'Education Research In Physical Therapy: Visions Of The Possible'

Ever since I was a kid, it has been my life goal to help as many people I can. I have moved around in many different areas of the medical field, but no career had caught my eye as much as physical therapy. As an athlete, I have been in and out of the physical therapist’s office for a majority of my life. Each time I have went I could not help but be beyond grateful for what these people have done for me; they have given me the ability to play the sport I love despite all the hiccups. Physical therapy is a dynamic field within the field of medicine because as a physical therapist one can make a difference in the lives of his or her patients, enjoy job security, and enjoy a rewarding and personally satisfying career.

One of my main goals for this practicum is to learn more about occupational and physical therapy. To get a better understanding between the two and what their fields entail. The reason this is my main goal is because I am on the fence with which field I am wanting to go on to grad school for. I am leaning towards occupational therapy, but I am still curious about physical therapy. This is why I am choosing to observe both occupational and physical therapists during my practicum. I am planning on shadowing at two facilities. Another goal I am wanting to fulfill is getting a broad spectrum of age groups. What I mean by this is I would like to observe both young and old patients. I would like to compare the work a younger adult does towards the

Life can change in a split second when an unanticipated injury or disease hinders someone’s normal daily life. Modern medicine, physicians and families can only do so much but physical therapy can help recoup the life many of us take for granted. It often isn’t until we lose something that we as humans realize what we had such as the value of our body’s ability to take us through each day. A physical therapist is the person who stays with a patient for the duration of the rehabilitation process. A physical therapist leads the patient through the process of regaining physical strength and helps the patient regain control of their future. Much like many careers that involve interaction with individuals, physical therapy reaches beyond

The physical therapy profession is concerned with treating individuals of all ages. In the future, I plan on being able to comfort individuals undergoing physical therapy by being able to use my compassionate nature, caring, understanding, and the expertise that I will gain, while serving as their physical therapist. In doing the previously mentioned things, I hope to be considered as an important asset to society. I believe that people will be able to increase their viability by seeking my assistance.

The article that I chose was published by Mayo Clinic School of Health Science, the title of the article is “Physical Therapy”. The article informs the reader on the roles, goals, as well as the overall definition of a physical therapist. According to the article, “Physical therapists (PTs) work with patients who have impairments, limitations, disabilities, or changes in physical function and health status resulting from injury, disease or other causes.” Therefore, a physical therapist works directly with the population that has a form of impairment in their movement, whether it is from an injury or an illness. The roles of a physical therapist are examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis

The day-to-day writing in the field of Physical Therapy varies depending on the audience. The audience determines the purpose of the writing and writing style. Physical Therapists (PT) use evidence-based exercises and activities to rehabilitate their patients in order for them to reach their unique goal. Since PT’s work with both medical professionals and patients, they must adjust their writing to be able to communicate effectively. PT’s are just one of the many people in the medical field that may work with a particular patient so it is important that the communication between the different layers of the medical field are precise and clear. Writing to a patient is also important because they are the person who is being directly affected

Predominantly, a physical therapist must be compassionate and caring. My family members and I are accustomed to taking care of one another, regardless of the age or circumstance. Along with these age differences come different opinions; because of this, at a very young age, I quickly understood the meaning of empathy. I have become accustomed to practicing compassion at home, that it has now become second nature to me.

Reading from the article-“Celebrating a Milestone-35 years of PTAs” published by Michele Wojciechowski on 1 Feb. 2004, I feel proud that I am now in the Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) Program. The author has outlined several timelines of achieving status in American Physical Therapy Association and National Assembly also, how PTAs achieved their own value. Even after passionate 2 year associate program, I am disappointed to see that PTA program is no longer a stepping stone for Physical Therapist (PT) program.

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.

I stated to formulate my research questions when I surfed the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). I read some of documents that

The Physical Therapy profession has been around for many years. “The American physical therapy profession emerged during and following the First World War as a result of the need for trained providers of therapeutic exercise – who practiced under the supervision of a physician – for the rehabilitation of injured soldiers.” (Wrynn, 2014) The profession over the past few years has had a huge expansion in need. “Physical therapists (PTs) provide services that help restore function, improve mobility, relieve pain, and prevent or limit permanent physical disabilities of patients with injuries or disease. (Physical Therapist, 2012) Physical Therapist work with the patient to make sure

When physical therapy or physiotherapy was chosen as the keyword, research studies of exercise appeared. I felt as if the researchers believe that physical therapy only encompasses exercise. We as a profession work in diverse specialties and use numerous treatment methods. Maher et al.(2004) states that there are publication biases in the research community. Registries that choose what studies are published prefer large studies, ones that show significant effects and those that have positive outcomes. Unfortunately, this can sway the public to believe that a certain outcome is invalid not because it is false but because a study was not “chosen” to be

The concept of evidence based medicine (EBM) emerged in the early 1990s led to the development of evidence based practice (EBP) in physical therapy later in the decade1. The aim of EBP is to increase the quality of care and decrease the needless variation in practice. EBP can be defined as, making clinical decision about the patient care plan using the latest evidence from research2,3. Applying the EBP may reduce medical errors, challenge beliefs based views and help balance risks and benefits in patient care2. The important of EBP arose from the fact that nearly 30-40% of patients do not receive treatment according to the current research evidence. Surprisingly, 20-25% of provided care is harmful or not needed4. For example, despite the

In finding the sources of my final project, I used the free library databases offered by Utica College, and from the other resources of an article. Most of the resources that I found are peer reviewed based on evidence related to physical therapy. The physiotherapists and assistant's expertise and knowledge are an important part of the components of evidence-based approach (American Physical Therapy Association, n.d.). Moreover, peer-reviewed journals/ articles is a fundamental part of improving a clinician's skills in providing effectively

What I have learned about research is that it is a process, a scientific process that psychologist and scientist develop that includes many different approaches and that is carefully peer reviewed and evaluated. There is what is called the Scientific Approach where scientist have an idea or theory and based on their observation will either support the theory or the theory can be falsified by their peers. Data also goes through a review period before it is published in a scientific journal by scientist who have the knowledge and expertise to evaluate it.