Graduate / (technology innovation) GETTING STARTS ON UMDNJ SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAY FOR DPT PROGRAM [2]

Describe a technology innovation that will impact physical therapy services in 10 years. What is it and how will it help patients or the profession?

Does anyone have an idea of how I can start this off?? I am so lost!

Graduate / SACRED HEART SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAY FOR DPT PROGRAM [3]

Please identify a project you completed that you believe required the most independent learning on your part. The project does not have to be something you did as part of schooling. Briefly describe what the project involved. Identify why you considered the experience to have been "independent" learning. Identify whether you consider the experience to have been successful, including why. Identify one way in which you would change the experience if you had it to do again that would make it an even better (or more positive) learning experience.

During one of my summer vacations I had the opportunity to volunteer at a local Nursing Home's therapeutic activities department. At that time they were looking for a "wheel chair" workout instructor to lead the residents once a week. I have taught elderly workouts before but never something quite like this. My first day there they told me to just follow the instructional tape they had and repeat the moves for the residents. I was definitely boring these people. It was bad enough they were stuck in a wheel chair but now they were doing this monotonous workout. After my first class I asked the director if I could create my own workout and teach it to the class, she gave me the go ahead. That night I went searching for "wheel chair" workouts. Each one was as boring as the first, I was stuck, how was I going to make this up? I have never been in a wheel chair before. I then went through all my fitness magazines and every fitness website I could think of. I picked 10-20 basic strengthening moves that I would probably do in the gym and just did them all sitting down. To get their heart rates up I added some seated cardio moves, like punching and seated kicking. I even had a little seated kickboxing routine made. I then added some fun props; we had balls that we would throw around to each other and wands to use in place in weights. I even found some fun "oldies" music to play during our workouts. The residents loved the new workout and loved that I was always changing it up and tweaking it every week. What I have learned from this experience is that exercise can be boring, but with the right amount creativity and tools it can be made into a fun and entertaining time.

Graduate / "patients to therapy" RICHARD STOCKTON SUPPLEMENTAL DPT PROGRAM [3]

Please describe a difficult experience in your volunteer or paid physical therapy experience and discuss how you managed the situation.

When I was working as an aide at Allendale Nursing Home I had trouble getting some of the patients to therapy. As it was an in-patient facility we usually transported the patients from their rooms to the rehabilitation center. There was one particular patient that every day would give me trouble. He would yell at me, scream for help, and sometimes even try to hit me. His line was "I was in the Navy, I don't need therapy!" Truth was, he did need therapy. He experienced a fall a while back and broke his hip, what he failed to realize was that the sooner he was rehabilitated the sooner he could go back home to his family. Every time I made an attempt I was shot down, and the more times I went the more angrier and violent he became. It got to the point where I would avoid the therapists when I knew it was time to get him, or I would lie and say he was sleeping or eating. I was actually scared of my patient! And then one day it hit me, instead of fighting this guy I needed to get on his side, show him that I cared and that he could trust me. This time when he said his usual Navy statement, I replied with "You're right, you don't need therapy." He was shocked, I then continued to give him all the reasons why he doesn't need therapy, on how people in the navy were so strong and able and went through so much just to fight for our country. It got to the point where we just kept talking that he did not even realize me wheeling him into the therapy room. From that day forward he was always eager to go to therapy. What I learned from this experience was that with little bit of patience, kindness and wise words, one can make a difference in the treatment of a patient.

Think about a problem you encountered in your undergraduate career (e.g. a time when you received a grade that you were dissatisfied with or were assigned work in a group/team project that took disappointing turns). Please discuss how you overcame this problem.

Throughout my undergraduate career I have never had a grade below a B, and it was still rare if I got those. Going into my junior year I had a 3.8 GPA, which in my opinion was perfect. Then I took physics. I did not think it was going to be a breeze, but I took high school physics and did fairly well. My first day in class I was ready to cry, I barely could understand what my professor was teaching and then to make matters worse my lab TA barely spoke English! I knew I was in for it. Every week I sat in my teacher's office hours going over problems, I went to lab every week and attempted my best work. I got my first test back and I received a 55. I was devastated; I have never seen those two numbers together on a test. I went to see my teacher more, I went to the review sessions and I went for extra help. My next two tests were a 60, and a 65. While those still were not the grades I wanted it was still an improvement. And if it was not for the hard work I put into lab I would not have made it out with C+. This experience taught me that you cannot always have perfect grades and have an easy time with schoolwork, but as long as you continue to work hard, and persevere you will always come out on top.

Graduate / "The consequence of being too active is injury" - PTCAS ESSAY [3]

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.