DPT Portfolios

Professional Goal Statement

Upon graduating from the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at UNC-Chapel Hill, I plan on attaining a Physical Therapy position in an out-patient orthopedic clinic in the Triangle. While working in the clinic, I will grow my critical thinking skills and diagnostic abilities by participating in continuing education classes. I plan to take classes in Maitland or McKenzie method to help further knowledge base to help patients. Furthermore, I want to take a certification class on functional dry needling to broaden my available skills to provide patients. I plan to be in a setting where I see a wide variety of patients, but I would like a begin to specialize in the running and/or soccer population and concussion/WAD population. Additionally, I would like to challenge myself and become more efficient to treat orthopedic patients by looking into an Orthopedic Residency program or studying individually to sit for the Orthopedic Clinical Specialist (OCS) examination. Also, I want to work towards building my own Physical Therapy business by growing my current Massage Therapy business into a more comprehensive service company to the local area. This last goal will take many years to fully develop, but I plan on getting the ball rolling to become a self-sufficient clinician and hire other Physical Therapists to help a niche cliental.

Career Plan

• Past Accomplishments
  • Fall 2012: Graduated from Body Therapy Institute- Massage and Bodywork Therapy School
  • Fall 2012: Became a Licensed Massage and Bodywork Therapy in NC
  • May 2018: UNC Chapel Hill – Bachelor of Art in Exercise and Sport Science; Anthropology minor
  • August 2019: Enrollment in Class of 2022 UNC DPT Program
    • Clinical Affiliation
      • Clinical 1: Outpatient Orthopedic/Neuro/Underserved- SouthEastern Physical Therapy, Hendersonville, NC: Oct 2020-Dec 2020 (8 weeks)
      • Clinical 2: Outpatient Orthopedic- Sports and More Physical Therapy, Raleigh, NC: March 2021-April 2021 (8 weeks)
      • Clinical 3: Acute Therapy ICU Neuro/Cardiothoracic- Wake Med Hospital Main, Raleigh, NC: April 2021-June 2021 (8 weeks)
      • Clinical 4: Outpatient Orthopedic- Duke Physical Therapy and Occupational Therapy, Apex, NC: May 2021-July 2021 (12 weeks)
    • 3^rd Year Electives
      • PHYT 800 (1 credit) TA Scholar Program:
        • Presentation of Anatomy and Physiology to the 1^st year class (2024) on the Knee
      • PHYT 870 (1 credit) Integrated Clinical Experience:
        • Orthopedic experience under the guidance of Dr. Jeff O’Laughlin
      • PHYT 874 (2 credit) Sports Medicine Elective
        • Presentation of Return to Sport after Concussion
      • PHYT 875 (2 credits) Advanced Orthopedics Assessment and Intervention
    • Self-Assessment
      • Strengthens
        • Extensive background in Manual Skills- specifically Massage techniques
        • Organization and time management skills
        • Dedication towards learning new interventions and maximizing my patient’s outcomes
        • Inspired to read new literature related to Physical Therapy evidence-based practice
        • Strong communication skills and empathy towards patient’s conditions and complaints.
      • Areas for Growth
        • Evaluation and diagnosis of patients with more complex medical histories and presentations
        • Achieve a better work-life balance
        • Increase social media activity to network with other Physical Therapists
        • Expand my strength and condition knowledge base for clinical integration
        • Develop and sustain a system for continuing me learning post-graduation
      • Clinical Areas of Interest:
        • Concussion/Post-Concussion/WAD intervention strategies and early awareness to minimize chronicity and debilitating impact
        • Cervical Dysfunction
        • Injury Risk Reduction for all types of sports, but specifically athletes in the running and soccer communities
        • Lower Extremity pathologies that can utilize a conversative evidence-based approach to limit the need of surgeries for patients
      • Objectives
        • Graduate UNC DPT program July 2022
        • Pass NPTE in October 2022
        • Obtain job in Outpatient Orthopedic Clinic by end of 2022
        • Take courses to advance my knowledge and skill set in my clinical practice
        • Consider applying to Orthopedic Residency Class of 2023-24
        • Pass the OCS exam by end of 2027
        • Grow my cash-based mobile business providing Therapy Services to >10 employees by end of 2032
      • Specific Strategies
        • Generate a study schedule and be consistent about studying for the NPTE
        • Utilize various studying programs to maximize my learning for the NPTE
        • During my last clinical rotation, utilize this time to refine my critical thinking skills to manage all types of orthopedic condition
        • Continue to read current literature review and CPGs to optimize my evaluation, intervention, and prognosis in the clinic
        • Keep consistently communicating with faculty mentors to grow relationships and networking
        • Find a clinic mentor to provide clinical advice and lean on when I need a second opinion
    • Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
      • Spring 21’ Reflection
      • Spring 22′ Reflection

Product Examples

• Capstone Project
  • Capstone Project_Clinical Question Research on PCS
    • Research to help update the CPGs for Concussion, specific to signs and symptoms of Headaches secondary to concussion or whiplash associated disorder (WAD).
  • Managing Concussion in the Clinic
    • This is an extensive PowerPoint that will be revised to focus on topics that the clinic needs further knowledge on. I will attempt to add components of headache evaluation and interventions into the presentation to implement aspects of the research I did on this topic.
• Comma Recovery Scale Revised CRSR–WMR_RLindstedt(Voice) for Acute care
  • Voice recording for clinicians to listen too.
• Critically Appraised Topic: CAT
  • Research Question: In patients suffering from headaches secondary to post-concussion syndrome (PCS), will they have better improvement from manual interventions and exercise versus therapeutic exercise alone at decreasing their headache symptoms (decreased frequency, duration, or intensity) within one year.
• Knee Presentation DPT1 2021
  • In-person presentation to the 2024 cohort (1st years) on the anatomy and physiology of the Knee; this presentation lasted >1hour.

Reflective Statement

It’s hard to adequately express my growth in this program because it has challenged and molded me into a completely different person. I am extremely thankful for my time at UNC-Chapel Hill and this program due to numerous reasons. There were a bunch of obstacles throughout the last 3 years, including a historic pandemic that changed the whole culture of society and way of life. Another difficult hurdle for me personally was the shift from in-person classroom lectures to virtual lectures because it’s harder for me to learn, recall, and generally retain information presented this way. Thus, I had to adapt to this new way of education to survive and pass classes. The positive things I remember most from my time in the DPT program are the astonishing professors who were constantly supportive, my amazing peers who all taught each other, soccer intramural games with friends, and various events after exams to “blow off steam.” Additionally, the positive opportunities I had due to being in the program such as volunteering at SHAC, Durham Outreach, becoming the SHAC manager for a year, and shadowing various clinicians throughout the program to bring the classroom material to real life. Based on all these experienced thus far, I have realized that I have learned a lot but still have a lot more to learn. I will never stop learning, even after becoming a clinician.

I am thankful for every single faculty member because they all spent extra time to prepare for class to optimize each lesson and they their door open for questions or guidance throughout the program. Also, I am thankful for my classmates because they always had my back and supported me whenever I was struggling. I am tremendously appreciative for all the memories, laughter, and new friends I made along the way that will continue to shape me. Lastly, I am thankful to the numerous clinicians who helped me along the way at different clinical rotations no matter if they were not my designated clinical instructor because each of them taught me something beneficial that will shape me into a better clinician.

Professionally over the next few years, I have ambitious goals. First of all, I want to get a job by the end of the year to start getting clinical experience. Hopefully I can get a job in the UNC system because the culture of each clinic matches my personality and I love the various populations that the out-patient clinic works with. Otherwise, getting a job in the triangle that has patient slots ~40mins and doesn’t double book are important characteristics I am looking for. Furthermore, I would love to work 4x10hours days so I can grow my own business by working on that 5^th day of the week and occasionally on Sundays. I already have a partner who is an experienced Physical Therapist, so I want to develop his skills that my clients tend to look for and build his confidence in this niche setting. Other professional considerations I want to grow will be taking continuing education classes that will help with my evaluation, diagnostic, and interventions. Also, I am contemplating applying to Orthopedic residencies for next years cohort to help address these skills and gain structured mentorship.

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