Pediatric Physical Therapy Education

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

Pediatric physical therapists work to help disabled children and their families grow and become stronger every day. For about a century now, doctors have been making a valiant effort to improve the lives of children. Though it is not the most popular practice, pediatric physical therapy is certainly important to the lives of millions. Since the beginning of pediatrics, new discoveries are constantly being made. Pediatric physical therapy has been making ground breaking developments and progressions in all of its elements since it became popular in the 1920’s.

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

The job I plan on pursuing with kinesiology as my major is to become a physical therapist, which is also known as PT. Their main duty is helping patients rehabilitate with disabling injuries such as fractures, arthritis and low-back pain. Their duty is to help patients their relieve pain, increase mobility, and decrease long-term physical disabilities. Physical therapists focus on the evaluation of strength, balance, range of motion, co-ordination, endurance, and posture of each individual patient. Their patients can range from different age groups from infants to grandparents. The age group would provide a variety of therapeutic exercises for each of the health issues they would have. Depending

Initially, when I was looking for an internship to fulfill my Health Science 4975 class, I was trying to find an opportunity in a hospital or outpatient setting in physical therapy. It became apparent that that would be harder to accomplish than previously estimated. What I did stumble upon though, was a post for interns at Tiger Academy of Gymnastics looking for people to work with kids with various mental and physical disabilities. I chose this internship because even though I was not in a formal physical therapy setting, I would still have the opportunity to help kids improve their mobility, and social interaction. Furthermore, I would be doing this under the supervision of an assistant teaching professor at the University of Missouri, who taught physical therapy related classes.

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

When considering the physical therapy career field, I concluded that my interests and skills are compatible with the career requirements in this field. My sisters friend whom I chose to interview for this paper, contributed to my interest in physical therapy. By doing this research I would like to learn the average pay for a physical therapist. Also, what are suggested classes for a physical therapist while in college? This research will help me better understand what a physical therapist does and will either help me lean towards or away from a career in this field.

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

When you picture a classroom, what do you think of? You more than likely picture a chalkboard, desks for all the students and teacher. A new way of teaching has developed that removes students from the stereotypical environment and places they in a new and engaging environment. This is experiential education.

Experiential learning however is closely related to vocational education in that it relies on learner’s ability to apply knowledge to situations that they have a personal interest in. In doing this, it creates opportunity for valuable learner involvement and significant learning (Beard and Wilson, 2006)

I am the physical therapy team leader at a pediatric outpatient physical and occupational therapy clinic. This clinic evaluates and treats children between the ages of birth and 21 years with a variety of conditions, including, but not limited to: developmental delays, orthopedic and neurological conditions, brachial plexus injuries, torticollis and plagiocephaly, and autism spectrum disorders. Occasionally, the therapists will evaluate and treat an adult patient with developmental disabilities. The clinic is open five days per week with four occupational therapists, three physical therapists, one physical therapist assistant, and a Spanish-speaking interpreter. As the physical therapy team leader, I work with the occupational therapy team leader to suggest, establish, and implement new programs at the clinic, under the direction of the therapy manager.

Pediatric physical therapy was one of the practice settings that I wanted to become further educated in. This being said, I was not very familiar with this setting prior to researching this topic. After reading, something that I found appealing about the pediatric setting is that it is a collaborate effort between physical therapist, child, and family. I also found it intriguing that pediatric physical therapists assist children throughout age-related movement stages as they develop. The thing that I thought would be difficult at times is communicating with parents. I believe that in this type of practice setting, interacting with parents when they do not feel their child is progressing would be extremely stressful. Although some physical

In pediatric physical therapy, it is common to see a child with cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy or another physical deformity utilizing an ankle-foot orthosis, which the child will inevitably outgrow in a short period of time. As one doctor so adequately states, “if there was a Murphy's Law of pediatric orthotics, it would be that all growth spurts occur immediately after receiving a new orthosis, if one did not occur between the casting and the fitting” (source) What if there was a way to quickly and inexpensively manufacture an orthosis to meet the changing needs of these young patients? This is only one example in the field of physical rehabilitation where medical rapid prototyping could prove an enormous benefit.

The special needs children I was working with struggle to stay focused and sit still during class time. The addition of school based physical therapy helps to control their focus and allows them to keep up with the other students. A lot of the students I observed in this setting lack genuine human contact outside their home. Physical therapy gives them a place where they are they are most important and everything is individualized to their needs. Working with these kids was exceptionally rewarding and sparked so many ideas on how to incorporate the things that kids love and get excited about into their treatment. Making an effort to be available for my patients with questions and concerns is important. I will do my best to ensure that my clients and patients are interested in the exercises I give them to promote adherence and importantly,

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: