DPT Portfolios

Professional Goal Statement

My goal is to begin my lifelong career as a physical therapist working in either an inpatient rehabilitation setting or outpatient clinic, with a focus on treating individuals with neurological conditions. I will demonstrate advanced clinical knowledge and skill by earning the Multiple Sclerosis Certified Specialist, Neurologic Certified Specialist, and vestibular rehabilitation certifications as I continue to practice so that I may provide optimal care for my patients. Eventually, I will work to become a clinician-scientist, and pursue research-related opportunities in conjunction with clinical practice to help advance our profession in understanding and treating individuals with neurological conditions.

Career Plan

2008: Bachelor of Science in Engineering: Industrial and Operations Engineering; University of Michigan

2008-2011: Operations Analyst for Bank of America; Charlotte, NC

2011-present: UNC DPT program, APTA member (attended CSM 2013 and 2014)

2012-present: MS STEP UP program, IOMSRT member, CMSC member (attended and submitted posters to the annual conference 2013 and 2014)

2014:

• Sit for the licensing exam in July
• Complete final clinical at UNC – inpatient rehab in July
• Graduate in August

2014-2020:

• Work as a physical therapist in an inpatient rehab or outpatient clinic
• Continue to participate in MS STEP UP
• Attend continuing education seminars pertinent to the patient populations I treat
• Provide inservice presentations and help start or continue EBP-related efforts in the clinic, such as leading journal clubs
• Present to local neurologists, physical therapists, other health care practitioners, individuals with MS, family members of individuals with MS on topics of interest
• Continue to support the National MS Society by participating in local events
• Provide guest lectures to local PT institutions
• Volunteer in the community
• Participate in advocacy efforts for the PT profession and our patients as health care reform continues
• 2015: Earn MSCS certification
• 2016: Earn vestibular certification
• 2017: Sit for NCS exam
• 2020: Begin role as clinician-scientist
• 2035: Consider part-time academic role with PT institution in addition to clinician-scientist role

Self Assessment

Strengths

Areas for Professional Development

Professionalism Communication Compassionate Interpersonal skills Strong background and passion for working with individuals with MS and other neurological conditions Motivated to pursue learning opportunities throughout my career Ability to converse with individuals who speak Spanish Fast learner Strong clinical reasoning Experience presenting to students, faculty, and clinicians.

Clinical experience Improve ability to perform functional mobility evaluations and writing letters of medical necessity Experience with vestibular rehab Improve upon Spanish speaking abilities to be proficient in the clinic Research experience Improve manual skills Stay current with health care reform topics Get involved with local advocacy efforts Continue to gain experience working with individuals post TBI, SCI, and CVA during current, and final, clinical rotation in inpatient rehab

 

Objectives

1. Continue to develop clinical skills in working with neuro patient population by completing final clinical with inpatient rehab.
2. Prepare two inservice presentations during final clinical.
3. Prepare and pass the board examination for Physical Therapy license in Summer of 2014.
4. Find a location of employment that mainly works with neuro patient population that has a either formal or informal mentorship program for new graduates that will continue to develop my clinical skills, and also supports continuing education efforts.

Specific Strategies for Addressing My Development Needs and Interests

• Select elective courses that will address my neuro and ortho learning needs.
• Solidify a final clinical placement that will enhance my clinical skills working with the neuro patient population.
• Establish study plan and sit for the PT licensing exam.
• Study on my own and also meet with peers from class to review and study for board examination.
• Identify requirements to sit for MSCS.
• Audit Spanish elective course in the Spring.  Eventually attend meet up groups and practice speaking Spanish with classmates who are also fluent.
• Write LMN(s) during final clinical rotation with inpatient rehab
• Shadow vestibular certified PTs during final clinical rotation
• Identify locations of employment that may have peers who participate in research or opportunities to be involved/gain experience
• Create strong resume and begin looking for job opportunities

Course plan for Electives and Doctoral Project

Fall Elective – PHYT 875 Advanced Orthopedic Assessment/Treatment

I took the advanced ortho class in the fall to enhance my knowledge of ortho clinical knowledge and skills.  Although I have stated I want to ultimately specialize in neuro, I want to be a well-rounded therapist who understands orthopedic conditions as well. This course helped to improve my knowledge of more tissue-specific considerations.  Additionally, I have always wanted to take a more in depth look related to Iliotibial Band Syndrome, and therefore wrote a term paper based upon my review of literature. Iliotibial Band Syndrome Term Paper

Spring Elective – Advanced Neuromuscular Intervention

This neuro elective expanded upon my knowledge from our coursework during our second year of PT school.  I am obviously extremely interested in pursuing neurorehabilitation so this elective was very appealing.  I centered my projects on areas that I felt less knowledgeable in: Executive Function and Parkinson’s Disease , Unilateral Vestibular Hypofunction, and also added to the neurospecialties website with updated information regarding Forced Exercise for people with PD.

Spring Elective – Intermediate Spanish for Health Care Professionals

I audited this weekly course to be able to refresh some of the Spanish I had learned in my undergraduate years (which was quite a while ago), and also wanted to have coursework that was particularly relevant to terms we would use in the clinic.  I enjoyed meeting students from the other disciplines and now feel more comfortable to speak Spanish with patients.

Doctoral Project

CJ and I organized and presented at a multidisciplinary wellness event for people with MS.  This was by far one of my favorite experiences throughout PT school.  I had never realized how much was involved to organize an event with other health care professionals, confirming a location, other miscellaneous planning items, in addition to creating a presentation for our topics, but it was worth the efforts!  It felt great to give back to the community that has helped us both learn an immeasurable amount throughout our educational track. Please view the Capstone website for details.

I have attached some of the work related to the Capstone such as my EBP table and paper, our powerpoint presentation, and our poster that we submitted to the CMSC annual conference.

Reflective Statement

There are no words that can truly explain how thankful, happy, and honored I am to be graduating from UNC-Chapel Hill, with the Class of 2014.  I must admit that there were many stressful and difficult times.  Changing careers and having my family and friends think I was absolutely crazy – maybe I was.  But I would not change a thing that I have done, because I am so incredibly proud to say that I have worked hard to pursue a career I am actually passionate about.

I also want to thank all of those that have been involved with the MS STEP UP program.  This educational track was the second best decision I’ve made (besides attending UNC!).  Prior to PT school I would’ve told you I’d want to pursue orthopedic or sports PT.  The coursework and opportunity to be a part of this program available through UNC revealed my true interests in working with individuals with neurological conditions, specifically MS. The incredible experiences I’ve had throughout the program are almost unbelievable.  I’m also thankful that I’ve had a fantastic partner, CJ, to work with throughout the past couple of years on all of our projects.

These past three years I have been challenged in ways that I didn’t quite anticipate.  We have been through a lot.  Countless late study nights (and mornings), what felt like endless exams and work, but also fun times with classmates, great clinical experiences, and courses taught by the best faculty that I could ever have imagined.  Now here we are at the end of our “SPT” road.  As I go forth, I hope to exemplify the skills, compassion, and professionalism our program demonstrates.  I am thrilled to be pursuing a career that I am completely invested in, and will do my best to properly represent UNC wherever my future takes me.

 

 

 

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