Personal Narrative: A Career As A Physical Therapist

Before visiting the Hospital for Special Care Adaptive Sports Program in New Britain, I did not realize all the hard work that goes into working in the adaptive sports program. At first I thought the adaptive sports program was for people who had difficulties playing sport and nothing more. However, after visiting the site, I was completely wrong. The tour guide informed us that the facility purpose is to modify equipment in order for people with certain physical limitation to enjoy the sport comfortably. He informed us that the players do not participate because they have to, but because they love the sport in and of itself. From hearing everything the tour guide was telling the class, I feel the inner pride in him. I realized that he truly loves his job because of the fulfilment he helps the clients achieve, for example gaining friends they can call family and building their confidence.

Jim Penn is a Physical Therapy Assistant at Medina Regional Hospital in Hondo Texas. My interview with him was extremely helpful in getting information on Assistant Physical Therapists. Prior to this interview I was interested in becoming either a Physical Therapist or an Assistant Physical therapist, however I did not have a lot of knowledge regarding the Assistant position. Jim Penn helped explain the career field and gave a lot of insight to what I should expect regarding schooling and the day to day in the field. I will hopefully be spending a few days this summer shadowing him and the Pediatric Physical Therapist on Staff at Medina Regional.

I never thought that I'd be writing to you out of all people. Everyone may question my sanity once they figure out I've been trying to write to you ever since you were convicted five years ago. It's just.... I couldn’t find the right words to explain how badly you hurt me. However, my therapist said that writing this letter will help me accept the fact that I made the dumbest mistake in the world seven years ago when we got married. Oh yeah, I'm going to a therapist. I find that quite ironic since one day I thought I could become a therapist, and specialize in women sciences, but instead, I'm going to one.

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,

I am not like other people where I’ve had difficulties with my family but I have had one major struggle that has impacted my life. It did not affect me for just one summer it will be affecting me for the rest of my life. The exceptional hardship I have had was when I broke my leg in five places and had to overcome the difficulties of getting better. It was such a difficult experience because it affected my love of playing basketball. However, that experience led me on my path in pursuing a career in Sports Medicine. Breaking my leg was awful but it helped me think about what I wanted to study when I go into college.

As an aspiring occupational therapist, my essential goal is to provide services and opportunities to impaired individuals, specifically in under-developed communities, that may not have the proper resources and guidance. What made me want to dedicate my life to assisting individuals is from observing my grandmother take care of my great-grandmother until she passed away. While trying to maintain her own health, my grandmother helped her mother with tasks such as feeding, changing, and more all by herself. Watching her struggle with no support made me wish I could make life simpler for her. Also, I wished my great-grandmother had the utilities to help her interact with my family without dilemmas. Considering my great-grandmother and my future

In order to generate educational and occupational options for myself, I have looked at many resources ranging from volunteering in person to researching online. I have volunteered at a retirement home with a kinesiologist to determine if I would like that type work, and more importantly, the work environment. I have also volunteered at a physiotherapy clinic and Toronto rehabilitation institute to get a clinical and hospital experience as well. This has allowed me to get a hands on experience at various difference jobs in the field of healthcare. I have also looked at online resources such as research articles, government website, NOC, and DOT. Along with these resources, I have also gotten the opportunity to work at various jobs

“I want to live.” She said. She lifted her feet off the small coffee table and set them gently on the floor as she continued to look through me, too interested on the inner workings of her own mind.

Occupational therapy is a form of therapy for people who are recuperating from physical or mental illness that encourages rehabilitation through the performance of activities that are required for daily life (World Federation of Occupational Therapists). Being an occupational therapist has many different kinds of duties. They review patients’ medical history, ask the patients’ questions, and observe them doing tasks, evaluate a patient’s condition and needs. After evaluating patients, develop treatment plans and help demonstrate exercises. In order to do all of these duties, a person must pass the national examination administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy. Therapists must pass the board in order to have

In the beginning, physical therapy made my recovery tedious. I was only interested because it allowed me the opportunity to learn numerous types of injuries from a variety of individuals. For example, I met a girl who broke her arm from falling off the monkey bars. Or the boy who had a complete elbow dislocation, while playing basketball. Although I was entertained by these interesting stories, they made me feel guilty. I was congratulating strangers for their quick recovery, while my own felt treacherous. Therefore, I grew frustrated and irritated with physical therapy and I denied any positivity in my recovery. I became envious until my envy evolved into a depression because I was incapable of physical activities. Therefore, I was forced

Becoming a Doctor of Physical Therapy has been my educational and life goal from the time I was freshman year of high school. When I was 15 years of age, my life changed forever. After three months of physical therapy for a weak hip, my physical therapist told me that I was not where I should be, and that something was wrong. A specialist subsequently diagnosed me with hip dysplasia as well as a labral tear. Fixing those two issues would entail a multi-hour surgery with 18 months of recovering. At that time in my life I was a four sport athlete and involved in countless other activities at school. I was the kid who would say how high when someone would say jump. Therefore 18 months of rehabilitation would put in a dent in my normal flow of

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”

It hurt to walk as I stepped into physical therapy on that spring morning. I was coming into here for my second round of physical therap. I thought I had healed up the first thirteen weeks I had gone to physical therapy a year earlier, but three years later, I had still felt pain. I still can recite every detail on how I got here. I was at one of my gymnastics meets way back in 2012.

My English professor once asked the class a question that was actually very interesting to think about “What is the best gift you can give someone?” multiple answers were given such as; money, love, nothing, freedom, traveling, etc. He finally gave out the answer “the best thing you can give someone, is teaching them”. Therefore, whenever I’m asked about my career in physical therapy or the topic in mentioned; I think about his answer and base my motive on it. My passion for the field of physical therapy was not strong as when I was first exposed to it. The passion for this career choice slowly developed throughout my experiences in life.

Ever had aching muscles? Ever wish you could just sit back and relax as someone rubs those atrocious twitchings out of this life? Well you are in luck, massage therapists are the leading men and women of the modern day that contribute to reinvigoration of virility. Discovering and selecting a school that satisfied all my expectations was a tough but exciting task. I chose Texas Center for Massage Therapy as my school of choice because of the in depth course work they have to offer through their 32-week program. Massage therapy stood out to me a few years ago when I met a friend who was studying massage. I’ve always had an interest in the medical field beginning when I was a young child. The daily routine of a student wanting to pursue massage therapy would thrive to their