Feb 25 2013
Hall, Brandon
Brandon Hall’s Doctoral Portfolio
June 13, 2012
Professional Goal Statement
My professional goal is to become a Senior Physical Therapist with the Physiotherapy Associates Company near Clearwater Florida within 15-20 years. This location is ideal for my family plan and this company is ideal for me to treat the geriatric population with a variety of diagnosis. I plan to dedicate my clinical practice to working with the geriatric population, especially those with neurological related diagnoses; however, I will provide high quality evidence based treatment to anyone who comes into the clinic. The direction of my treatments will focus on optimizing function and quality of life
Career Plan
- Senior Project-Therapeutic Treatment for Low Back Pain-2004
- B.S. Exercise & Sports Science: Sports Medicine with a minor in Business Administration-2008
- Research Assistant & class instructor for a geriatric balance focused community exercise class-2009
- Evidence-based research paper on the effect of manual therapy for patient with knee OA and the effectiveness to return to golf-2012
- Capstone Project-Golf Rehab for older amateur golfers -2013
- Doctorate of Physical Therapy for UNC Chapel Hill-2013
- Entry-level Physical Therapist position in a small town SNF outside of the Raleigh/Durham area -2013
- Get married to an OT June 1st, 2014 to share my career values with -2014
- Physical Therapy position with Physiotherapy Associates near Clearwater, Florida-2017
- Senior P.T. at Physiotherapy Associates near Clearwater, Florida or help open a new clinic with Physiotherapy Associates if they choose to expand-2027-2030
- Retire-2053
Self Assessment
| Strengths | Weaknesses |
| General knowledge of RUG categories & Medicare rules, regulations, and policies. | No experience with dealing with the financials except assisting my CI’s |
| Most of my clinical experience and research experience has been with the geriatric population. | Need to read more literature and familiarize myself with current EBP for the area population’s needs |
| Knowledge from projects and research during graduate studies, ability to perform autonomous research | Lack of networking and clinical experience except for clinical rotations |
| Minor in Business Admin and 1 PT specific management class | Little experience with direction of personnel and supervision/management |
Objectives
- Dedicate my 3rd year research opportunities, clinical rotation, and capstone project towards the geriatric population.
- Contact Physiotherapy Associates, network, and express my interest in their business.
- Find the right clinic locally for me that share my values so I may feel in the right place while providing long term care and improve my clinical skills for future patients.
Specific Strategies
- Continue my medical Spanish education.
- Relate my final clinical rotation to my future areas of interest in the continuing care facility.
- Contact Ray Smith, Regional Recruiting Manager, to express my interest in Physiotherapy Associates.
- Utilize UNC’s career services to update my resume & include all relevant information for an entry level position.
- Utilize UNC’s resources and staff to further my knowledge of current EBP and best treatment for geriatrics with specific impairments.
- Continue studying and professional discussion’s with my close classmate/friend who is interested in the same population.
- Get involved with a community falls prevention program.
Clinical Courses/electives/capstone project
In the fall, I chose the advanced orthopedic elective because it enabled me to learn a large amount of information on a variety of musculoskeletal disorders. Although it was not specific to the geriatric population, it allowed to me learn about the effects of aging on a variety of tissues. Listed below are relevant papers to the geriatric population written my final fall semester:
Manual Therapy for Knee OA-Summary and evidence table
Paper on an elderly gentleman demonstrating a physical decline due to a need for medication change
Short post on wound care for pressure ulcers in each stage of healing
Paper on cervical spine instability and differential diagnosis
In the spring I chose to take medical Spanish for my elective. This class will help me treat a more diverse population, especially once we move to Florida. This class also better prepared me for my service learning trip to Guatemala. I also dedicated my capstone project to golf rehab for amateurs. I chose this project because golf is very popular among the aging population to stay physically active as well as provide an enjoyable hobby to participate in. With further education, experience, and knowledge I may better treat a large population to increase their quality of life.
Capstone Handout (along with the handout I made a video which supplements the handout)
Reflective Statement
My education and experiences the past 3 years have helped me find a lifelong profession I will truly enjoy. I have found a passion in helping others which will improve my quality of life. UNC has helped me identify ideals and beliefs that will allow me to provide a high quality of care for all my patients. I have matured greatly and made big gains in my professionalism thanks to my past experiences. I plan to take my state boards July 2013 and begin my career with the geriatric population in the skilled nursing facility setting. I would like to find a mentor to aide my progress and support me towards becoming an autonomous therapist. We can share research and ideas to implement professional habits to stay up to date on research and continuing education experiences. I am looking forward to my career in physical therapy and lifelong learning.
Brandon:
I really liked reading your portfolio. Please check all your document links. I could access the video link, but nothing else 🙁
You have grown a great deal, and you will be a great therapist. I know how committed you are to improving your skills and to helping others. Good luck!
Lisa