 1 Through my prior volunteer and work experiences, I discovered that physical therapy was the perfect career choice and vision for my future. As a current student and future physical therapist, I will play an important role for society and within the health care profession. The vision statement will serve as my reminder to always strive for more knowledge and feedback as a student, uphold pertinent values that will improve the practice of physical therapy, and to always provide quality care to all patients.
Since I now have researched all of the important facts about what it takes to become a physical therapist, the pro’s and con’s, information about current trends like the new health care laws, and learned about where the field is at today, I can now make a more informed decision about this career choice. At this time in my life I’m not prepared to take on the requirements that are needed to get into the DPT program. I am still interested in the field and since I can get a bachelors degree in any field to start the requirements for the program I may still consider this occupation as a career choice and pursue this more in the future. I do enjoy helping people and working hands and have always been interested in the health care field so this will be a great option that I’m now more informed about. 13