Essay On Physical Therapy

Words: 1375
Pages: 6

There an astounding number of careers in the health field but one that I have personally been surrounded by my whole life, due to my dad, has been physical therapy (PT). He has worked at Spectrum Health for almost 15 years as a physical therapist assistant (PTA). Although it is not the career I am pursuing, I still have a great deal of respect and admiration for this occupation. Unfortunately, I was not able to arrange an interview due to scheduling conflicts but will still explore this career field using scholarly and peer-reviewed resources, and my own experience through knowing physical therapists. According to the World Confederation for Physical Therapy (WCPT), physical therapy is defined as providing treatment to develop or restore a
Firstly, this is a somewhat active occupation compared to most others; you are constantly on your feet and may often have to demonstrate exercises to patients. Being active and fit is a great trait to have while being a physical therapist also because it provides a good example to the patients of a healthy lifestyle. Secondly, I noticed that it is better to be more outgoing and expressive since it not only encourages the patient, but makes it a more productive work atmosphere. According to an article titled Correlates of Exercise Compliance in Physical Therapy, the authors found that main reasons of a patient’s noncompliance were the “lack of positive feedback” from the PT and their perceived helplessness or imaginary boundaries (Slujis, Kok, van der Zee, 1993). Although this article is older, it is still relevant today to suggest to physical therapists to be positive and encouraging to their patients. Lastly, what I have noticed throughout the years of being around physical therapists, is that you must be organized. Nowadays, technology can definitely help but there is still a need for being organized as far as scheduling patients and keeping their files safe and up to date. From my dad’s experience, there is a ton of paperwork and you have to make sure it is filled out correctly and to include every detail; it is quite