Personal Narrative: A Career In Physical Therapy

When deciding on a career, I did not know straightaway I would pursue physical therapy. But I did know that I wanted to do something within the health science field, even at an early age. Every person in my family was involved in health care one way or another; some uncles are doctors, a few aunts are nurses, a couple cousins are surgeons, and my own mother is a physical therapist, so a career in healthcare was all I knew growing up. For a good majority of my life, I seriously thought about becoming a doctor, but that surely changed over time.

A Physical therapist is a highly educated, licensed health care professional that can help patients reduce pain and improve or restore mobility. They can teach patients how to prevent or manage their condition so that they will achieve long-term health benefits. To become a physical therapist one must go through years of school and training. My goal of becoming a physical therapist has been my main goal ever since high school. Being in a swim team and helping others out as a lifeguard has motivated to into helping athletes and people with disabilities. To me, working with people would be a fantastic career field for me to pursue. Reaching this goal is harder than most career goals. I will have to go through a pool of candidates that are has motivated as me. This goal that I am trying to accomplish will need a hundred percent of my effort in school and the field itself. Finding “connections in the field of physical therapy will help you find a job faster. Many people will try to get a spot in the career that I want and for me to accomplish my goal, I must be a better candidate than the others.

In the words of Field (2007), "physical therapists develop therapies and exercise modalities to help patients ease pain, recover from injuries or illness, or regain use of body parts." The relevance of physical therapy as a health care profession cannot hence be overstated. This is more so the case given that due to injuries, accidents, old age or disabilities; individuals could at some point need intervention designed to alleviate pain, improve mobility or even restore function.

Once I get my degree in Physical Therapist Assistant, I would like to apply my new skills. My new knowlege and skills in; psychology, medicine, and biology. It would help me rehabilitate my patitents back to their orginal health state.

Physical Therapists have a very important job,to make sure that you recover faster from an injury/sickness.Being a PT (Physical Therapists) requires many skills in the education/training and important qualities to be successful at their job.When PTs go to college it's not all fun and games.A Physical

“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.

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

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.

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

Physical therapists are members of a health care team, specially trained to improve movement and flinction, relieve pain, and expand movement potential. Through evaluation and individualized treatment programs, physical therapists can both treat existing problems and provide preventive health care for people with a variety of needs (Physical Therapy-Improving 1). Physical therapists are very knowledgeable and skillful concerning the human body. Physical therapy is a complex, but rewarding field to pursue as a career. Specialization, working conditions, job outlook, salaries, and education requirements need to be taken into consideration when contemplating a career as a physical therapist.

To understand how I will embody the American Physical Therapy Association's vision as a future physical therapist, it's important to begin from my past, where it all came from. My adoration of the human body began during the first few years of high school. It was around this time that I had been working and working; finally I had saved up enough money to buy my first car back in the summer of 2009. Everyone loved his or her first car, and I was no exception. Like a typical first car, it had malfunctions here and there which I would research and repair on my own, learning along the way. Well, it was around that time that I was taking my first anatomy class, and I thought to myself, "Wow, how similar an automobile and the human body are. Two robust, powerful machines that can be repaired with some research and experience, together with a bit of learning along the way." Little did I know how much more intricate, detailed, and marvellous the human anatomy was; I wanted to fix everyone.

Physical Therapy, also known as physiotherapy, is a health profession that utilizes mechanical force, manual therapy, physical force, exercise, and electro/thermal therapy to promote bodily movement. This occupation is used to improve patience quality of life through the process of examination, diagnosis, and the act of physical therapy. Physical therapists provide care to all age groups from new born children to the elderly.

I chose a physical therapist (PT) because it always interested me from the time I was little because my dad had to go through and I went with him sometimes. I've always wanted to help people get better and better themselves and this is how I can do it. I recently just graduated from physical therapy, and I thought it was so cool to ask questions about a potential career that I could have one day. I got a hands on experience and had to do all different kinds of stretches and exercises. I actually really liked it because it was helping me make my muscles better and stronger.

Physical Therapy is a medical specialty that restores the functions of the human body in such a way that the patient’s quality of life and health perception reaches its greatest exponent. Physical Therapy promotes the mobility of the human body through physical intervention ensuring the patient’s adequate healthiness. Physical Therapy is a science that helps healing, recovering and adapting patients with physical dysfunctions.

Physical therapy is the scientific physical procedures used in the treatment of patients with a disability, disease, or injury to achieve and maintain function and to prevent malfunction or deformity. One of the most important tasks that physical therapists perform is the various forms of therapeutic exercise that are used to increase strength and endurance to improve coordination and functional movement for activities of daily living and to increase and maintain range of motion (APTA History).