DPT Portfolios

Professional Goal Statement

Upon receiving my DPT from UNC Chapel Hill and becoming a licensed Physical Therapist, I hope to provide patient-centered, nonjudgmental, and compassionate care to all patients I interact with. I strive to make my patients feel supported in reaching their goals and improving their quality of life. Throughout my time at UNC, I’ve gained interest in working in the acute or inpatient rehabilitation settings with individuals with neurologic conditions. Although these are my interests right now, I’m open to many settings and populations and recognize that throughout the course of my career my interests may change. Ultimately, I care more about being a great physical therapist and having a lasting positive impact on my patients’ lives than the setting I’m working in. Following graduation, I hope to find a workplace setting that values interdisciplinary, evidence-based, and holistic care. As a newly licensed physical therapist, I hope to further my knowledge through mentorship and continuing education to become to the best clinician I can be for my patients. Moving forward I will continue to foster my love for learning through continuing education, learning from co-workers, and most importantly learning from patients.

Academic Career

May 2021: BS in Psychology and BA in Exercise and Sports Science, UNC Chapel Hill

August 2021 – July 2024: Doctor of Physical Therapy, UNC Chapel Hill (anticipated graduation July 2024)

Clinical Experiences:

• Brunswick Physical Therapy Associates (Southport, NC)
  • Outpatient Orthopedics – 8 weeks
• Newton-Conover School System (Conover, NC)
  • School-Based Pediatrics – 8 weeks
• UNC Hospital – Main Campus (Chapel Hill, NC )
  • Acute Care (Neuro and Oncology) – 8 weeks
• University Physical Therapy (Hillsborough, NC)
  • Outpatient Neuro – 60 hours
• UNC Hospital Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation (Hillsborough, NC)
  • Inpatient Neuro – 12 weeks

Electives:

• Advanced Orthopedic Management (2023)
• Teaching Scholar in Introduction to Physical Therapy Exam and Intervention (2023)
• Research Elective in the Cassidy Plasticity Lab with Dr. Jessica Cassidy (2023-2024)
• Integrated Clinical Experience in Outpatient Neuro (2024)
• Advanced Neuromuscular Intervention (2024)

Examples of Work:

• Capstone Project: Functional Brain Connectivity: A preliminary EEG investigation of cognitive-motor interplay
  • Abstract, Presentation, Patient/Participant Friendly Handout
• Acute Care Inservice Presentation: Functional Neurologic Disorders

Future Plans/Objectives:

• July 2024:
  • Graduate with DPT from UNC Chapel Hill
  • Pass NPTE and obtain PT licensure
• August-October 2024:
  • Begin working as a full time PT in acute care or inpatient rehab setting
• By 2027:
  • Become a APTA credentialed clinical instructor
  • Become a Neurologic Clinical Specialist

Specific Strategies

• Create and follow an effective study schedule for the NPTE using reputable study sources
• Maintain APTA membership
• Maintain connections with previous clinical instructors, mentors, classmates and faculty
• Search for and participate in continuing education courses that relate to my current interests and populations I work with frequently

Self-Assessment

Strengths

• Professionalism and Accountability
• Building rapport with patients of various backgrounds
• High quality communication with patients, caregivers, and other health care professionals
• Able to adapt and learn quickly in new environments
• Active listener

Areas for Development

• Increase my confidence when making decisions about patient care
• Improve my ability to provide education to patients and caregivers
• Expand my knowledge to include a wider variety of diagnoses and interventions

 Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) 

I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to have participated in various experiences relate to JEDI throughout my time at UNC. I’ve found these experiences to be just as important to what I’ve learned in the classroom because no matter what you do, you’ll always interact with people who come from a different background from you. In my case that may be patients, coworkers, friends, or other community members but interacting with someone who is different from you is inevitable. The lessons I’ve learned through my JEDI experiences have made me a more compassionate and empathetic person towards others life experiences that are different than my own and helped me to reflect on how I can promote justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion in the spaces that I live and work in. One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned through these experiences is to always take a moment to listen and try to understand other people’s perspectives. Through actively listening to others in a compassionate and nonjudgmental manner we can begin to open up communication and work together towards a common goal whether that’s helping a patient get better, promoting diversity within our profession, or making our communities more inclusive.

Interprofessional Education Activities (IPE)

Throughout PT school some of my favorite educational activities have been those that involved working with other disciplines and learning how by working together we can provide better care to our patients. Although I learned a lot about interdisciplinary care through classroom and extracurricular activities, I learned the most through my clinical experiences where I was working with other disciplines daily and learning from others. My positive experiences with interprofessional education and interdisciplinary care in my first two years of PT school led me to organize an IPE activity for first year physical and occupational therapy students during my time as a TA so that I could share my passion for interdisciplinary care with other students. Through interdisciplinary care and interprofessional education, the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that patients receive the best care and the best outcomes when all disciplines work together, respect each other’s roles, and communicate effectively. In multiple of my clinical rotations, I’ve realized that when we work together as an interdisciplinary team, patients receive well-rounded, holistic care. When different disciplines work together, we’re able to accomplish so much more and provide such better care than any of us can working alone. Through my IPE experiences I’ve learned the importance of advocating for physical therapy and how physical therapy can improve patient care and outcomes because other disciplines don’t always know our role. Moving forward in my career I will continue reaching out to my colleagues in different disciplines to understand their roles and goals for patient care and formulate a plan for how we can work together to optimize patient care.

Reflective Statement

Becoming a physical therapist has been a goal of mine for many years and one that I’ve worked hard to achieve. PT school has been the most challenging, rewarding, and exciting time in my life. It’s incredible to think back to how little I knew about physical therapy that first day of school walking into orientation and see how much I’ve learned in only three years. I am so grateful to have been able to learn from some of the best at UNC because they’re not just extremely knowledgeable and well-respected in their fields but because they’re also great people who have been invested in our growth and learning. I’ve been incredibly lucky to learn from and alongside my amazing classmates and friends, who have taught me so much. Throughout this time, I’ve learned not only about how to evaluate and treat patients but also how to be a thoughtful and empathetic listener, to be a better problem solver, and how to be resilient and adaptable when things don’t go as planned. These lessons are ones that will help me to be a better clinician and a better person. Although I’ve learned so much in these last three years, I still don’t know everything, and I never will. I think that’s one of my favorite things about this profession and what excites me for my future as a physical therapist. I will always be learning more about the field, my patients, and myself. I can’t wait to continue to learn more and grow as a physical therapist in the years to come and I’m grateful for all the lessons I’ve learned at UNC that have prepared me for being a well-rounded clinician and lifelong learner.

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