Physical Therapy Reflection

     For the last three days, I shadowed Kelly Lee and ten other Campbell Clinic physical therapists and techs. I was able to observe evaluations and therapy sessions for over 25 patients, and I learned a lot about different kinds of injuries as well as the prevention and solutions to each.
    The most common injuries were to the shoulder, knee, hip, and back, and some of the most notable patients were a woman who broke her pelvis, two children with a muscle deterioration disease, and even a young woman who got shot in the foot (with the bullet still in there!). It was fascinating seeing how the physical therapists were able to treat each patient with the knowledge of what exercises to use for each injury—I guess going to physical therapy school helps :). I also enjoyed seeing how they cared for all of their patients and tailored the exercises to their interests: for example, Mrs. Lee helped a man with a total knee replacement modify his golf swing to ease discomfort and allow him to continue pursuing his hobby.
     I also loved hearing about how each physical therapist decided to choose this career; many of them had experienced bad injuries that required excessive physical therapy sessions, making them understanding and knowledgeable about other patients’ injuries. Others, like Mrs. Lee, simply love helping people heal and the lively dynamic of the profession. Their explanations made me question if I would excel at or enjoy being a PT myself. As I do when faced with any large choice, I made a pro-con chart.

Pro:

1.     Building lasting relationships with different types of people

2.     Get to stay active all day (not stuck at a desk!)

3.     Able to branch out into different fields or advance in the workplace

4.     Able to choose flexible hours (depending on your workplace)

5.     High satisfaction rate because the effects of your work are evident when your patients heal quickly

7.     Knowledge that you are helping people

Con:

1.     May get repetitive with common injuries

2.     Patients might be annoying or unappreciative

3.     Patients might not like you because the exercises hurt

4.     A lot of paperwork and dealing with insurance

5.     Might be disappointed if one patient takes a long time to heal or isn’t doing their exercises

 

     After evaluating my overall experience at this particular site, I began to think about how I would convert this experience into a dance…and came up short. First of all, I didn’t know what direction to go in without having been to my other locations.  Second, I began to realize that this will be hard. While I have choreographic experience, I have never done anything of this degree. If I were to only choreograph on the physical therapy portion of my fellowship, I could easily focus on the human body, its weaknesses, or its profound healing properties. But alas, I must be able to encompass physical therapy, dentistry, and optometry *sigh*. As of now, I am considering the following themes:
 
  1. The contrasting frailty and strength of the human anatomy, both of which are evident in all three medical fields.
 
  2. The biographical elements of medical professionals. The life path of a medical professional is surprisingly similar to that of a dancer with its requirements of dedication, natural talent, and extreme training.
 
  These themes could be greatly elaborated on or changed in the next week as I finish the shadowing portion of my fellowship and continue my research, but I believe this is a good place to start. I highly enjoyed my time at Campbell Clinic and am excited that my fellowship has finally begun!