Graduate / Professionalism - it is not only a handful of values. It is a principle that never ceases to expand [3]

What is professionalism in the context of being a student in a Doctor of Physical Therapy program?

maintaining the highest competency in the job

Physical therapy is an essential element of healthcare, offering one-on-one personalized treatment and often rewarding outcomes in a patient and practitioner's lives. Physical therapy professionalism holds high medical standards of conduct to proficiently serve their individual patients. Individually, professionalism is something that should never stop improving. An effective expert in this field should take pride on their knowledge and ability to help others. Along with physical therapists maintaining the highest competency in their job, they should equally be able to demonstrate altruism, problem-solving skills, leadership, diverse communication abilities, and compassion.

As a physical therapist assistant with three years of experience in a diversity of settings, I have been able to firsthand observe and learn about what it means to be an expert in this field. Having the humility to know when something is out of your scope and ask for assistance allows you to better serve your patients to the highest ability as well as improving your own physical therapy skills daily. In a doctorate of physical therapy program, there will be times that a specific concept may be harder to understand than others. Reaching out to professors or classmates for further clarification or discussion allows true education to take place. Remaining self-less and recognizing that the best way to serve your patients is to swallow your pride and work as a team.

Throughout my life as an athlete, student, and physical therapist assistant, I have always thrived in a leadership position. Stepping up to the plate is nothing I have ever second guessed my ability to do. A leader is accountable for their actions and I recognize that those actions will always affect others. The more information I have learned through experience and working alongside many physical therapists has allowed me to mature the capability to be a leader when given the chance. Understanding the duty of being in charge of something, such as Medicare compliance that I hold in my current physical therapist assistant position, does not allow for one to slack or delegate those responsibilities to others, it falls on myself to complete tasks the right way each time.

While being a student in a doctorate of physical therapy program, there will be challenges that may seem impossible to overcome. Managing time with school studies along with your mental and physical health is only one of them. Each day in this program will provide new tests to confront problem-solving skills and draw on the most creative thinking. No single plan of care can be the exact same for each individual that will be treated. Every physical therapy setting experienced will bring its own set of new information and skills learned to carry over into the next one. Each unique case allows for inspiration of new treatment methods and testing a variety of techniques that are backed by evidence-based research. Working through any distinctive case will feed into new inspirations for the next challenge that will be faced while working with diverse populations and diagnoses.

Having the ability to successfully connect across ethnic barriers with a team of classmates, professors, coworkers, as well as patients being treated, develops trust. Communicating in ways that demonstrate respect, attentiveness, and understanding of others is key to successfully carrying out physical therapy plan of cares. Adjusting communication to each individual based on comprehension, along with appropriate body language and tone of voice is vital to effectively accomplish goals. One key aspect of appropriate communication is expression and another is effective listening.

Physical therapy is predominantly focused on improving physical aspects, however mental and emotional components can be just as important. Exhibiting compassion to those around you can help support mental struggles that come along with physical limitations, whether permanent or temporary. While working with a variety of patients in physical therapy, I have felt more empathy for my patients than I could have imagined. Physical disabilities that occur from genetics, an injury or accident, or over time from wear and tear really distress each individual in a different way. Overcoming these incapacities is no easy feat and having someone there for encouragement through the whole process is vital. Exercising compassion allows physical therapy professionals to assist in empowering patients to achieve the highest level of function possible.

Professionalism in the context of being a student in a doctorate of physical therapy program cannot encompass only a handful of values. It is a principle that never ceases to expand. Many ethical values and proficiencies will be absorbed throughout the program that are crucial to a successful career as a physical therapist and they will be learned from professors, classmates, and each individual encountered during those three demanding years. Taking each challenge and learning from it will allow for the most advancement when entering into the healthcare field.