I used to hate medical offices. When I was 6 years old, my family was in a car accident that left my 8 year old sister in the hospital for months, and my back so messed up that I was forced to go to the chiropractor twice a week for a few years after it. There were vivid memories of the feeling of my bones cracking and moving around inside of me that floated through my thoughts every time we took that infamous 20 minute drive to the office. When the visits finally ended, I swore to my 8 year old self that I would never set foot in a place even remotely similar to it ever again. Flash forward 6 years, and I’m waiting for my mom to pick me up from school. It was an interesting day for me, I would have usually taken the bus, but I had an after …show more content…
school rehearsal for a play that I had been recently cast in. I was more excited about this play than I had ever been excited about something before, and I couldn’t wait to tell my mom and sister about how the first day went. My phone rang and I saw that it was my sister; she told me that something had happened and my mom hurt herself at work that day, but she wasn’t sure what was wrong. My aunt arrived at the school and I hopped into her car without question, she told me we were on our way to the hospital, where my mom and the rest of my family was. When we got to the hospital and finally made our way through the endless wings and long hallways of the building, we had a chance to see my mom, who was being kept unconscious to deal with pain, and talk to her emergency room doctor. He informed us that she had fallen down outside of her work building, and broken her hip. She needed surgery as soon as possible, and would have to have months of recovery time, both in and out of rehabilitation centers. A few days passed, and eventually my mom had her surgery and was moved to the Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation at Frisco, around 15 minutes away from our home. Over the course of her three week stay at the center, my family and I would often go visit her. Sometimes, she would be just leaving to go into the physical therapy room and we would have to wait outside until she was finished. Often times, a nurse would ask if I wanted to join them in there, but I would always say no. In my eyes it was a really scary room. It looked very similar to the haunted chiropractor’s rooms I had sworn myself away from many years ago. But still, the nurse would always offer, so one day I told the nurse about how I didn’t like the vibe of the room and how it reminded me of the accident from my past. She was very understanding, and told me that she would like me to have a tour of the room, just so I could have a better understanding of the things they did in there. So, I agreed, and accompanied my mom in her physical therapy for that day. When I went into the room, I was pretty surprised by how interesting all the equipment seemed to me, and I immediately started warming up to the idea of it. While my mom saw her therapist, the nurse showed me around the room, explained how different tools were used to help people with different injuries or conditions. She took me over to where my mom was and explained to me how the different exercises and tools she was using would aid her in her recovery. I was so interested in so much of the stuff I was learning, and started realizing what I had been keeping myself away from. I began to go to my mom’s physical therapy with her as much as I could, even after she left the institute.
Once a week, a registered physical therapist would come to our home and provide my mom with the care she needed. I would spend almost all of the session talking to her about the different kinds of injuries she had seen and the different therapy techniques she used for them. After a while, of course, the therapy visits stopped, but the passion they had instilled in me for the field never left. I continued to have the want to learn more and more about how the different bones, tendons, and muscles in our bodies efficiently worked together to create …show more content…
movement. Flash forward another 2 years, and I’m in my sophomore year of high school. In the past two years I had auditioned for and made my schools colorguard program, and was going into my second season of Winterguard. My mom had brought me a dinner to the school to eat before rehearsal began, so I walked out to her car, but I noticed she looked very worried about something. I decided to wait to ask her about it, because I knew she wouldn’t tell me anything she thought would upset me right before a rehearsal started. When I got home that day she informed me that something had gone wrong in her previous surgery, and that she would require a second one to fix the error. I was devastated, I knew how difficult the recovery process was for her the first time, how was I supposed to watch her go through it again? When I got into my room that night, I researched. I google-d and bing-ed and yahoo-d and even ask.com-ed until I was satisfied with what I had found on how I could make this operation as easy as possible for my mom. The day of her surgery soon came, and her recovery time started. I found myself time to go to almost every session with her at the center, and even tried to be at home for every personal visit after her three weeks were over. On days that she didn’t have therapy, I made sure that she did her specified exercises and stretches every day. I noticed how she was happier with me there, and how her recovery was definitely quicker than the last time. I never minded any of the time I gave to her during her recovery, because I was genuinely having fun doing what I was doing. I was learning a lot from the therapists and doctors at her sessions, and my interest in the field was blossoming. I finally kind of had an idea of what I wanted to do with my life. When I signed up for classes that year, I decided to focus on things that would make pursuing the physical therapy field more tangible for me.
I signed up for classes such as AP Biology, Medical Microbiology, and Physics in order to strengthen the scientific backbone I know I will need for a career in this area. I even joined Health Occupation Students of America, or HOSA, and started looking more into specific areas of study that would give me a good background for the field. My colorguard instructor introduced me to kinesiology, or the study of human movement, and I started applying the knowledge I gained from what I researched to my performance and personal recoveries from injuries I had from dancing. I was really starting to love
it. One more year later, and I found myself listening to my mom’s doctor tell us she needs another surgery. The process repeated itself, and at the end of it I couldn’t have been happier. My mom’s recovery time had literally been cut in half since her first surgery! The progress we had made was so amazing to me, I couldn’t believe what a little bit of dedication, support, and good spirit had done for her. I also couldn’t believe the real affect the therapy sessions with her had had on me. I went from hating even going to the pediatrician for a checkup, to begging my mom to schedule her appointments around my time so that I could come with her to them. I learned what my passions are and had the opportunity to learn about them hands on, an educational experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. 6 months after my mom’s last surgery, and I’m here. I plan on studying Kinesiology and working as a physical therapist in the future. I am completely over my hated for hospitals and health centers, and I owe it all to the amazing therapists and doctors that my mom had over the past 4 years. They not only opened my eyes to the world of physical therapy and the wonderful things that our bodies are capable of, but also kept me from hiding behind a childhood fear that shielded me from something that has very much influenced my family, character, and academic pursuits today.
Imagine going up for the perfect lay-up, you make the shot but when you land you twist awkwardly and land on your knee. Laying on the ground, you feel the pain surging through your knee, the first line of defense is an athletic trainer, however if this accident happened when you fell on a wet kitchen floor you could expect much the same care from a physical therapist Athletic Trainers are the first to respond to sport related in game injuries, and provide care after injuries. In contrast physical therapist are not only there to fix accidental injuries, and treat chronic bone and joint they help with plans of care and rehabilitation for athletes and non-athletes after injuries. Physical Therapy play a important role in todays healthcare. Physical Therapy are experts of improving and storing motion , they contribute to their patients ‘ quality of life by keeping them healthy , fit , active and in medications . The first school of Modern Physical Therapy opened in Boston, MA , So Physical Therapy have been around for a long time. The Physical Therapy Association Organized by Mary McMillan. It later became the American Physical Therapy Association.World War ll brings changes to Physical Therapy was done at hospitals as patients recovered from injuries , surgeries or other ailments.
A year and three months ago, I was at football practice. I was on the defensive line. I tripped up the running back, but the running back landed on my left ankle. The result was a fracture on my left tibia. I played on my injury for two weeks. At that moment, I was not able to play football for the rest of the year. During this summer, I injured my back. I began to accumulate information about how to treat my injuries. While I was researching, the words physical therapy popped up. I clicked on them, and the article discussed what a physical therapist does. When I was halfway down the article, it stated that a physical therapist helps people with injuries like mine. After researching, I decided to be a physical therapist.
Now that you have a better understanding about Athletic training, I will explain about physical therapy and why I would like have as a lifetime career. In an article I read, the author Sue Klappa said that, “PT’s reach into our communities through engagement and social responsibility. It compels us to bring hope and love to others. It urges us to learn to see things differently. It holds the promise of defining moments, as we take the time to see things in a new light” (Klappa 2). Klappa is a physical therapist that traveled the world to help others and when she went to different countries. She learned how important physical therapist are in the medical field and how she can get others attention. Starting a career path in physical therapy can
I was offered a kinesiology class as an elective. Kinesiology being an integral part of physical therapy. I decided to take it because I was on the football team and I was required to keep myself in top physical shape. From what I understood about kinesiology, I thought it would be helpful to know the inner mechanics of working out and staying physically fit. During my time in that class I learned about the musculoskeletal system, nutrition, anatomy, and just about everything that has to do with kinesiology. At the time, I didn’t really consider a career in kinesiology, I had a stronger interest in science, but my interest in kinesiology was still prevalent. Had I followed this interest, my choice would have been way easier to make and I would already have a plan of what I want to do.
During my freshman year of college, I determined that I wanted to pursue a career as a physical therapist. As an Athletic Training major, I learned that I loved helping athletes with rehabilitation and realized I wanted to be able to help a wider range of patients. Once I decided that I wanted to become a physical therapist, I began observation hours. In total, I have completed 117 hours in four different physical therapy settings over the past three years.
I have been exposed to the medical field my whole life. My Mom was a nurse and I would love to listen to the stories she told about her time in the hospital. If anybody asked me at the age of five what I wanted to be when I grew up, I would say “a nurse like my mom.” A few years later I decided I wanted to be a doctor from the few times I got to watch the television show “ER”. The beginning of my interest in physical therapy was when I met my fourth grade pen pal, Elmo, at a nursing home. Elmo had muscular dystrophy and only retained control of his right arm and pinky which allowed him to manouver his wheelchair. During one visit where we got to spend the whole day with our pals, the physical therapist at the nursing home came to see Elmo. I was allowed to stay and I remember thinking it was so cool that there was one person to help Elmo retain the little muscle tone and mobility he had left. In sixth grade, my class went to the hospital to sing Christmas caroles and I remember the coolest place being the physical therapy room. I thought it was amazing how patients were learning to walk again or throw a ball.
Physical therapy has recently become one of the most sought out professions, which is why it is now even that much harder to become one. A physical therapist is one who will provide treatment for one to maintain or restore maximum movement; while it is a fascinating profession this research essay will not focus on the actual profession. Physical Therapy is obviously associated with injuries, but let’s discuss the schooling behind the profession, how long do you assist a seasoned Physical Therapist, and what is the salary for a physical therapist.
A big factor in my interest in kinesiology , was going down that path to recovery , I really learned a lot from it and made me realize how much more there is to learn.
My journey to pursue an education in physical therapy actually originates from my early childhood. I endured a very impoverished upbringing and my family’s socioeconomic status was below the poverty line. At a very young age, money became the central issue of my life. I found myself worrying about mortgages, health bills, and grocery money. As I grew older, I vowed to myself that I would not endure my family’s financial burdens into my adulthood. I knew the best way to accomplish this was by obtaining a college degree and having a professional career. However, I was unsure what career I wanted to pursue. I experimented with many different career ideas, but during my sophomore, I discovered my passion and skill for physical medicine. For my
The profession I will be going over is going to be Physical therapy. I will give you an overview of the job and that will consist of what they do, how much they get paid, and different types of conditions and symptoms.
I immigrated from South Africa in 1991. My original plan was not really to immigrate, but to come to the United States for a couple of years to gain work experience and pay off student loan debt. The US government had a list of professions at the time, in which it needed professionals. They issued work permits and HIB-Visas to foreigners to fills these gaps in the states. My chosen profession of Occupational Therapy was on the list, which made the process much easier. I planned to return home to South Africa after two years. The value of the US Dollar at the time was about R3.00 and so earning money in dollars helped me pay off my student loans much more quickly.
In the beginning, physical therapy made my recovery tedious. Physical therapy only interested because it allowed me to learn numerous injuries from various individuals. For example, the girl who broke her arm from falling off the monkey bars. Or the boy who had a complete elbow dislocation. Although these stories entertained me, I felt guilty. For congratulating strangers for their quick recovery, while my own felt treacherous infuriated me.Therefore, I grew frustrated that I denied positivity towards my recovery. Slowly, I became envious until my envy evolved into a depression. Incapable of physical activities forced me to stay indoors. Eventually, I was beginning to victimize myself as an individual who had their freedom stolen. After weeks
Physical therapists are health care professionals that provide therapeutic services to their patients who have temporary or chronic physical conditions that were caused from injury or disease. Physical therapist also provided therapeutic services to patients after they have gone through surgery to help them gain back mobility and manage their pain. They can also work in preventive care by promoting healthy life styles and instructing individual patients or groups on preventing injury by using exercises that stretch and strengthen muscles. To help their patients try to recover they use massage techniques, wellness plans, and different types of equipment. When a physical therapist sees a patient for the very first time they must do an examination, evaluation, diagnosis, and then put together a physical intervention to start the rehabilitation process. They also work as a team with other health care professionals to help with their patients needs. Physical therapist can really make a difference in their patient’s lives by not only providing therapeutic services but also encouraging and motivating them so they can get better. The main goals of physical therapist are to help their patients retain or gain back lost physical mobility, eliminate or reduce pain, increase productivity and help promote a healthy life style so patients can have a better quality of life and become more independent.
My interest in pursuing a Bachelor of Kinesiology degree is constructed by a variation of components in my life. Starting from a young age and being driven by selflessness, my motives have always been linked to helping others. In fact, my position at Mount Sinai of helping to recover the optimal physical functions of patients with disabling conditions made me realize what I wanted to devote my career to. This feeling of being able to bring a smile to someone’s face or positively affect the trajectory of their life by improving their well-being have motivated me to join the health care team. In addition to being captivated by the study of the human body and movement in all its forms, I also have an interest in sports and healthy living. This
Seeing as Baylor University has one of the most coveted programs in the study of physical therapy, it is not surprising how heavily impacted it is. Thousands apply each year, with similar applications, in hope of being one of the select few to be chosen. When I applied to Baylor University’s Physical Therapy Program last year, I was lacking confidence in my application. The reasons being were the GPA score from my undergraduate school, the absence of experience in acute care, and the drive to succeed. Since then, I have been able to strengthen my application by improving my GPA, involving myself in a volunteer opportunity at hospital care, and discovering a new aspect of practice in physical therapy.