Physical Therapy Personal Statement

Ever since I was a kid, it has been my life goal to help as many people I can. I have moved around in many different areas of the medical field, but no career had caught my eye as much as physical therapy. As an athlete, I have been in and out of the physical therapist’s office for a majority of my life. Each time I have went I could not help but be beyond grateful for what these people have done for me; they have given me the ability to play the sport I love despite all the hiccups. Physical therapy is a dynamic field within the field of medicine because as a physical therapist one can make a difference in the lives of his or her patients, enjoy job security, and enjoy a rewarding and personally satisfying career.

Ever since I was a child, people always asked me what I would like to be when I grew up. At first, I would always say that I wanted to become an engineer because of my love for hands-on learning and my exceptional problem-solving skills. However, when I grew older I found that similar spark of fascination in the medical field. I wanted to go into a profession where I could help others and use my love for problem solving and hands-on interest. This is when I became interested in occupational therapy and fell in love with the profession. Occupational therapy has several elements I find passion in such as, the ability to be hands on and help change other people’s lives in a positive manner. My goal in life is to become an occupational therapist and help others live independent lives again. As I work to obtain this goal, I am doing many things such as strengthening my writing skills because this major involves many various aspects of writing. To succeed in this field, one needs to be able to write strong research-based papers and cite all sources correctly. I am striving to master these skills in hopes that I can succeed in and accomplish my academic goals.

Life can change in a split second when an unanticipated injury or disease hinders someone’s normal daily life. Modern medicine, physicians and families can only do so much but physical therapy can help recoup the life many of us take for granted. It often isn’t until we lose something that we as humans realize what we had such as the value of our body’s ability to take us through each day. A physical therapist is the person who stays with a patient for the duration of the rehabilitation process. A physical therapist leads the patient through the process of regaining physical strength and helps the patient regain control of their future. Much like many careers that involve interaction with individuals, physical therapy reaches beyond

The physical therapy profession is concerned with treating individuals of all ages. In the future, I plan on being able to comfort individuals undergoing physical therapy by being able to use my compassionate nature, caring, understanding, and the expertise that I will gain, while serving as their physical therapist. In doing the previously mentioned things, I hope to be considered as an important asset to society. I believe that people will be able to increase their viability by seeking my assistance.

I believe impacting the lives of other people positively in the society is a great achievement. As a physical therapist in future, I will leave an impression by helping patients to obtain maximum health care through rehabilitation. Furnished with knowledge from a program of physical therapy specialist, I will help patients to manage pain, improve their movement, limit or prevent permanent disabilities and restore functioning (Porter and Teisberg, 2006). My aim is to offer high quality care that will eventually help patients to promote their health and fitness through active

I believe that my personal and professional growth and behavior as a physical therapist is of utmost importance. I base this firstly on my strong connection to those in society who are disadvantaged when it comes to physical therapy, and also on the movement system, movement being “the key to optimal living and quality of life for all people that extends beyond health to every person’s ability to participate in and contribute to society” (American Physical Therapy Association, 2013). This perspective, I believe, is aligned perfectly with the vision statement for the physical therapy profession – to transform society through optimization of movement to improve the human experience (APTA, 2013). After reviewing the vision statement, I strongly believe it will act as my guide by strengthening compassion, reinforcing advocacy, improving quality of service, and strengthening cohesion.

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 believe that everybody deserves to have a happy and comfortable life and that being able to complete every task effectively plays a major part in achieving this. I think as humans we tend to take everyday tasks for granted as it we complete these subconsciously without ever considering the impact it would have on our lives if we were unable to complete them. I want to be an Occupational Therapist as I believe that adjusting a person’s environment and teaching them necessary skills makes a huge positive impact to their life. I am also passionate about seeing people grow in strength to achieve their full potential no matter what challenges they face.

“Hello, Can I help You?” is a touching story. It did not only motivate me more to become an Occupational Therapist but it made me look forward to the future where I can help people feel better, happier, and more fulfilled of their lives. I have always been fascinated by the works of Occupational Therapists. Seeing them in the milieu where I work helps me stay on track and have more sense of direction in life. Meeting patients at work just like Jacqueline Goldberg opens multiple opportunities for me to learn and get a better and deeper understanding of people with disability. In Jacquline’s story, I learned that the Occupational Therapy treatment process is not just a typical in-and-out treatment routine. The story opened my eyes to a different level of patient-healthcare provider relationship and how that relationship can completely change someone’s

After high school, I’d wish to pursue a degree as a physical therapist assistant. Ever since I was younger I always knew that I wanted to become a PTA or else an athletic trainer. Sports introduced me to physical therapy and physical therapy assistants. I’ve played sports ever since I was a little girl. I also got injured many times playing sports which led my to go to physical therapy. I’ve always thought that the body was so fascinating and always want to learn more about it. I participate in Health Occupations where I am able to actually go shadow a physical therapist and see what they do.

First off, my immediate goal and underlying themes I wish to emanate every day is to put smiles on peoples’ faces. I firmly believe that every person has the right to be happy and being able to rid those with afflictions will make life worth living. Through evaluating all of the shadowing I’ve been able to partake in and the classes I’ve had the privilege of taking, I’ve developed an idea of what the pinnacle would be for me as an Occupational Therapist. I desire to work with those afflicted by strokes or spinal injury. Paralysis and brain injury are two very intriguing matters that can surprisingly be combated and overcome with diligent and adequate work. This ideal has been in my head since I was first exposed to my grandmother’s recovery process from her stroke. Additionally, my other grandmother has also done some work with Occupational Therapists of late. She suffers from Trigeminal Neuralgia which has impaired her in many ways, in fact she has even had to recover from a stroke. Once again I was able to witness the changes in mood and function in a loved one who used occupational therapy after a stroke. In fact, this time I was able to see the impact of occupational therapy on the effects of Trigeminal Neuralgia as well which heightened my interest in the profession and reconfirmed my desire to become an Occupational Therapist and

For my career exploration assignment I have chosen the field of occupational therapy. Not only am I a certified occupational therapists assistant, but I also have a passion for this field. Occupational therapy wasn’t something that I have always wanted to pursue, but once I got into college and observed an occupational therapist I fell in love with the occupation. Occupational therapy is the unique focus on occupation and daily life activities and the application of an intervention process that facilitates engagement in occupation to support participation in everyday life (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 1994). As therapists we are here to help our patients return to the highest level of independent physical function. Patients come to us in their lowest time, and it is our job to help build them up, and teach them how to be more independent, and to live their life to the fullest. Occupational therapists assistants do everything from increasing a patient’s standing/sitting tolerance and balance, safety with transfer training, dressing, bathing, grooming, and bed mobility. A lot of people always ask, “Physical therapy and occupational therapy are the same thing right?” That is not true. Physical therapy helps with the bigger movements, such as walking and lower extremity muscles, where as occupational therapy focuses on smaller, more fine motor movements, such as clothing manipulation, and grooming tasks. Occupational therapy helps to regain independence

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to have a fulfilling career that allowed me to help others. After much reflection, I figured I could never do both by sitting behind a desk in a quiet establishment. When I was in the eighth grade my first thought was becoming a physical therapist. I got the idea from my older sister as she started her college career preparing herself for physical therapy but soon gave up because of the hard classes she had to take, which then led her to get her degree in Recreational Therapy. I told myself I would not let the difficulty of class interfere with achieving my goals.

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.

If I am accepted into the University of Texas at El Paso Doctor of Physical Therapy Program, I plan to use my past experience and training from the program to oblige under privileged areas and communities. Moreover, I began to prepare for the mission of providing culturally skillful and dialectal experienced care through my experience shadowing and volunteering under Sandra Terrazas, where I have been in contact with patients of different ethnic backgrounds. By sitting in on patient evaluations and therapy sessions of primarily Spanish speaking patients, I am taking steps to learn Spanish in order to better serve the patients in my community and beyond. Likewise, I have been volunteering at a clinic where I can observe different diagnoses and populations such as geriatric patients, breast cancer survivor therapy, incontinence patients and sports injuries.