cgrabijas
Jul 18, 2016
Graduate / Doctor of Physical Therapy entrance essay - "What excites you most about physical therapy?" [2]
1. Explain what excites you most about physical therapy.
The sound of ski edges carving through snowy slopes, the crack of a bat in a softball game, the sound of barbells crashing in a CrossFit gym. These are sensory experiences that provide my life with so much enjoyment. Thanks to physical fitness and training, I have been able to excel at them. My love for sports and fitness have been driving force in my desire to pursue a career in physical therapy. The amazing transformations one's body can go through to improve performance are fascinating. Quality of movement is tantamount to quality of life and reaching one's highest potential of physical fitness and movement means enjoying the world around them more. Helping individuals achieve their highest quality of physical wellness and playing an integral role in helping them become the best version of themselves is what excites me most about physical therapy.
Learning about the human body and human performance have been always interests of mine. Since a young age, I have been very active in sports and once I took a weightlifting class in high school, I began to appreciate how much we can improve our own performance through different modalities. I began to train for sports in the off season, using weightlifting and calisthenics, and quickly saw positive results. With this hard work, I became faster, stronger and more efficient in my movements. These experiences early on led to a lifetime of interest in physical fitness. As I grew older, inspiring others to discover the benefits of physical fitness and wellness became in interest of mine. In college I introduced many of my friends to the gym and encouraged them to continue working out and find routines that worked for them.
As I grew into adulthood I began enjoying sharing my passion for health and fitness with co-workers, friends and family. Often in my career I have found myself to be the person that my coworkers come to in order to share how I inspired them to begin working out or focusing on nutrition. When they need advice on what gym to join or what types of fitness regimens to begin, they often seek my advice. What I have learned about inspiring others is that it is important to encourage them to find what works best for them. Physical fitness, like physical therapy is not a one size fits all approach and it takes understanding the individual and what will motivate them. Working in the skilled nursing facility as well as shadowing physical therapy there has provided many examples of this. There is a wide spectrum of attitudes that different patients have towards physical therapy. Some patients were former athletes who responded better to a coaching approach. Some had never exercised in their life and it was critical o not overwhelm them and to keep them interested in the process. Finding what works on a case by case basis is key to providing effective physical therapy. Understanding them requires a level of empathy and time spent in conversation, listening to them and their needs.
I have also been an avid member of the CrossFit community for 4 years and have witnessed the amazing effects that strength and conditioning can have on people. I have seen individuals' range of motion, gross strength and cardiovascular conditioning improve immensely. With these improvements, I have also witnessed changes in attitude, confidence, and overall happiness. I believe that quality of physical condition affects all aspects of wellness. Learning more about functional movement in CrossFit added to my interest in becoming a physical therapist because you begin to learn about efficient movement and how different body parts are interconnected. The attention to detail on biomechanics that the trainers have is what really attracted me to CrossFit. I was able to see how much quality of life can be enhanced through improving physical fitness.
When I worked in a skilled nursing facility, I watched countless patients come into the facility in poor condition and leave in a significantly better state of health. I was particularly impressed with the work the physical therapists did. I saw so many people come in on hospital beds and wheelchairs and walk out the front door thanks to the physical therapy team. In speaking with some of the patients when they arrived, they were often pessimistic about their recovery outlook. The physical therapists at the facility had incredible attitudes and work ethic that had an extremely positive impact on these patients. By the end of their rehab stays, many of the patients seemed like a different person entirely, both physically and mentally. I am excited about the prospect of being a part of that process. I look forward to learning all that I possibly can about the field of physical therapy to be able to share my knowledge to improve the lives of others. When people have traumatic accidents or injuries and lose some or all mobility, it can be a devastating experience. Restoring or improving movement can have enormous effects in someone's life.
Also, I have always enjoyed speaking with people and getting to know them. Working as a physical therapist presents an opportunity to not only help people, but to get to know them in order to help them succeed in their therapy. I am the kind of person who finds myself having random conversations with people in line at the coffee shop. My friends and co-workers have always pointed out how easy I am to open up to. To be successful in the field, it requires a certain level of emotional intelligence that I believe I have. I have a minor in psychology and have always been interested in what motivates people. I have taken emotional intelligence courses as well as a Dale Carnegie Human Relations course. These in addition to my personality allow me to have an empathy for others that enable me to work successfully with them. I have experience coaching kids and teens in ski racing as well as working with Special Olympics athletes. I have also organized numerous co-rec sports teams and pride myself in my ability to inspire interest in physical activity in others. I am excited to be able to bring these skills to the physical therapy profession in order to inspire and motivate patients.
All of my experiences with physical therapy and physical fitness have led me to pursue this career. I have personally experienced the benefits of physical well-being as well as witnessed the amazing things that physical therapy can do for people. I am excited to be able to be a part of the rehabilitation process and the challenges that it will bring. Physical therapy is so important in rounding out the rehabilitation of a patient as well as improving quality of life. I love the idea of a career that combines my passions and strengths of physical fitness and social interaction. There is so much to learn and the field is constantly advancing. I look forward to the opportunity to be a part of this ever improving community and sharing my passion for the field.
1. Explain what excites you most about physical therapy.
The sound of ski edges carving through snowy slopes, the crack of a bat in a softball game, the sound of barbells crashing in a CrossFit gym. These are sensory experiences that provide my life with so much enjoyment. Thanks to physical fitness and training, I have been able to excel at them. My love for sports and fitness have been driving force in my desire to pursue a career in physical therapy. The amazing transformations one's body can go through to improve performance are fascinating. Quality of movement is tantamount to quality of life and reaching one's highest potential of physical fitness and movement means enjoying the world around them more. Helping individuals achieve their highest quality of physical wellness and playing an integral role in helping them become the best version of themselves is what excites me most about physical therapy.
Learning about the human body and human performance have been always interests of mine. Since a young age, I have been very active in sports and once I took a weightlifting class in high school, I began to appreciate how much we can improve our own performance through different modalities. I began to train for sports in the off season, using weightlifting and calisthenics, and quickly saw positive results. With this hard work, I became faster, stronger and more efficient in my movements. These experiences early on led to a lifetime of interest in physical fitness. As I grew older, inspiring others to discover the benefits of physical fitness and wellness became in interest of mine. In college I introduced many of my friends to the gym and encouraged them to continue working out and find routines that worked for them.
As I grew into adulthood I began enjoying sharing my passion for health and fitness with co-workers, friends and family. Often in my career I have found myself to be the person that my coworkers come to in order to share how I inspired them to begin working out or focusing on nutrition. When they need advice on what gym to join or what types of fitness regimens to begin, they often seek my advice. What I have learned about inspiring others is that it is important to encourage them to find what works best for them. Physical fitness, like physical therapy is not a one size fits all approach and it takes understanding the individual and what will motivate them. Working in the skilled nursing facility as well as shadowing physical therapy there has provided many examples of this. There is a wide spectrum of attitudes that different patients have towards physical therapy. Some patients were former athletes who responded better to a coaching approach. Some had never exercised in their life and it was critical o not overwhelm them and to keep them interested in the process. Finding what works on a case by case basis is key to providing effective physical therapy. Understanding them requires a level of empathy and time spent in conversation, listening to them and their needs.
I have also been an avid member of the CrossFit community for 4 years and have witnessed the amazing effects that strength and conditioning can have on people. I have seen individuals' range of motion, gross strength and cardiovascular conditioning improve immensely. With these improvements, I have also witnessed changes in attitude, confidence, and overall happiness. I believe that quality of physical condition affects all aspects of wellness. Learning more about functional movement in CrossFit added to my interest in becoming a physical therapist because you begin to learn about efficient movement and how different body parts are interconnected. The attention to detail on biomechanics that the trainers have is what really attracted me to CrossFit. I was able to see how much quality of life can be enhanced through improving physical fitness.
When I worked in a skilled nursing facility, I watched countless patients come into the facility in poor condition and leave in a significantly better state of health. I was particularly impressed with the work the physical therapists did. I saw so many people come in on hospital beds and wheelchairs and walk out the front door thanks to the physical therapy team. In speaking with some of the patients when they arrived, they were often pessimistic about their recovery outlook. The physical therapists at the facility had incredible attitudes and work ethic that had an extremely positive impact on these patients. By the end of their rehab stays, many of the patients seemed like a different person entirely, both physically and mentally. I am excited about the prospect of being a part of that process. I look forward to learning all that I possibly can about the field of physical therapy to be able to share my knowledge to improve the lives of others. When people have traumatic accidents or injuries and lose some or all mobility, it can be a devastating experience. Restoring or improving movement can have enormous effects in someone's life.
Also, I have always enjoyed speaking with people and getting to know them. Working as a physical therapist presents an opportunity to not only help people, but to get to know them in order to help them succeed in their therapy. I am the kind of person who finds myself having random conversations with people in line at the coffee shop. My friends and co-workers have always pointed out how easy I am to open up to. To be successful in the field, it requires a certain level of emotional intelligence that I believe I have. I have a minor in psychology and have always been interested in what motivates people. I have taken emotional intelligence courses as well as a Dale Carnegie Human Relations course. These in addition to my personality allow me to have an empathy for others that enable me to work successfully with them. I have experience coaching kids and teens in ski racing as well as working with Special Olympics athletes. I have also organized numerous co-rec sports teams and pride myself in my ability to inspire interest in physical activity in others. I am excited to be able to bring these skills to the physical therapy profession in order to inspire and motivate patients.
All of my experiences with physical therapy and physical fitness have led me to pursue this career. I have personally experienced the benefits of physical well-being as well as witnessed the amazing things that physical therapy can do for people. I am excited to be able to be a part of the rehabilitation process and the challenges that it will bring. Physical therapy is so important in rounding out the rehabilitation of a patient as well as improving quality of life. I love the idea of a career that combines my passions and strengths of physical fitness and social interaction. There is so much to learn and the field is constantly advancing. I look forward to the opportunity to be a part of this ever improving community and sharing my passion for the field.