Why I Want To Be A Physical Therapist Essay

Physical Therapist
The Story of My Search
When most people think of physical therapy they think of exercising however, when I think of physical therapy I think of assisting others to improve their physical beings. During my sixth grade year I broke my leg and after had to go to therapy to build my leg strength and movement back up. I enjoyed everything about the physical therapy career; how they interacted with people, how they compassionately helped others, and how they encouraged me to push through my therapy during the times I had to go. Since then I knew that physical therapy was what I wanted to pursue in, but I still wanted to know more about the career. The two places I viewed for information about my career were the MS Choices website and the Occupational Outlook Handbook website. I also conducted an interview with, physical therapist, Brooke McCaffrey. By using the MS Choices website, the Occupational Outlook Handbook website, and

conducting a personal interview, I discovered vital facts about my career choice that I can now use to plan my future.
What I Learned
A physical therapist has the opportunity to make a difference in people’s physical lives.

According to MS Choices, physical therapist plan and prepare physical treatments for patients to improve functioning, relieve pain, and prevent dysfunctiong. I find this information interesting because I want to know how they help to improve their patient’s physical selves. Physical therapists have many different working conditions such as spending a majority of their time on foot and being able to lift and move patients (MS Choices). To pursue a career in physical therapy it is required to be fit for the duties of a therapist. There are many related occupations that are similar to physical therapist. For example, athletic trainers, occupational therapist, PTA’s, and recreational therapist have a likes in rehabbing patients (Occupational Outlook Handbook). After concluding my research on what a physical therapist does and the working conditions, I next began to discover information about the employment outlook of physical

therapy.
The physical therapy career has increased over the years. In Mississippi there are up to fifty-five positions currently available and in the United States there are up to twelve thousand eight hundred thirty positions currently available (Occupational Outlook Handbook). It is expected that the openings for physical therapy jobs will increase more and more over time because of the need in having physical therapist. The employment outlook is another significant viewpoint for this career. The annual growth rate in Mississippi is 28% and increasing and in the United States the growth rate is 34% and increasing (Occupational Outlook Handbook). Physical therapy is a hard field to get into, but it is one of the finest careers to pursue in.
Next I looked into the requirements of education to get into physical therapy. One of the first things I need to be sure of is to have above average grades throughout high school. After graduating high school, I would need to attend college and earn my bachelor’s degree in biology. To further my education I would need to receive my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree (DPT) after taking one of the DPT programs for three years (MS Choices). Then after earning my DPT degree, I would need to complete a one year residency program and pass a state administered national exam to become licensed (MS Choices). This information is important because it helps me to know what is expected of me throughout my education. Also, it gives me an idea of what types of classes and training I need to take and accomplish to pursue in this career.
After finding my educational requirements for this career, I researched my careers program requirements and tuition cost of colleges of my choice. Many colleges have programs for my career, but my three choices are the University of Mississippi, the Itawamba Community College, and the University of Tennessee. My first choice is the University of Mississippi. The requirements for the physical therapy program are a GPA of a 3.0, GRE, and a C or above average on all prerequisites. To attend Ole Miss I would pay the tuition cost of $7,344. My next choice is the Itawamba Community College. Itawamba’s physical therapy program requirements are to at least have a GPA of a 2.5. This college has a tuition cost of $1,250. My final college choice is the University of Tennessee. The requirements for the program at this college are to have a 3.0 GPA and have completed all prerequisite courses. The in-state tuition cost for this university is $12,724 and the out-state tuition cost is $30,914.
Once I found my information about the requirements to get into the colleges of my choice and the tuition cost, I sought to get a little more information on the career I chose. I conducted an interview with Brooke McCaffrey on October 23, 2016 and discussed some about her life as a physical therapist and some about what schooling she went through. Brooke says, “I love the involvement with all the people. I like to see the outcome from the start of being hurt and seeing the progression as they go on. Overall I love to be able to socialize with all the people in the county and get to know them better.” As we talked more she informed me about her schooling. “I majored in biology and had a minor in psychology. It worked out really well,” Brooke says. Then I asked her about her strengths and weaknesses and she said, “I can work really well with patients and get along with them also. I am good at reading people like when they are in pain or when they are not happy. I feel like I can make a difference with them. I have trouble with the aggressive side of physical therapy. It is really hard for me to push them to get the motion especially if it is not coming.”
My Reflection
Of all the information that I learned about my chosen career, my most surprising fact was how many physical therapy jobs are open in the United States. Researching physical therapy has helped me to learn more about this career. Also, parenthetical documentation and the works cited page is very important because I’ll know where I went to find my research. If I had the opportunity to go back and do anything differently I would get deeper in to my research of the physical therapy career.