DPT Portfolios

Professional Goal Statement

Upon graduation, I plan to pursue a career in the inpatient rehabilitation setting in the DC area or another major metropolitan area within the US. Within inpatient rehabilitation, I am most interested in pursuing a position on the brain injury or stroke unit of a rehabilitation facility. Once I accumulate more experience with patients with various neurological diagnoses, I will pursue an NCS certification to further my knowledge and proficiency with this specialty.

Regardless of where I end up working during my career, I will prioritize practicing with compassion and participate in initiatives that increases health care access for underserved populations. Many of my clinical rotations involved working with patients in underserved areas or patients from various socioeconomical backgrounds and I will continue to advocate for these patients as I start my career in the field. Additionally, as a member of this field, I will continue to advocate for diversity within the profession and take part in organized efforts to expand the profession.

Career Plan

• August 2019-August 2022: UNC DPT Program
  • Clinical Rotation I: UNC Hospitals- Outpatient Orthopedics
    • Ambulatory Care Center
  • Clinical Rotation II: UNC REX- Acute Care
    • Heart and Vascular Hospital
  • Clinical Rotation III: Access PT Clayton- Outpatient Orthopedics
  • Clinical Rotation IV: Vidant Medical Center- Inpatient Rehabilitation
    • Brain Injury Unit
  • Summer 2022: Complete final clinical rotation at Vidant Medical Center
  • July 30^th 2022: Graduate from UNC Chapel Hill’s DPT program
  • October 2022: Take and pass NPTE
  • Fall/Winter 2022: Begin working as a PT in inpatient rehabilitation setting
  • Beyond Fall 2022
    • Gain experience working in neurological settings and apply for NCS
    • Become clinical instructor for physical therapy students

Self-assessment

Strengths

• Connecting with patients and building rapport during treatment sessions
• Self-reflection and recognizing areas for improvement following patient sessions
• Practicing cultural humility and providing an inclusive environment for all patients

Areas of Professional Development

• Increasing confidence when performing patient education and communication
• Continually integrating updated evidence-based practice in my work
• Understanding of billing, insurance, and reimbursement codes

Objectives

• Graduate with DPT degree from UNC Chapel Hill in July 2022
• Pass the NPTE in October 2022
• Obtain an inpatient rehab job in a major metropolitan area by January 2023

 

Electives, Capstone, & Deliverables

Elective Courses

• PUBH 610: Introductory Spanish for Health Professions
• PHYT 800: Service Learning in UNC Health’s Cardiothoracic Stepdown Unit
• PHYT 870: Integrated Clinical Experience- Outpatient Neuro

Capstone Topic: Using Graded Motor Imagery for Chronic Low Back Pain

• Presentation
• Assessment Tool
• Intervention Tool

In-service: Vestibular Therapy in Acute Care Setting

Family Education Handout: Agitation in Brain Injury Patients

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Reflection

Beginning with Psychological Aspects of Disability and Illness in our first semester of the DPT program, I have continued reflecting and doing my part as a physical therapy student to treat patients with cultural humility practices and work on establishing diversity initiatives within the program. As physical therapists, it is important for us to have an open mind and treat patients with their culture and background in mind, so that all patients feel included in our care. In class, we took implicit bias quizzes that helped me understand how insidious biases could be and how important it was to be cognizant of our own biases, so we can work towards addressing them and improving our patient care quality.

Along with focusing on patient centered care, I also wanted to address the diversity within the profession as well, so I become co-chair of the Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Committee for UNC’s Student Physical Therapy Association. As chairs of the committee, we initiated the Minority Mentor Match Program to help connect BIPOC students with mentors within UNC DPT alumni network. We also started gathering resources and making connections to create information presentations on the physical therapy profession to be presented at HBCUs and UNC undergraduate students to help encourage more diversity within the students in DPT programs.

Program Reflection

It is amazing to reflect on my past 3 years in this program and how much growth and change has happened in those few years. In hindsight, even with shadowing experience, I did not know just how much depth and breadth exist within the profession. The number of settings and specialties we can work in is amazing to me and the extent of impact we can make on patient’s lives also excites me every day. Prior to this program, I had not known the extent of a difference improving someone’s mobility through assistive devices, orthotics, or various therapeutic exercises and treatments could make on their quality of life. Giving people the tools they need to gain back their agency is extremely rewarding and I am thankful to the UNC DPT program for helping me build a foundation that I can continue to develop as I advanced through my career.

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