DPT Portfolios

Professional Goals

My goal once I graduate from the Doctor of Physical Therapy Program at UNC is to become a specialist in orthopedic and sports physical therapy. I want to help patients of all ages to improve their quality of life and return to their normal functional lives. I will provide evidence based physical therapy to my patients to get the best outcomes possible.

Career Plan

• Sit for and pass the National Board of Certification Examination for Athletic Trainers: February 2014
• Graduate with BS in Athletic Training from Brigham Young University: April 2014
• Become a certified athletic trainer and work for BYU Sports Camps: May 2014
• Maintain Athletic Training Certification
• Begin DPT program at UNC: August 2014
• Outpatient Orthopedic Clinical Affiliation: Triangle Orthopaedic Associates in Durham, NC- June-August 2015
• Home Health Clinical Affiliation: Wellcare Home Health in Raleigh, NC: February-April 2016
• Acute Hospital Clinical Affiliation: UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, NC: April-June 2016
• Obtain my Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certification: December 2016
• Outpatient Orthopedic/Sports Medicine Clinical Affiliation: May 2017-August 2017
• Pass the National Physical Therapy Examination: July 2017
• Earn my Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from UNC-Chapel Hill: August 2017
• Begin working in an outpatient orthopedic clinic in Washington State August/September 2017
• Start an Orthopedic Residency Program: January 2018
• Obtain certification as an orthopedic board certified specialist of the American Board of Physical Therapy (OCS): 2019
• Obtain additional certifications to improve my development as a manual physical therapist (CMPT, COMT, etc.):2010+

Self-Assessment

Strengths

• Hard worker and professional
• Previous experience working with college (division 1) and high school athletes as an athletic trainer (and student)
• Good communication skills that help in providing the best quality of care
• Strong foundation in exercise prescription (CSCS certification)

Areas for further development

• Incorporating and assessing evidence-based outcome measures into my practice
• Becoming more familiar with insurance/billing structure
• Further developing my treatment/evaluation skills to provide an appropriate plan of care for each patient

Objectives

• Take and Pass the NPTE: July 2017
• Graduate from the DPT program at UNC-Chapel Hill: August 2017
• Obtain my first job as an outpatient therapist: Summer 2017
• Become a specialist in orthopedics and sports medicine: 2019

Specific Strategies

• Create a study schedule to best prepare for the NPTE
• Complete my final clinical in outpatient orthopedics and make/maintain good relationships
• Attend an orthopedic residency program or work for the required hours to sit for the OCS examination in an outpatient clinic
• Continue a career of life-long learning

Course Work and Capstone

• Fall 2016 Coursework
  • PHYT 752: Evidence Based Practice II
    • Researched the current evidence on the effect of dynamic stretching in preventing hamstring strains/pulls in collegiate football players. Stromberg_CAT
• Fall 2016 Electives
  • PHYT 875 (3 credits): Advanced Orthopedic Assessment and Intervention
  • PHYT 800 (1 credit): Independent Study in preparing for the CSCS examination offered by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) which included the creation of evidence tables to look at the most recent research.
• Spring 2017 Electives
  • PHYT 870 (2 credits): Integrated Clinical Experience
• Capstone
  • Critical Skills for Manual Therapy Competency in Physical Therapy

Reflective Statement

In looking back over these last three years, I have grown personally and professionally (not to mention added a member to my family). The faculty at UNC have done an incredible job in helping me to prepare to become a physical therapist. The course work has done a great job of helping me focus on patients and treating the ‘whole’ patient. During this last year, the curriculum did a wonderful job of allowing me to further my goals in becoming more specialized in orthopedic and sports physical therapy through taking electives specific to those areas. It also did a masterful job of helping me to develop my skills in finding and assessing evidence and applying that evidence into practice.

I want to thank all of the professors that have worked with me throughout my physical therapy education. They have all done a great job of providing feedback and helping me to better understand how physical therapy can improve the human experience through optimizing movement. I also want to thank my classmates for all of their help these last three years. There isn’t a better group of people with which I could have gone through this experience. I also want to thank my wife, Nicole, for all that she has done and the support that she has given me. I wouldn’t be the person I am today without her. These last three years have been awesome and I am proud to say that I am a tar heel and part of the UNC PT family!

Comments RSS