Personal Narrative: A Career As A Future Physical Therapy Assistant

Ever since I was a kid, it has been my life goal to help as many people I can. I have moved around in many different areas of the medical field, but no career had caught my eye as much as physical therapy. As an athlete, I have been in and out of the physical therapist’s office for a majority of my life. Each time I have went I could not help but be beyond grateful for what these people have done for me; they have given me the ability to play the sport I love despite all the hiccups. Physical therapy is a dynamic field within the field of medicine because as a physical therapist one can make a difference in the lives of his or her patients, enjoy job security, and enjoy a rewarding and personally satisfying career.

In my junior year of high school, I had the opportunity to shadow at an elementary school. I saw special education classes and kindergarten through fourth-grade classes as well. Finally, I observed an Occupational Therapist and an Occupational Therapist Assistant. As I was shadowing, the students would ask me to help them with their homework. It was an amazing experience because I was able to see what it would be like to help kids learn new material and develop skills. In my senior year of high school, I shadowed my pediatrician and a registered nurse twice. I got to see all different sides of the doctor’s office like doing strep tests, physical examination, and charting that the doctors have to do. From that experience of shadowing, it made my passion for the medical field even stronger. I enjoy the idea of knowing that each day is a different day and will offer a variety of experiences. Many people do not enjoy going to the doctor because they are scared or afraid of being judged or they even might not understand what the doctor is explaining. I would bring a nonjudgmental and compassionate side to the visit and connect with the person as a whole rather than their sickness. Patients than can also get to know me as a person, rather than a nurse helping them feel

Hard work and empathy were instilled in me at a young age and ultimately have guided my life decisions. I always knew I wanted a career doing something that involved helping people and left me feeling that I made a difference in their lives. I finished my undergraduate degree in Nutrition, but in the end lacked passion for the profession. Following a personal experience with an Occupational Therapist, I was able to see the positive outcome she had on my grandfathers recovery which lead me to pursue my career in occupational therapy.

The career I became interested in is a Physician’s Assistant, or a few people call them PAs. I became interested in this job in my sophomore year of high school. It all started when I attended the STEM fair after school one day. STEM fair is only offered to students who are in either the biomedical Stem academy or the engineer academy. At this fair, students tour around to different classrooms to acquire information on different careers. I attended the Physician’s Assistant one, where there was an actual PA to give information on what PAs achieve. For example, PAs examine patients for diseases, injuries and illnesses.

While I shadowed Janet, I noticed that there was a multitude of tedious documentation that she was required to record. She explained that she spends numerous hours outside of work completing this documentation. Aside from the overwhelming amount of documentation, I felt that I could potentially enjoy working in the field of physical therapy. Janet is able to truly work with patients one-on-one and it was heartwarming to see the excitement that Janet expressed when her patients showed progress. As the year progresses, I plan to look into the steps required to become a physical

Once I get my degree in Physical Therapist Assistant, I would like to apply my new skills. My new knowlege and skills in; psychology, medicine, and biology. It would help me rehabilitate my patitents back to their orginal health state.

On my search for a full-time job, I came across this ad. This ad led me to a career option, that I had not be aware of. I had never heard of an occupational therapy assistant. The picture demonstrated what they did, and it moved me. In fact, I wish I had known about them when my mom was ill. We were looking for a physical therapist, and they had said that it would not be a good fit for her. She was ill, but she wanted that independence. Perhaps, an occupational therapist would have been able to help her with that.

Even though it may not sound like it, my most memorable experience is working for a home care company. The company I work for is called Residential Physicians Association. I have been working with this company for 2 years as a Medical Assistant. My role is assisting doctors in making home visits. These home visits are more relaxed than hospital visits because the patients are in the comfort of their own home. It is a rewarding feeling to see how grateful patients are to have a service come out to their house. Taking vitals and drawing blood is my most learned skill I have learned with this job. Doing these small procedures gives me hope that I can one day succeed in major medical surgeries. The opportunity of this job has shaped me to find my calling while enjoying every day of it. Memorable experiences are created every day without realizing, while creating memories is important, it is also important that you are

The medical field is expanding ever so rapidly in today’s society. In the field of Physical Therapy one needs to have the understanding of how the human body works and the injuries one body could sustain. I have chosen a career to help others to battle back from life-changing injuries or surgeries. I will take the first step of joining the medical field by obtaining a physical therapist associates degree. I will become a Physical Therapist Assistant.

As an aspiring occupational therapist, my essential goal is to provide services and opportunities to impaired individuals, specifically in under-developed communities, that may not have the proper resources and guidance. What made me want to dedicate my life to assisting individuals is from observing my grandmother take care of my great-grandmother until she passed away. While trying to maintain her own health, my grandmother helped her mother with tasks such as feeding, changing, and more all by herself. Watching her struggle with no support made me wish I could make life simpler for her. Also, I wished my great-grandmother had the utilities to help her interact with my family without dilemmas. Considering my great-grandmother and my future

I believe that my personal and professional growth and behavior as a physical therapist is of utmost importance. I base this firstly on my strong connection to those in society who are disadvantaged when it comes to physical therapy, and also on the movement system, movement being “the key to optimal living and quality of life for all people that extends beyond health to every person’s ability to participate in and contribute to society” (American Physical Therapy Association, 2013). This perspective, I believe, is aligned perfectly with the vision statement for the physical therapy profession – to transform society through optimization of movement to improve the human experience (APTA, 2013). After reviewing the vision statement, I strongly believe it will act as my guide by strengthening compassion, reinforcing advocacy, improving quality of service, and strengthening cohesion.

As a future physical therapist, my main goal will be to improve my patients’ overall quality of life. Being a kinesiology major, I love to study the body’s movements. One category of movement, in particular, that interests me is exercise. I have taken classes in exercise physiology and physical education. I believe I can apply this knowledge in my future physical therapy programs. This would be done by, not just treating the patients in the clinic every week, but also creating an exercise program they can incorporate into their daily lives - something they can use even after recovery. Through my experience I have also found that some patients don’t understand, or are not in tune with, their bodies to know what actions are problematic verses

It hurt to walk as I stepped into physical therapy on that spring morning. I was coming into here for my second round of physical therap. I thought I had healed up the first thirteen weeks I had gone to physical therapy a year earlier, but three years later, I had still felt pain. I still can recite every detail on how I got here. I was at one of my gymnastics meets way back in 2012.

I have always been interested in a career in the health-care industry. However, I was not sure what fields I wanted to pursue. My grandmother was on a motorcycle accident 4 year ago. She suffered head injuries, road rash to her arm, elbow, and leg. My grandmother’s head injuries and road rash eventually started to heal, but she had trouble with using her hands to make things such as wearing her clothes. Hence, she was referred to occupational therapy clinic. At that time, I really had no idea of what occupational therapy was. Thus, I went with her to see the occupational therapist twice. I saw that the therapist not only helped my grandmother’s through the pain but also helped her regained the ability of using her hands doing things. My grandmother’s

The physical therapy profession is concerned with treating individuals of all ages. In the future, I plan on being able to comfort individuals undergoing physical therapy by being able to use my compassionate nature, caring, understanding, and the expertise that I will gain, while serving as their physical therapist. In doing the previously mentioned things, I hope to be considered as an important asset to society. I believe that people will be able to increase their viability by seeking my assistance.