Which personal characteristics and motivating factors have led you to pursue the profession of physical therapy?
Ever since I was a child I have been extremely active from recreation sports to my favorite Cheerleading, the unfortunate and inevitable consequence of being so active is injury. I have broken bones, dislocated joints, torn ligaments, sprained ankles, you name it. If it was not for physical therapy making me good as new I probably would have stopped all activity, and that was not an option. This is why I want to be a physical therapist, to help people move again.
Being able to move is a gift that we as humans have been bestowed upon since birth. To not take advantage of this gift to me is a sin. To be limited in any way that does not allow us to be our very best is a waste. I want my life to be dedicated to keeping individuals moving the way that they were intended to do.
Ever since I was in high school I knew I wanted to be in a field that promoted healthy living, I just could not pinpoint exactly what was my calling. I started out wanting to do personal training knowing that I could make a difference in the lives of those who needed a jump start on their health, but still as I watched personal trainers and learned about the profession it did not seem fulfilling enough for me. I needed to make more of an impact. My grandmother at the time worked as a nurse in a nursing home, she heard my dilemma and told me I should consider physical therapy, as the nursing home had a great inpatient program. A few summers later I began my job as an aide there. I was instantly hooked. The patients coming in all had movement issues due to strokes, falls, and old age. These individuals were robbed of their gift of movement and it was the job of the physical therapists to get them back on track. I knew then that I wanted that to be my job too.
After my first couple of days working at the home, I not only felt a passion for helping others but I really began to learn a lot about myself. Working with that age group is not easy to do. They can sometimes be difficult to talk to, understand, and extremely difficult to motivate. Some of these people were so sick and sometimes even depressed that asking them to pull one more rep or even come to rehab was a feat. Some of them were so delirious that they didn't even realize what was happening or why you were trying to make them get up when all they wanted to do was sit and watch TV. At first I was frightened and shy about motivating these people, but in the back of my head I knew that we were helping them, that the repetitive boring moves we had them doing would bring them even in the smallest sense some freedom. I did whatever I could to make them move, I would listen to their hysterical (and most of the time not true) stories of their past, told them some of my own and even on some down time would go and visit them in their rooms. At this point they felt so comfortable with me, (one man even proposed) and coming to physical therapy was no longer frightful or painful. I realized then that I do have a true gift of communication and getting people to trust me. These are two important characteristics to have when being in this profession, no one who does not trust you will believe that doing toe curls with a towel will help their plantar fasciitis or that those horrible leg presses are just what your knee needs after surgery. This is a profession of trust and I believe I can use that to help my patients.
I chose to pursue physical therapy because I have a passion for helping others. Everything I am involved in at school is surrounding on the common good. I am the president for Students for Organ Donation, working to raise awareness and increase donor numbers, I am the activities coordinator for my honor society, organizing service projects and community outreach programs, and lastly I am involved with THON, a year long project culminating in a dance marathon to raise money for pediatric cancer.
Physical therapy is all about helping others, helping others to get one more chance at moving and having a full and long life. I know that with my skills and drive to help individuals, I can make a difference in the community. I know that I will constantly strive for excellence in what I do and never fail any of my patients. My goal is to make some difference; some impact even if it is just on a few people. I am confident that once I become a physical therapist I can make that goal happen.
Ever since I was a child, I have been extremely active, from recreational sports to my favorite Cheerleading.---Start a new sentence here.--The unfortunate and inevitable...
Being able to move is a gift that we as humans have been bestowed with since birth.
My grandmother at the time worked as a nurse in a nursing home, and when she heard about my dilemma she told me I should consider physical therapy, as the nursing home had a great inpatient program.
At first I was frightened and shy about motivating these people, but in the back of my mind I knew that we were helping them, that ...
At this point they felt so comfortable with me, (one man even proposed) that coming to physical therapy was no longer frightful or painful.
Everything I am involved in at school is surrounding on the common good.---What does this mean?
Good luck in school and have fun!
:)
