DPT Portfolios

Professional Goal Statement:

Upon graduating from The University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill’s Doctorate of Physical Therapy (PT) program, I plan to attend an orthopedic residency program to gain my specialist certification in this respective field. This dedicated learning experience will allow me to build upon my clinical reasoning skills, deepen my understanding of orthopedic conditions and rehabilitation methods, as well as provide valuable mentorship to support me in becoming the best PT that I can be. I aim to continue enhancing my understanding of PT practice and utilize high-level evidence to best help treat my future patients. As a former competitive swimmer, I am particularly interested in working in the realm of sports orthopedics and perhaps aquatic therapy, where I plan to use my background in this area to assist patients of all functional levels in achieving their goals.

Career Plan:

Past Experiences & Achievements:

• Bachelor of Science in Nutrition Science from North Carolina State University- Summa Cum Laude (2015-2019)
• NCAA Division I scholarship recipient for Women’s Swimming- North Carolina State University (2015-2019)
• US Swimming Olympic Trials qualifier (2016)
• Student Athlete Advisory Committee representative for North Carolina State’s Women’s Swimming and Diving team (2017-2018)
• Team Captain of the North Carolina State’s Women’s Swimming and Diving Team (2018-2019)
• President of the Student Physical Therapy Association (SPTA) at UNC (2019-2020)
• UNC Student Delegate for APTA NC SSIG Advocacy Committee (2021)

Clinical Experiences:

• UNC Chapel Hill DPT Program: 2019-2022
  • Clinical I: UNC Chatham, Siler City, NC – acute care (2020)
  • Clinical II: Pivot PT, Holly Springs, NC – outpatient orthopedics (2021)
  • Clinical III: Duke Specialty Rehab Services Midtown, Raleigh, NC- outpatient neurological (2021)
  • Clinical IV: UNC Meadowmont, Chapel Hill, NC- outpatient orthopedics & aquatic therapy (2022)
• SHAAC pro bono clinic (2019-2022)

Electives:

• COVID Service (Spring, 2021)
• Integrated Clinical Experience (Fall, 2021)
• Teacher Scholar for Biomechanics (Fall, 2021)
• Advanced Orthopedics (Fall, 2021)
• Topics in Sports Physical Therapy (Spring, 2022)

Certifications:

• Heartsaver CPR AED (September, 2021- September 2023)
• Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach (CSCS)

Future Goals:

• NPTE exam and Physical Therapy Licensure (July, 2022).
• Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree from UNC Chapel Hill (July, 2022).
• Begin Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency (September, 2022-September, 2023).
• Take and Pass Orthopedic Certified Specialty (OCS) exam.
• Attend CSM and/or other conferences annually.
• Obtain job in sports, aquatic therapy, or orthopedic outpatient clinic.
• Become a credentialed clinical instructor and mentor students during their clinical rotations.

Self-Assessment:

Strengths:

• Strong work ethic and organization skills.
• Highly motivated and dedicated.
• Self-propelled drive to learn.
• High achieving and continued desire to better myself.
• Compassion, integrity, altruism, cultural competence.
• Leadership and ability to work as an effective team member as evidenced by experience as captain and member of the NC State Swim and Dive team, team representative for the student-athlete advisory committee in college, and President of the UNC DPT SPTA.
• Athletic background as a former swimmer, continued involvement as a swim coach, and CSCS certification.

Areas for Professional Development:

• Effective communication and collaboration with other healthcare professionals to provide best patient first care.
• Improve understanding of insurance nuances and limitations to providing patient care.
• Maintain a healthy work/life balance.
• Increased involvement and advocacy for the profession at the national and state levels.

Objectives:

• Pass the NPTE exam and become a licensed physical therapist (July, 2022).
• Graduate from the DPT program at UNC Chapel Hill (August, 2022).
• Complete an Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency (September, 2023).
• Secure employment at a general outpatient clinic in the state of North Carolina.(Fall, 2023).
• Become certified in Dry Needling (Fall, 2024).
• Pass the OCS exam and become an orthopedic specialist (March, 2024).

Specific Strategies:

• Follow a study plan to successfully prepare and pass the NPTE (July, 2022).
• Achieve entry level anchor criterion status by midterm during my last clinical rotation.
• Maintain my general APTA membership and join the orthopedic section.
• Attend CSM yearly and other conferences to enhance my understanding of orthopedic evidence.
• Remain in contact with and utilize the support of mentors at UNC, clinical instructors and classmates.
• Follow a study plan to successfully prepare and pass the OCS exam in July 2024.
• Reach out to potential employers to hopefully secure a job after my residency program.
• Register and complete a dry needling course, and pass the certification requirement.

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion:

While working through the early curriculum in UNC’s DPT program, the summer reading requirements on implicit biases raised my awareness of the various inequalities as well as my own sub-conscious prejudices. Despite growing up in both Ghana and Indonesia where I was immersed in various cultures, I realized that as a white individual, there is still so much to learn. For example, after reading the book, Taking on Diversity: How We Can Move from Anxiety to Respect, by Rupert W. Nacoste I realized that I was guilty of letting the world just keep turning and not stepping up to the plate to actively make a social change, and I plan to start being a better activist and contributor to neodiversity acceptance. Throughout PT school, my experiences related to justice, equity, diversity and inclusion have taught me more on how to ‘show not tell’ and provided me methods of how to be more inclusive of all people. I am committed to implementing these lessons as I become a practicing clinician by remaining self-aware of potential biases, treating all patients with respect, empathizing will all, advocating for minority groups, and aiming to be a holistic and patient-centered provider.

Projects/Products:

• Capstone: Conservative Care Recommendations and the Benefits of Aquatic Exercise for Patients with Osteoarthritis (OA)– a collaborative project with Lauren-Austyn McGee, SPT.
  • Capstone website link: https://dptcapstone.web.unc.edu/2022/04/20/conservative-care-recommendations-and-the-benefits-of-aquatic-exercise-for-patients-with-osteoarthritis/
  • Patient Education Handout for OA
  • Aquatic HEP Library for Lower Extremity OA
  • Clinician/Student Reference Sheet for Lower Extremity OA Management
  • Clinician/Student PowerPoint on Aquatic Intervention for Patients with Lower Extremity OA
• Critically Appraised Topic: Aquatic vs Land-based Intervention for Pain Reduction for those with OA
  • PICO: In women over 70 years old with knee osteoarthritis (P), is aquatic therapy (I) more effective than land-based therapy (C) in decreasing pain with ambulation (O)?
• Patient Education Handout: Ergonomic Setup

Reflective statement:

The past few years at UNC has been an incredible journey of self-growth, continual learning, some adversity yet still a lot of fun. Being in PT school through midst of the COVID-19 pandemic has truly been an eye-opening experience and I can’t thank the faculty and the class of 2022 enough for the constant support and efforts to make it through those tremulous times. I can truthfully say that the person that I am now finishing this program is certainly not the same person as the one who began three years ago. My interests have shifted slightly, I have been introduced to new facets of physical therapy, my perspectives have broadened, and I have developed new career and life goals. I feel that I am completing the program with so many more new questions and curiosities than I entered with, thus sustaining my drive for continued education.

I am honored and feel very proud to represent UNC’s DPT program next year in UNC’s Orthopedic Physical Therapy Residency program, where I will continue this enhance my ability to care for others. I cannot wait to spend another year in this incredible community and collaborate with our brilliant professors. Onto the next one!

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