My journey as a physical therapist has been fascinating, and the experiences have made me more confident that this was the right thing for me to do. I did not initially begin pursuing a career in physical therapy, the experiences that I got in the course of my life prompted and eventually led me to this path. Growing up, I have always regarded myself as a leader, whereby my strong leadership skills have enabled me to become a people-oriented person. Growing up, especially through my school days I fine-tuned various skills including better ways of relating with people and helping them to be better versions of themselves. As a result, my passion for helping others, including my colleagues has been very fundamental in guiding me to choose my career path in Physical Therapy. Also, coupled with my personal traits and characteristics, some particular life experiences have been important in shaping my decision.
One particular events that made me motivated in pursuing a career as a physical therapist is still quite vivid in my memory. It was one Saturday morning and one my patients, a 75-year old lady with a total knee and hip replacement was present at the facility. After greetings a conversion ensued between us whereby she informed me that she was expecting an important event in her life and really needed my help. I was intrigued and shocked at the same because I did not expect what was coming. Eventually she revealed it all, her daughter was getting married in a few months and she would want to make the most of the time and be able to walk her down the aisle. Doing so would give her ultimate joy and make her daughter as well. At first I was worried and uncertain whether I would provide the required help within the time required.
I took her quest as mine too and took it upon me to help her achieve her wish by applying all my experience in physical therapy. At that point in life, I knew that I wanted to be actively working with people- whether it was teaching them techniques at a certain point in their recovery journey or helping them improve in developing their athletic techniques. Also, I knew I wanted to be in the medical field, just didn’t know the exact path to pursue with regard to the entire field. At this point in life, prompted by the experience, I knew I wanted to pursue a career that helped such patients achieve their physical motion needs as well as their physical healthcare.
After some months, the greatest thing in my career life happened. While going on with my duties one Thursday morning, I heard a voice calling me from my back. It was Ella, the lady patient and friend that I had been helping over the past months. She took out her phone and showed me a video of her walking her daughter down the aisle…with no cane. She almost cried with tears of happiness and gratitude. Ella turned to me, hugged me and with tears in her eyes said “All I heard in my head before the doors opened was you telling me that I can do it, even if I walked with extra slow pace. God bless you child, you are meant for this.” Her words at that time made me realize that my purpose in life was to be a physical therapist. Also, I realized that my purpose is this life, and in the medical field was not to only help people gain their full potential in mobility and movement back, but also to have them believe they can and will do anything they believe they can regarding their physical wellness.
Apparently, almost all my motivating factors and experiences followed one another. For example, just a few days into my sophomore year of college, I received a text from a friend who informed me that the physical therapy clinic she was working for was hiring a physical therapy aide. I took the news with much enthusiasm and hoped that I would receive positive feedback regarding the hiring upon my application. I waited for a few weeks and finally received my feedback. I was hired! This moment was the beginning of a turning point in my life. This job didn’t entail a lot, but I knew I was making a difference in each patient I encountered- whether it was simply greeting them with a smile and then hearing “I totally forgot I was having a bad day until I walked into the office and greeted by such a bright smile” to “thank you for catching every detail in my TKE exercises”. Such sentiments made me feel happy and contented as a physical therapist. With each passing day, I interacted with numerous patients who were free to open up in communication and the results on their progress were astounding.
After my shifts, I began going home realizing that the feeling of something missing was no longer missing. I had finally found what I wanted and was motivated to pursue it to the very end. One year later, I was offered a few physical therapy trainer and aides position. Also, this role offered at that point in my life and career made me aware that becoming a physical therapist was my calling in life. Being a physical therapy trainer for almost two years has been mind-blowing. The physical therapy field has allowed me to work with all sorts of personalities, backgrounds, and ethnicities. I have grown to become a competent professional providing care, support and counseling to my patient. Helping them gain progress and happiness in their lives has been nothing but a pleasurable experience.
As a physical therapist, I intend and hope to work with various people who would require my help including the elderly, injured and special education community among others. I became introduced and aware of some concepts of the career path especially the specialized physical therapy while I was volunteering in the annual summer games in my previous school. For several days I worked with the participants, mostly kids and helped them perform better in their respective sports fields. As a result of my good work, I received positive feedback from the team managers as well as the participants which made me feel really appreciated and happy. At that particular moment, I felt immensely connected to the type of work and the roles that pertains physical therapy. Being a volunteer at the sports event prompted me to be active and involved in further events which became a huge motivating factor in selecting physical therapy as my career choice.
Immediately after the games were completed, I made contact with the local special education center whereby I interacted with the kids. Making observation in this specific setting and environment greatly pushed my passion for physical therapy. I walked back home filled with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. Whether my input involved providing help in wheelchair training or learning to make slight physical movement, the participation gave an overwhelming sense of happiness and pride. Also, as a college freshman, I was working as a swim instructor for toddlers and seniors. Further, after school, I worked as a school supervisor for the teams as well. I knew I was doing the right thing from the start. In general, the positive experience in provide physical therapy not only prompted my decision but also made me be certain that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
In conclusion, to me, the calling to the field of physical therapy has always been within me and particularly drawn towards offering health care to patients. A prospective career in physical therapy will ultimately allow me to achieve and experience all this. Further, the connection with patients as provided and enabled through physical therapy will fulfill my desire to be part of individuals working in a career that cares about people and helps them gain growth, development and wellness. Everyone is brought into the world with a person, my purpose in life is helping them gain their mobility back, range of motion, and have them believe in themselves that they can do it. This moment is exactly why I want to become a physical therapist. My journey as a physical therapist has been really exciting and the experiences have made me more certain that this was the right thing for me to do. I did not initially begin pursuing a career in physical therapy, the experiences that I got in the course of my life prompted and eventually led me to this path. Growing up, I have always regarded myself as a leader whereby my strong leadership skills have enabled me to become a people-oriented person. Growing up, especially through my school days I fine-tuned various skills including better ways of relating with people and helping them to be better versions of themselves. As a result, my passion for helping others, including my colleagues has been very fundamental in guiding me to choose my career path in Physical Therapy. Also, coupled with my personal traits and characteristics, some particular life experiences have been important in shaping my decision.
One particular events that made me motivated in pursuing a career as a physical therapist is still quite vivid in my memory. It was one Saturday morning and one my patients, a 75-year old lady with a total knee and hip replacement was present at the facility. After greetings a conversion ensued between us whereby she informed me that she was expecting an important event in her life and really needed my help. I was intrigued and shocked at the same because I did not expect what was coming. Eventually she revealed it all, her daughter was getting married in a few months and she would want to make the most of the time and be able to walk her down the aisle. Doing so would give her ultimate joy and make her daughter as well. At first I was worried and uncertain whether I would provide the required help within the time required.
I took her quest as mine too and took it upon me to help her achieve her wish by applying all my experience in physical therapy. At that point in life, I knew that I wanted to be actively working with people- whether it was teaching them techniques at a certain point in their recovery journey or helping them improve in developing their athletic techniques. Also, I knew I wanted to be in the medical field, just didn’t know the exact path to pursue with regard to the entire field. At this point in life, prompted by the experience, I knew I wanted to pursue a career that helped such patients achieve their physical motion needs as well as their physical healthcare.
After some months, the greatest thing in my career life happened. While going on with my duties one Thursday morning, I heard a voice calling me from my back. It was Ella, the lady patient and friend that I had been helping over the past months. She took out her phone and showed me a video of her walking her daughter down the aisle…with no cane. She almost cried with tears of happiness and gratitude. Ella turned to me, hugged me and with tears in her eyes said “All I heard in my head before the doors opened was you telling me that I can do it, even if I walked with extra slow pace. God bless you child, you are meant for this.” Her words at that time made me realize that my purpose in life was to be a physical therapist. Also, I realized that my purpose is this life, and in the medical field was not to only help people gain their full potential in mobility and movement back, but also to have them believe they can and will do anything they believe they can regarding their physical wellness.
Apparently, almost all my motivating factors and experiences followed one another. For example, just a few days into my sophomore year of college, I received a text from a friend who informed me that the physical therapy clinic she was working for was hiring a physical therapy aide. I took the news with much enthusiasm and hoped that I would receive positive feedback regarding the hiring upon my application. I waited for a few weeks and finally received my feedback. I was hired! This moment was the beginning of a turning point in my life. This job didn’t entail a lot, but I knew I was making a difference in each patient I encountered- whether it was simply greeting them with a smile and then hearing “I totally forgot I was having a bad day until I walked into the office and greeted by such a bright smile” to “thank you for catching every detail in my TKE exercises”. Such sentiments made me feel happy and contented as a physical therapist. With each passing day, I interacted with numerous patients who were free to open up in communication and the results on their progress were astounding.
After my shifts, I began going home realizing that the feeling of something missing was no longer missing. I had finally found what I wanted and was motivated to pursue it to the very end. One year later, I was offered a few physical therapy trainer and aides position. Also, this role offered at that point in my life and career made me aware that becoming a physical therapist was my calling in life. Being a physical therapy trainer for almost two years has been mind-blowing. The physical therapy field has allowed me to work with all sorts of personalities, backgrounds, and ethnicities. I have grown to become a competent professional providing care, support and counseling to my patient. Helping them gain progress and happiness in their lives has been nothing but a pleasurable experience.
As a physical therapist, I intend and hope to work with various people who would require my help including the elderly, injured and special education community among others. I became introduced and aware of some concepts of the career path especially the specialized physical therapy while I was volunteering in the annual summer games in my previous school. For several days I worked with the participants, mostly kids and helped them perform better in their respective sports fields. As a result of my good work, I received positive feedback from the team managers as well as the participants which made me feel really appreciated and happy. At that particular moment, I felt immensely connected to the type of work and the roles that pertains physical therapy. Being a volunteer at the sports event prompted me to be active and involved in further events which became a huge motivating factor in selecting physical therapy as my career choice.
Immediately after the games were completed, I made contact with the local special education center whereby I interacted with the kids. Making observation in this specific setting and environment greatly pushed my passion for physical therapy. I walked back home filled with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. Whether my input involved providing help in wheelchair training or learning to make slight physical movement, the participation gave an overwhelming sense of happiness and pride. Also, as a college freshman, I was working as a swim instructor for toddlers and seniors. Further, after school, I worked as a school supervisor for the teams as well. I knew I was doing the right thing from the start. In general, the positive experience in provide physical therapy not only prompted my decision but also made me be certain that this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
In conclusion, to me, the calling to the field of physical therapy has always been within me and particularly drawn towards offering health care to patients. A prospective career in physical therapy will ultimately allow me to achieve and experience all this. Further, the connection with patients as provided and enabled through physical therapy will fulfill my desire to be part of individuals working in a career that cares about people and helps them gain growth, development and wellness. Everyone is brought into the world with a person, my purpose in life is helping them gain their mobility back, range of motion, and have them believe in themselves that they can do it. This moment is exactly why I want to become a physical therapist.