Personal Narrative: A Career In Physical Therapy

One of the most rewarding parts of working as a physical therapy technician is both seeing and being partly responsible for the noticeable improvements in both mobility and function that our patients make. To me, there is nothing better than seeing patients who at first were reliant on crutches or a walker progress to the point where they can walk unassisted, or hearing patients who suffer from chronic pain say they woke up pain-free for the first time in weeks. To reach this point of improvement, however, the patients must be engaged and active in their own rehabilitation, which means following their home exercise programs and showing up for their scheduled appointments. In order for patients to buy in and take an active role in their therapy,

When she sees a patient for the first time she talks to them about the doctor’s report and asks specific questions about their injury or experiences leading up to the need for physical therapy. Megan explained how important it is to make the patient feel comfortable and keep a positive attitude towards the patient’s recovery. These consultations were the most interesting to sit in on because it allowed me to observe the therapist’s ability to take the patient’s information and create a diagnosis and treatment plan for the injury or pain described. Megan may have multiple patients at a time so she stressed the importance of keeping up with each patient and why the physical therapy techs are so helpful. Scheduling is another job of the therapists that is important in keeping the clinic running smoothly. There is also paperwork that has to be filled out for every patient after every visit about their

Patients may experience satisfaction with a healthy respect for their physical therapist. When patients know someone cares about them, they are more motivated to work for recovery and self-care and the recovery outcome for a patient is more favorable. The therapist experiences a renewed sense of meaning and fulfillment.

Physical therapy can be a marvel for those who are chronically ill or injured giving them the ability to live an active and healthy lifestyle after proceeding with treatment. A close relative of mine experiences this at CBI Health Center in Kelowna, BC and is pursuing at improving his health post treatment. With the assist of his physiotherapists he modifies his health daily by eating better and being active, is currently losing weight, has had a decrease in pain, increase in mobility, and returned to work after being on medical leave for years die to chronic pain as a result of degenerative disk disorder. Through CBI Health’s approach at treatments, administering knowledge, and the motivation of the physiotherapists, Dave has been able to make a noticeable improvement on his health and began living a more active life.

Seiler says her favorite part of being a Physical Therapist is having a relationship with the patients she works with because she gets to see them normally for a longer period and having the satisfaction when you see that you helped someone in a positive way. Although, some patients can be aggravating when improvement is not seen. Often this is because patients fail to do their home program. On an average day she sees about seven to eight patients one every hour. She enjoys the pace that the clinic she is currently at because often other places have you see more patients in shorter amounts of time. Some places have more patients in secessions of 30 minutes with a Physical Therapy Assistant and will only see the Physical Therapist for short amount of time. Seiler believes with more time she is able to build a relationship and gain a better understanding of how to explain things to patients as well as what works well for them. It also allows the patient to trust the therapist and keeps them complying with doing the exercises. The other

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.

Challenges to adherence with treatment programs do not stop once physical therapy has ended. Continuing home exercise programs once a patient has terminated therapy is one the greatest struggles physical therapists face in creating successful outcomes for patients. Forkan et. al. (2014) found that of the 90% of patients who received a home exercise program following post-treatment, 37% did not participant in the prescribed program. Interestingly, time following discharge did not affect this rate of adherence, meaning that patients discharged within 12 months of physical therapy adhered to the home exercise programs at the same rate as those within 48 months. Common reported barriers to complying with the physical therapy program included change

It is critical as a future physical therapist I recognize the body’s full potential to set the standard for recovery. I will evaluate the individual’s lifestyle and generate the best practice techniques in diagnosing and measuring the most advantageous outcome.

Being a physical therapist, to me, is someone that is able to enhance physical and functional abilities, promote optimal quality of life, and prevent onset and unwanted diagnoses for every person they evaluate. It takes a knowledgeable, patient, determined, and passionate physical therapist to complete these arduous tasks. A physical therapist’s goal should always be to improve their patients’ lives in various aspects. It is also important for the physical therapist to have a strong belief and positive outlook for the treatment they prescribe, because if the patient notices discouragement, they will not trust the healing process. I have learned through observations that physical therapy is a very adaptive field; not every patient is the same, changes occur, and alterations are often made. The main objective is to keep the person active in any way they can be, because a sedentary lifestyle can easily ruin a person’s body, abled or disabled.

Careeronestop gives the example, “PTs design an individualized plan for each patient using exercise, stretching, massage, and hands on therapy.” This is a well explained example of the knowledge and skills a physical therapist needs to carry out the rehabilitation of a patient. A PT must know what will be best for the patient and what to do with the patient to reduce pain and give them their strength back. As stated by Careeronestop.com,”Lifting and moving people and heavy objects are all part of the day’s work.” This gives the meaning that physical therapists must keep in physical shape to carry out difficult activities. While dealing with difficult activities, people that are becoming physical therapists must have volunteer work and direct observations on a daily life of a physical therapist. As acknowledged by Careeronestop.com,”PT programs require volunteer work and making observations of the field.” During the education of a physical therapist, the student must go through long periods of time in school to learn everything there is to know about physical therapy. Binghamton.edu states,”The clinical experience alone takes around one semester, but in some cases, it can take a year.” This shows that the education of a physical therapist is a long but rewarding journey. Overall, a physical therapist must have the skills and knowledge of what’s best for a

As a future physical therapist, I strive to heal people in order to help them gain their independence once again. Injuries inhibit people from engaging in the things they love, and I want to help give them hope and improve their self-esteem that they have lost. People take movement for granted and once they are faced with the adversity of not being able to move anymore, they begin to lose hope. For example, as a runner who runs 60 miles a week, I get injured constantly and sometimes lose hope of becoming a state qualifier. The relationship I built with my physical therapist, motivated me to get back to running as soon as possible. Due to this, my goal as a physical therapist is to build relationships with my patients and become their personal

The direct contact with the patient helps in the process of recovery. The connection between a physical therapist and the patient is essential for the patient’s physical improvement process. In order to treat a patient, a physical therapist has to perform different activities to ensure a quality treatment: evaluation, diagnosis, treatment and then evaluation of the outcome. Following those steps help getting a positive outcome. Physical therapists contribute in a tremendous way to the health care profession since they ensure the patient’s adequate healthiness by recovering and adapting people with physical dysfunctions. In order to be healthy, a person has to be physically in good conditions, meaning no pain or no physical dysfunctions. Physical therapy then plays an important role in the health care profession since it benefits patients physically in order to recover from injuries or physical

Although most therapist are aware of their patients psychological factors, applying psychological knowledge into the physical therapy field can be quite challenging. Therapist apply their psychological knowledge by setting goals for their patients, providing reassurance, and speaking on the functional consequences of pain. The challenging aspect of applying this knowledge correctly and adequately is the lack of tools and knowledge to do so. According to (Linton, 2011) 63% of physical therapist in a primary

Most of the patients dealt with in a physical therapy department are ones who are undergoing treatment for conditions that are most often seen as chronic. Relief in cases like these require immense amount of patience from both the patient's and therapist's side. Along with this perseverance and adherence to the treatment play a key factor in the overall success of the therapy. However, its most likely for

Physical Therapy is an internationally acknowledged health profession. It may be practiced only by qualified and, where required by state or national legislation, duly license/registered physical therapists. Physical therapists ensures public safety and maximize the availability of their services. Evidence documents that expert physical therapists emphasis on patient education and understanding about working within the health care system to maximize resources. In accordance with American Physical Therapy Association (APTA), scope of physical therapy practice includes interventions performed by them. Duty of the physical therapist also includes immediate referral whenever required, patient/ client assessment, diagnoses, prognosis and treatment.