DPT Portfolios

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Doctor of Physical Therapy

Doctoral Portfolio

Megan Eyler

Professional Goal Statement

My goal is to become a well rounded and innovative physical therapist whose clinical practice is founded on evidenced based practice and providing individualized patient care. I hope to demonstrate compassion for patient’s values, grow from clinical experience and become a life-long learner.  As a DPT student I have been fortunate to have four incredible clinical instructors who have helped me improve my knowledge, clinical reasoning skills and confidence immensely. I hope to one day to be able to return these favors bestowed upon me and mentor students as they progress through the DPT program. My current interests are in inpatient rehabilitation and vestibular disorders and I hope to further develop my skills and knowledge in these areas as a practicing physical therapist.

Proposed Career Path 

Self-Assessment

Objectives

1.Graduate from UNC Chapel Hill DPT program.

2. Prepare for and pass National Physical Therapy Exam.

3. Obtain inpatient or inpatient/outpatient combination job offering strong mentorship program.

4. Develop vestibular experience through residency and/or attending Susan Herdman’s Vestibular Competency Course.

5. Advance PT profession through mentoring of DPT students, participation in NCPTA and APTA and community health clinics and programs.

Specific Strategies

1.    Develop comprehensive study plan to guide preparation for NPTE while ensuring high performance during clinical experience and final UNC DPT coursework.

2.    Allot sufficient time for thorough job search, to ensure that I select job that is a good fit for my personal and professional goals.

3.    Seek out opportunities to develop my manual physical therapy skills, knowledge of practice of vestibular rehabilitation and leadership and public speaking skills.

Courses, Electives and Doctoral Project

PHYT 875: Advanced Orthopedic Assessment

This elective advanced my knowledge of the composition, destruction and healing of soft tissues and bone and PT rehabiliation implications. A common thread in many lectures was the destructive effects of glucocortcoids on various tissues and I investigated their effects on bone in my course paper titled “Glucocorticoid-Induced Osteoporosis“.

PUBH 614 & 615: Intermediate and Advanced Spanish for Healthcare Professionals (Fall 2012 and Spring 2013)

I choose to take a year of medical Spanish to build upon my conversational Spanish.  Each semester I was placed in a small interdisciplinary class of pharmacy, medical, social work, speech and occupational therapy students in order to improve my written and verbal command of Spanish related to delivery of health services. This course proved to be very helpful during the Service Learning Trip to Guatemala.

PHYT 895: Service Learning Trip to Guatemala

I travelled with 14 of my classmates and several UNC faculty and practicing physical therapists to serve patients in Antigua, Guatemala and surrounding towns.  I worked alongside Guatemalan physical therapists and physical therapists students to treat patients in Las Obras Hospital, performed blood pressure screens during a health fair and provided PT screens for children with disabilities. I grew from this experience in more ways that I thought possible and left knowing that I wish to travel and volunteer as a PT internationally in the future.

PHYT 824: Health and Wellness

My classmate, Kendall Schlossberg, and I performed a needs assessment which revealed that Robeson County continues to have one of the highest rates of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) in North Carolina.   We developed a comprehensive health promotion intervention plan to educate  residents of Robeson County with tools and information to better help them prevent and manage CAD.

PHYT 752: Evidence-Based Practice II

In order to further explore my interest in vestibular disorders I elected to investigate the PICO question, “In patients with vertigo due to peripheral vestibular impairments, does the addition of vestibular-specific exercises to standard medical care result in reduced symptoms of imbalance and increased functional mobility?”. Upon reviewing current literature on this topic I completed a evidence table and research summary  describing my findings and areas where future research is needed.

Doctoral Project

My doctoral project grew from my interest in further developing my understanding of vestibular disorders and vestibular rehabilitation. I developed a educational module addressing basic anatomy and physiology of peripheral vestibular system, differential diagnosis of dizziness and etiologies and physical therapy treatment of unilateral peripheral vestibular hypofunction. A more detailed description of my project, the resources developed and evaluation are all available on the UNC DPT Capstone website, http://dptcapstone.web.unc.edu/2013/02/25/eyler-megan/.

Reflection

The past three years have been an incredible journey. I have grown more personally, academically and professionally than I thought  possible. Even though I approach the end of a rigorous education at UNC (seven years total!), I find myself even more excited to seek opportunities to continue to learn and grow as a physical therapist.  I feel confident that UNC has granted me the knowledge, skills and experiences I will need to start a successful career and that I have a solid plan of action upon which to begin.  I have been surrounded by incredible classmates and faculty through this experience and a large part of me will be sad to say goodbye, but at the same time I am excited to start my next chapter.

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