For my career, my goal is to go into physical therapy. I have an interest in health science, especially with athletics, and am currently majoring in kinesiology to understand more about it. My goal once I finish my undergraduate level is to continue into doctorate level, directly after undergraduate or after obtaining my masters. I would also like to pursue some research during that time or following, trying to understand more about how physical therapy routines can be designed and modified for the best results. Once through my education, though true physical therapy education is a continuous process, my hope is to work in a physical therapy clinic, and potentially specialize in pediatrics, though I am not fully decided as I enjoy working with all kinds of people based on my previous shadowing experience with other clinics.

My main goal in physical therapy is to focus on two major areas, the first of which being personalization. As part of physical therapy, every patient has a specific set of routines that are changed and adapted throughout their recovery process in order to help them overcome their condition and to return as much as possible to whatever normal condition they were in prior to whatever occurred. Physical therapy routines are designed based on the patient’s individual needs, and a set practice can be changed or modified in order to best fit a person. However, many routines are highly repetitive and focus on simple movements using tools specific to the physical therapy environment. This can make these activities dull or even frustrating for patients to do, which often leads to attrition or apathy towards the program, and when coupled with weeks where progress can be slow and almost unnoticeable, it can make it difficult for many to continue to be invested in their activities even with such an important end goal. This is why personalization in physical therapy is so important. I want to focus on how different activities, especially those that are hobbies of clients, can be incorporated with or even in lieu of the normal practices, ideally not having to sacrifice any effectiveness while encouraging enjoyment and engagement. For example, rather than having to repeatedly pick up and replace small bolts on a cork board, a patient who enjoys art can work on making sketches as a dexterity exercise. My main desire is to specifically focus on music as a tool, as music is something that I have a lot of knowledge and passion with. Music is already proven to be an effective therapeutic tool emotionally, and my hope with research is to observe if and what kinds of instrument practice can be used as physical therapy tools, as learning an instrument is an activity that demands a similar repetitive engagement using gross and fine motor skills while still being an enjoyed activity and one that teaches a useful skill. Regardless, any activity that someone already enjoys to engage in may be able to be altered and incorporated as a physical therapy tool.

The other focus area of mine are relationships. I consider my relationships and connecting with others to be my other great passion besides music and service of others. My relationships mean a lot to me, and I put a lot of effort into being able to connect well with anyone. This is part of what interested me in physical therapy over other health careers; it is such a relationally dependent practice, as the relationship between the care provider is essential for the recovery process, and it results in such a positive and rewarding outcome for both parties. Just as much as physical therapy focuses on physical healing, it also relies on emotional healing, not only from the injury but overcoming any other mental hurdles that may make recovery difficult, such as doubt or attrition. These require a strong bond of trust between patient and provider. This also incorporates my personal style of leadership, which is servant leadership. Servant leadership focuses on meeting the needs of the people that are being served and are served alongside first and building them up to be better than where they are now, which is the focus of physical therapy. It also incorporates another important focus of leadership, which is being able to work with people from all walks of life, as patients can come from many backgrounds but deserve the same level of care. All of these practices are significant focuses in my own life and will be in my career.