Physical Therapist Assistant Personal Statement

My name is SGT Park, Chris. I am 45 years old and immigrated from South, Korea. I have been married with my wife; Young and have a 2 years old daughter Alexandria. I was Air force reserve and enlisted to Army on 2008. My previous MOS was 91J as Quartermaster and Chemical Equipment Repairer. Re-enlisted to 68V and PCS here December 2014. Currently, I am a 68V; Respiratory Therapist.

My first experience observing a physical therapist, commenced in the summer of 2014. At the time, I was given the opportunity to observe a physical therapist named Jennifer Moreland. Throughout my time observing her, I began to recognize she was not just a physical therapist with her patients. Many times, she took on the role of a consoler, cheerleader, friend and supporter for her patients. Reflecting back on this, I am able to see that the primary reason she has succeeded as a physical therapist; is due to her amiable, encouraging and empathetic nature. These character traits have allowed her to do more than heal patients' musculoskeletal problems. She has also been able to heal hearts, souls and minds by cheering, supporting, listening

As an acute care nurse practitioner I hope to utilize my experience as an Intensive Care Unit nurse along with clinical knowledge and skills acquired through a graduate level program to provide the highest quality patient care. In my current role, I place high value on patient-family centered care and advocacy as well as commitment to lifelong learning. I have built my nursing career upon these values. I am excited to begin the journey of becoming an acute care nurse practitioner and to further my education and expand my scope of practice in the field of critical care, for which I have already developed a passion.

Being a nurse not only means compassion, dedication, and intelligence, but the profession also requires endurance, personal sacrifice, and the need for continuous education. I have learned that nurses are some of the most caring and selfless people that anyone will ever meet. Nurses are more than willing to complete challenging tasks and care for others in a way that the majority of people are unwilling to. I am driven to bring all of these qualities into my role as a future nurse practitioner, which is why I am committed to pursuing my Doctorate of Nursing Practice (DNP).

Have you ever bent down to pick something up or sprinted after your dog because he got loose? Not many people in today’s society pay attention to their body movement. They often take their body’s ability to move normally for granted. A person’s biomechanics are essential to everyday life, without being able to move properly one cannot perform everyday tasks. Unfortunately, there are people who are not able to do so and face many hardships in their life and may be in a lot of pain. Therefore, these people seek professional assistance to help them regain their ability to function normally. Usually, they end up in the care of a physical therapist and his assistant. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, physical therapist assistants

A Physical Therapist Assistant is a job occupation that involves assisting a Physical Therapist who helps with the rehabilitation of individuals who have past injuries or are working towards strengthening what they are weak with. They help people get back to their normal self and ready to operate in society normally. The Physical Therapist Assistant mostly helps with the workouts and stretches that patients have to do. They help with impairments, disabilities, and their mobility(U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). A Physical Therapist Assistant can work in hospitals, schools, and any average therapy location. There is a lot of information about being a Physical Therapist Assistant including their day to day routine,salary, schooling, and

Accordingly, altruism became a mainstay. Proctoring physical therapists indoctrinated the fundamental that you put every need of a patient before your own, and always shooting for a higher level of care than the majority would accept. Specifically, they would always let patients come in on occasions separate from their appointments and utilize the exercise equipment as required. As the intern, building a priority to support all patients that came in with total guidance and instruction became predominant. This leads to the other key to professionalism, humility. During my internship, constant quizzing ingrained that you constrain the need to answer every question. Giving a “best guess” will lead to negative repercussions. Correspondingly, observations of the physical therapists themselves refer innumerable times to other professionals; be it the patient’s doctor, another therapist, or a dietitian. Seeing how various physical therapists operated also reinforced the belief of professional duty. The pride every therapist had in the profession, the mentoring that each provided, and the amount of work put towards every patient left my mind with a profound impression. Equally important, the consciousness of unspoiled care and compassion. Listening to other undergraduates and professors explain that you would have “problem patients”; this idea became entrenched in my head when starting. Contrarily, their concepts never materialized. Wanting to help the patients that had numerous struggles, or purely had countless debilitating injuries constituted as the goal. Contemplating unique exercises, finer cues, or improved ways to motivate perpetuated my evenings. Moreover; considering a patient ingenuously as a “knee”, or “rotator cuff”, or even just a patient was never a possibility. They were always people and people with their own particular

I started attending the University of South Alabama in 2013 after I graduated from SUSCC in May of 2013. I really do not know why but I always wanted to attend South Alabama, maybe because I heard a lot of good things about it. I am from a small town so moving away was good for me. My first attention was to become a physical therapist when I started at South but I ended up changing my major to Exercise Science. I met with my advisor at the time before fall classes started and decided to change my major. It needed to be changed because I was told I would have to do at least two more years. After finding that out I felt it was pointless to continue exercise science and do something in a major that I would still enjoy. I met with my advisor and felt more confident about my decision. This major varies so I will be able to deal with something dealing with sports or children.

What do you know about a Physical Therapist? They are licensed health care professionals who help patients reduce pain and improve or possibly restore mobility. In lots of cases they can achieve these things without a highly expensive surgery and usually work their magic in ways that can reduce the need for long-term use of some medications and help their side effects. Physical Therapist help heal people both mentally and physically in way best fit for the patient's needs. Physical therapists can teach patients how to prevent or manage their condition so that they can receive some long-term health benefits. To be a Physical Therapist you just need knowledge about human body science so you can be a great PT and help people heal in a more unique and special way for them.

Compassion is the biggest motivating factor in my professional and personal life. Without a scintilla of doubt, I can say that compassion helped me to stay passionate for all these years as a successful physical therapist in different clinical environments. Being a physical therapist was always a challenging job ever since I started my career 15 years ago. Day to day interaction with patients who suffer from various injuries, disabilities and pain make any physical therapist overwhelmed with negativity and lack of interest at work, especially when patients fail to get improved as expected. My family atmosphere and upbringing made a huge impact on shaping up ideologies and perceptions of life.

On September 8th, 2015, I first began interning for Dr. Dawn Cox and her staff of experienced Physical Therapists at PRANA Functional Manual Therapy in Lancaster, PA. Since day one of my lived experience, I have noted every one-on-one, patients-therapist interaction. Intermittently, I would ask the therapists “Why choose Physical Therapy as a profession?” One of the Physical Therapists conveyed that aside from the substantial benefits a job provides, it was the intangible materials that added satisfaction to it. As a student exploring the field of Physical Therapy, I have infallibly witnessed professionalism through the therapists at PRANA transparent altruism with patients, without violating unethical practices as professionals; their apposite

With this job, I have to be slow to anger and also have a great amount of patience. Being a physical therapist is interesting because of its job description, educational requirements, work environment, salary, and job outlook. Most jobs have on-the-go training, which allows potential employees to have just a high school diploma. However, with physical therapy playing an important role on people’s lives, this job is not just handed out to us. This job requires “ physical therapist to examine each individual and develop a plan using treatments techniques to promote the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability” (“ Role of a Physical Therapist”).

“America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.” With the vision of the American Physical Therapy Association being to optimize society through movement, as a future physical therapist I will be an asset to our community and achieve the job at hand. By creating a positive, as well as empowering, atmosphere I will help to expand and advance the human experience. With every treatment, I will instill determination and promote the mobility of each patient to ensure them that they can reach their recovery goal. Through my devotion, diligence, and kindness I believe that I can transform and rehabilitate America’s patients.

After my outpatient observation, my impression of the Physical Therapy profession changed in the sense that I gained more respect for those in the field. The profession of Physical Therapy requires skill, knowledge, and many years of education. Before my observation, I did not truly understand what the profession took to be successful.

Upon arriving at the MARC I was immediately asked by Chad Hodges, one of the staff physical therapist, to perform an evaluation on a patient. Although Chad would be within earshot, I would be conducting this part of the session solo. I was a little unprepared but decided I would give it my best shot. I learned very quickly that the language we use with our patients can have a big impact on the way the feel about physical therapy.