Apr 20 2017
Miller, Molly
Professional Goal Statement
My goal is to become a compassionate, patient-centered physical therapist who strives to advocate and provide holistic, evidence-based care for all patients. A particular passion of mine is therapeutic yoga, and how yoga can be used to treat chronic pain, which combines my interests in both the body and mind. I am striving to be a true generalist, as my interests range from orthopedic to neurological patients in either inpatient or outpatient settings. An ideal position to achieve this goal would be as a float therapist in a large healthcare system or as a traveling physical therapist with financial opportunities to attend continuing education courses and conferences to increase my skill set. Eventually, I would like to find a niche where I can continue to be challenged and excited by opportunities to better myself within a particular setting. Finally, I would like to give back to students in either a teaching or lecture role and/or as a clinical instructor.
Career Plan
May, 2013: Bachelor of Arts in Exercise and Sport Science, and Psychology from UNC-CH
June, 2015 – Aug, 2017: Clinical Rotations
- Outpatient Orthopedic Clinical Rotation, Select Physical Therapy in Mt. Pleasant, SC
- Acute Care Clinical Rotation, UNC Hospitals, Surgery/Trauma ICU
- Pediatric Outpatient Clinical Rotation, Abilitations in Raleigh, NC
- Inpatient Rehabilitation Clinical Rotation, WakeMed in Raleigh, NC
June, 2017: Attend APTA NEXT Conference in Boston, to receive Award of Excellence on behalf of the UNC Student Physical Therapy Association for raising over $10K for the Foundation of Physical Therapy
August, 2017: Earn degree of Doctor of Physical Therapy from UNC-CH
October, 2017: Present Poster of Capstone project at NCPTA Conference
October, 2017: Sit for North Carolina Licensing Board Exam
November, 2017: Be employed by large healthcare system (any setting)
2018 – 2019: Attend continuing education courses and conferences to advance skill set (i.e. chronic pain management, yoga therapy, vestibular, lymphedema, dry needling)
2020: Become Clinical Instructor and/or give educational lecture
2022: Earn certification of PYT (Professional Yoga Therapist)
2023 – 2024: Publish article in peer-reviewed journal/contribute to growing body of evidence
2025: Run for leadership position within APTA
Self-Assessment
Strengths:
- Advocate for patients and their families, as well as for my peers/co-workers/classmates; constantly looking for ways to develop and improve situations, environments, and cultures to reflect quality, respect, and professionalism
- Excellent communication skills, especially active listening, providing effective patient education, and expressing empathy and positivity
- Engagement in leadership roles and activities, taking initiative as demonstrated by my role as Secretary of SPTA and as Co-Chair of planning the annual golf tournament
Areas of Improvement:
- Management of patient care overall (billing, insurance, length of stay, equipment needs, referrals, prognosis, realistic patient goals, etc.)
- Providing evidence-based, effective interventions to complex patients with orthopedic and neurological involvement
Objectives
- Prepare effectively, sit for, and ultimately pass the Federation of State Board of Physical Therapy Exam on October 25, 2017.
- Gain full-time employment in a clinical setting that provides opportunities for mentorship, interdisciplinary collaboration, continuing education, and diverse patient diagnoses.
- Continue to learn about the benefits of yoga for diagnoses such as chronic low back pain and arthritis, and how to incorporate yoga into clinical practice.
- Become a clinical instructor and/or give lecture in entry-level physical therapy program
- Publish article in peer-reviewed journal/contribute to growing body of evidence
Specific Strategies
- Create and follow study plan for Licensing Boards exam
- Network and shadow physical therapists in at least five different clinics
- Attend NEXT Conference in June, 2017; specifically, Introduction to Therapeutic Yoga course
- Present poster of abstract about capstone project (Yoga for Chronic Pain) at NCPTA Conference
Electives and Coursework
Fall, 2016:
PHYT 870: ICE (Integrated Clinical Experience) Completed 60 hours of outpatient orthopedic experience with Jyotsna Gupta at UNC Faculty Clinic in Hillsborough, NC evaluating and treating a variety of patients with diagnoses ranging from TKA, LBP, plantar fasciitis, OA/RA, rotator cuff tears, and neck pain.
PHYT 800: Independent Study. Teaching Assistant for PHYT 720, Introduction to Physical Therapy Intervention with Lisa Johnston. Answering questions from first years challenged my knowledge and ability to convey explicit information in an appropriate manner and I am interested in teaching students in some capacity in my future as a physical therapist.
PHYT 824: Topics in Health Promotion and Wellness. This class provided pertinent information for my service trip to Tyrrell County as well as my capstone project in the spring, as we discussed social determinants of health and yoga as a biopsychosocial health intervention. In this class, I created a health program called RAD Yogi, a health promotion program for patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis Dysfunction: RAD Yogi Program.
Spring, 2017
PHYT 896: Interdisciplinary Service Trip to Tyrrell County. Week long spring break trip to Columbia, NC where we worked with community partners to address barriers to healthcare for underprivileged children and senior citizens.
PHYT 752: Evidence Based Practice II. Throughout the semester, I continually worked on developing a Critically Appraised Topic, which investigated whether yoga was more effective than opioids at reducing pain in patients with chronic pain. Evidence gathered for this topic contributed to my capstone project. CAT (Critically Appraised Topic)
PHYT 854: Capstone Project. The purpose of this project is to provide students of physical therapy and community members with information about the benefits of yoga for chronic pain conditions, such as low back pain and arthritis. Under the guidance of my committee members: Jyotsna Gupta, PT, PhD, Amy Gwynn, PT, DPT, and Jean Masse, PT, DPT, PRC, OCS, ATC, I created a VoiceThread presentation and Brochure which can be found on my capstone website.
Reflective Statement
As someone who is from Chapel Hill and a UNC alumnus, I was beyond thrilled to be accepted into UNC’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program. I was drawn to UNC’s Physical Therapy program because of their dedication to community service and interdisciplinary collaboration. I have had the opportunity to give back to my community through SHAC, Beyond Clinic Walls, and the service trip to Tyrrell County. Physical therapists have the rare privilege to work in several different settings and I am grateful every day for the opportunity to pursue a career that combines both personal and professional interests for the purpose of empowering others to transform their lives.