Physical Therapy Personal Statement

I was born, not into poverty or luxury, but into adversity; to which I have always been eternally grateful. Being born in India and immigrating to America, I have seen my fair share of uphill struggles. When I started school in America in 1996, I only knew 2 words of English and they were ironically “No English.” However, there was always the Will to go on, weather it be getting a firm grasp on the English Language or learning a new sport. My parents embodied a very simple philosophy; “If you rest, you rust.” They believed that as long as the mind and body were occupied with a challenging activity, it would continue to cultivate and flourish. Growing up, they were sure to involve me in a wide variety of activities from Swimming, Fencing, Basketball, Karate, as well as Track and Field.
My first exposure to the field of Physical Therapy is not a unique one. Like many potential Physical Therapy students, the paradigm of “Injuring oneself and then gaining a newfound appreciation for Physical Therapy” applies me as well. However I do not wish to be a Physical Therapist because I had a great experience as a patient; quite the contrary, I had a very sub-par experience. From not-so-stellar bedside manner to a blatant lack of patient relationship, I did not enjoy my first experience with Physical

Therapy in the slightest. One thing did stick with me however, it was the progress. Progress was undoubtedly happening. I had received a complete ACL replacement and partial Meniscectomy and no matter how aloof the Therapists were to their lack of patient rapport, their progress was profound. Incrementally I was increasing my Range of Motion as well as muscle endurance. It was a rather bittersweet experience.
I began getting curious about the field, not because I was miraculously inspired, but because I was curious to see how effective Physical Therapy would be coupled with positive bedside manner and patient motivation. I first shadowed a Physical Therapist in a skilled nursing home, a setting I had never experienced before. To my absolute shock, I taken by how close the Therapists and patients were. They would have inside jokes among themselves, ask about each other’s families, and even sometimes just sit and talk during a lunch break. It became very evident to me that Physical Therapy was not just about doing exercises, but it was about setting goals, building relationships as well as trust, it is a field where words has just as much impact as modalities. To be an effective Therapists, one must move the patient, not only physically but intrinsically as well.
As I look back in retrospect to when I was first introduced to the world of Physical Therapy, from the early days of High School to the present; one quote comes to mind.

Norman Cousins once said “The human body experiences a powerful gravitational pull in the direction of hope. That is why the patient's hopes are the doctor’s secret weapon. They are the hidden ingredients in any prescription.” Physical Therapy, is not idiosyncratic in the world of medicine; it does not use drugs as an axiom of remedy. The tools of any Physical Therapist are the strength and resiliency found within the patient as well as constant reaffirmation that all no matter the task at hand, it is

possible.
My approach to Physical Therapy would be considered Rogerian as well as Idealistic. I believe that no matter the setting, whether it be Outpatient, Acute Care, Home Health, or Inpatient, it is a Therapist’s responsibility to be the patient’s coach, cheerleader, as well as friend. It may not seem realistic but every patient I have encountered, I have always found some common ground and made sure to try to build a rapport with them. I do not simply view the patients before me as a name on a chart, but rather someone’s parent, colleague, and/or sibling who have undergone some form of physical setback. Physical Therapy does not rely on drugs as do many other fields of medicine. Instead, it relies on the belief that if a patient's wants to genuinely get better and achieve their goals, they can and will. The hardest battle in medicine is getting the patient on your side; if you can do that, they are as good as healed because optimism is something cannot ever be prescribed but it is more beneficial than any drug that a patient can take.