I would appreciate feedback on my application essay for physical therapy school. The question is: "Which personal characteristics and motivating factors have led you to pursue the profession of physical therapy?" The limit is 4500 characters including spaces. Right now it's at 4,474.
My essay is below.
I've noticed that most people interested in becoming physical therapists are largely motivated by a personal experience as a physical therapy patient, but I consider myself fortunate that I avoided injury and instead found my motivation down a different path with the U.S. Navy. Like many people I did not always know what I wanted to do with my life, so after high school I enlisted in the military for the life experience and educational benefits.
While I was in the Navy most free time was spent working out, either in the weight room or the dojo training martial arts. It was almost an obsession. The more I exercised the more interested I became in how the body works. Originally I was interested in how the muscular system worked and what I could do with my diet and exercises to increase efficiency and reach higher fitness levels. At that point I could only get tips about smart ways to train and exercise physiology by asking other gym members or searching the internet, but I didn't get discouraged because I knew it was only the beginning of my journey. Eventually I acquired some nagging injuries from weight training and martial arts that prompted my interest in the human body for the sake of better understanding the mechanism of injury and rehabilitation techniques. Although I was not sure what I wanted to go to college for, I was certain that I wanted to take classes on human anatomy and physiology. I had so many questions, and finding an answer to one usually led to many more. I wanted to know everything that I could, and I felt that taking college classes on the subject would be the best way to do just that.
So far in my college career I've taken very interesting courses in subjects such as: anatomy, physiology and exercise physiology, exercise psychology, and fitness assessment. I thoroughly enjoyed each subject separately, but what I liked most was how well they worked together. Taking all my interests into consideration, it occurred to me that physical therapy is a perfect fit, but before I committed to the profession I decided to intern in my prospective career field to be certain it was the right choice.
During my internship I got to see more of how physical therapists work and the techniques and treatments they use, which further peaked my interest. My curiosity ran wild; I'd ask my supervisor to explain what he was doing during each treatment and why. I wanted to know the reasons for doing one treatment over another and what was happening physiologically. During slow times I even read my supervisor's books about electrotherapy and ultrasound therapy. Personally, I was extremely interested in the physiology of the treatments, but I also liked explaining to patients how the therapy could help them. Perhaps the most important thing I took away from my experience was the personal connection with patients. I got to meet some really nice people, and by seeing patients a few times a week for therapy they started to seem like extended family; I looked forward to seeing them and I believe they felt the same. It was a good feeling to see patients progress from their initial evaluation to their discharge and the appreciation they have for the physical therapists that help them.
Working on jets in the Navy as an electronics technician and working as a physical therapist may not seem to be anything alike at first, but from what I've gathered from my time observing physical therapists I believe there are many similarities between the two. As a technician I'd have to gather information about a problem by collecting codes from the aircraft and sometimes talking with the pilot; I feel this is much like a physical therapist doing an initial evaluation. I believe that in both professions it's crucial to have a thorough understanding of the various systems and how they work together in order to make sense of the information collected and maximize the efficacy of treatment. From my experience observing physical therapists I feel that they can have similar problems to that of technicians where the obvious initial problem is actually caused by a deeper more serious problem, so they may need to reassess the situation and try different treatments. That back-and-forth troubleshooting is the same principle that I enjoyed from working on jets, and I'm excited to apply my skills to physical therapy where I can help people return to their full functional capacity and enjoy a healthy active life.
