I believe that my personal and professional growth and behavior as a physical therapist is of utmost importance. I base this firstly on my strong connection to those in society who are disadvantaged when it comes to physical therapy, and also on the movement system, movement being “the key to optimal living and quality of life for all people that extends beyond health to every person’s ability to participate in and contribute to society” (American Physical Therapy Association, 2013). This perspective, I believe, is aligned perfectly with the vision statement for the physical therapy profession – to transform society through optimization of movement to improve the human experience (APTA, 2013). After reviewing the vision statement, I strongly believe it will act as my guide by strengthening compassion, reinforcing advocacy, improving quality of service, and strengthening cohesion.
Simultaneously, The Decline of my grandmother’s health after suffering a stroke led to a substantial need for assistance in an array of activities in her daily living. As a Certified Nursing Assistant, I Provided her with direct care and support throughout her recovery process. Therefore leading to, the observation of her OT sessions which eventually led to my deep interest, heightened appreciation, and new inspiration to change my course of study and career focus in the field of Occupational Therapy. Going forward, I began gaining volunteer experience At the Mount Sinai Rehabilitation Center, where I observed specialist in hand therapy, lymphedema, brain and spinal cord injuries. The experience was emotionally rewarding because I followed the gradual progression of patients, I learned about their stories and what brought them to the center. Volunteering was an Enriching Experience I had a hand in the therapy experience for the patient, and I got to observe Amazing people across all levels in the healthcare
Physical Therapists provide rehabilitation for injuries and help maintain stability. “Some history of Physical Therapist formed their first professional association in 1921 called the American Women’s physical therapeutic association. In the late 1940s, the association had changed its name to the American Physical Therapy Association. Physical Therapy was developed when the association’s membership swelled to 8,000 and the number of physical therapy education programs across the US increased from 16 to 39”(“APTA History”). Although many people may think being a physical therapist is hard because of the qualifications needed, the daily work, salary, and needs of the service have drawn my attention to the field.
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 occupational therapist, I interviewed was Lorena Ortiz, MS, OTR/L. She is from Columbia, South America and currently lives in Greenville, South Carolina, where she has been a resident for sixteen years. She has three sisters, one brother and a son that is two years old. She attended Brea High School her junior and senior year and later graduate from Mauldin High School. Her favorite subject in School was anatomy because she enjoyed learning about the human body and the way it functions. In her opinion of what an occupational therapist is, she stated, “Helping people become as independent with daily activities as they wish after injury or disease.” The facilities where she works are, Greenville Health System, PRN acute care/In-patient rehab and Greer Memorial Hospital, out-patient rehab fulltime. Other areas she has worked are, subacute, long term acute care orthopedics. She worked as an occupational therapist assistance at St. Francis Hospital for seven years. While she worked at St. Francis Hospital, she later went back to school, for her master’s degree,
I believe impacting the lives of other people positively in the society is a great achievement. As a physical therapist in future, I will leave an impression by helping patients to obtain maximum health care through rehabilitation. Furnished with knowledge from a program of physical therapy specialist, I will help patients to manage pain, improve their movement, limit or prevent permanent disabilities and restore functioning (Porter and Teisberg, 2006). My aim is to offer high quality care that will eventually help patients to promote their health and fitness through active
I was at ease because I was in the best hands when my father sat me up on a table to wrap my sprained ankle after a reckless fall in gymnastics. He lectured me while handing me crutches and pulling me back onto my feet. “You have to take it easy until it heals,” he said as he continued to demonstrate how to properly apply my own bandages, ice my ankle and safely walk. This occurrence was not something new to me. Growing up, I was often inspired by the struggles my father underwent as an Asian immigrant fighting to open his own primary care clinic in America. However this gave me the freedom to interact directly with patients to educated people on how to promote their health and the steps to take in order to recover and return to their original lifestyles. My father’s influence and tenacious work ethic instilled in me the dedication to provide the best care possible throughout all my experiences and cultivated my desire to become an occupational therapist.
It is with great delight and profound pleasure that I am applying for consideration as Assistant Professor of Physical Therapy, Tenure Track. Devoted to advancing the research, teaching and practice of physical therapy has been my professional mission even before joining the academy. As an NYU Medical Center and NYU alumnus, I keenly believe that I embody what the NYU program envisions for this position. With a unique combination of expertise, collaboration, network, passion and diversity to achieve the requirement of the position, I will be deeply honored to discuss this further in an interview.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Ms. Irene Rademeyer, LPT of 1945 Barcelona Drive. Dunedin, Fl. 34698. In talking with Ms. Rademeyer, I learned that she obtained her Physical Therapist license 43 years ago in 1972 (I. Rademeyer, personal communication, June 22, 2015). Ms. Rademeyer developed an interest in this profession from the influence of her mother who was a nurse. Although she did not want to follow directly in her mother’s footsteps, she had a desire to help others in a medical capacity and the independence physical therapists have in managing the care of their patients appealed to her (Rademeyer, 2015). Ms. Rademeyer expressed that she had a desire to be able to change the lives of people by helping them to regain functionality and
First off, my immediate goal and underlying themes I wish to emanate every day is to put smiles on peoples’ faces. I firmly believe that every person has the right to be happy and being able to rid those with afflictions will make life worth living. Through evaluating all of the shadowing I’ve been able to partake in and the classes I’ve had the privilege of taking, I’ve developed an idea of what the pinnacle would be for me as an Occupational Therapist. I desire to work with those afflicted by strokes or spinal injury. Paralysis and brain injury are two very intriguing matters that can surprisingly be combated and overcome with diligent and adequate work. This ideal has been in my head since I was first exposed to my grandmother’s recovery process from her stroke. Additionally, my other grandmother has also done some work with Occupational Therapists of late. She suffers from Trigeminal Neuralgia which has impaired her in many ways, in fact she has even had to recover from a stroke. Once again I was able to witness the changes in mood and function in a loved one who used occupational therapy after a stroke. In fact, this time I was able to see the impact of occupational therapy on the effects of Trigeminal Neuralgia as well which heightened my interest in the profession and reconfirmed my desire to become an Occupational Therapist and
The current field that is in is the Healthcare field and I’m currently seeking my associate Degree in Healthcare Management. My goal is to keep going to school until I obtain my master degree in Healthcare. I want to continue to become knowledgeable in all the aspect of healthcare so I will be able to obtain a stable career. I feel like by me doing this will always open new doors and jobs for where I will be able to use my knowledge within my field because the healthcare field is currently growing each and every day and to be honest I don’t think it will never end at
I do not just want to treat each patient as a duty and move on to the next; I want to treat them like family and leave a memorable impact on their life, as well as my own. I hope to develop new methods for helping people reach their fullest potential, and I want to share that knowledge with countries that are not as progressive as we are in the United States. The College of Human Ecology values my decision to share my knowledge with the world by providing a variety of opportunities that allow me to apply my education to real world issues. I aspire to make a lasting difference in the occupational therapy
The American Physical Therapy Association is an accredited National Organization that offers membership to students, employers, and employees in the field of physical therapy from all across the country. As a student, I could benefit from being a member through discounts, aid, insurance, employment resources, evidence and research resources, and involvement opportunities (American – Membership Benefits for Students). After completing my education and entering the job field, I could experience benefits as a physical
This applicant describes the limits of the field he plans to pursue: "However, in time physical therapy became the logical focus of my attention for a number of reasons. For one, I have memories from a very young age of my grandfather in Czechoslovakia, disabled by a stroke, his problems unmitigated by any attempts at physical therapy. I will never forget the devastating consequences of this." He goes on to describe ways
The internship that I acquired during the summer of 2010 at the Greenwood Sports and Industrial Rehabilitation Center (GSIRC), allowed me to gain an immeasurable amount of experience during my tenure at this facility. Within this period, the exposure to new concepts within the physical therapy industry allowed me to observe and work hands on with patients of all ages and disabilities that exposed me to various treatment plans and programs to restore client’s mobility. The essential Physical Education and Exercise Science (PEES) courses taken at Lander University were beneficial to my academic knowledgebase, which prepared me and developed me for the opportunity within the physical therapy discipline. Working as