DPT Portfolios

Professional Goal Statement

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My goal as a PT upon graduation from UNC DPT is providing evidence based, patient-centered care in the outpatient orthopedic setting with the goal of helping patients return fully to activities that are meaningful to them. I plan to be in a setting that sees a wide variety of patients. Within this setting, I hope to gain experiences with multiple diagnoses and presentations. In the future after graduation, I hope to either complete my orthopedic clinical specialist licensure as well as a certification in dry needling in order to be better equipped to serve my patients. My long-term goals include becoming a clinical instructor, becoming adjunct faculty within a DPT program, and seeking research leadership positions.

Career Plan

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Education

• Arizona State University, B.S. in Kinesiology – May 2020
• University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, Doctorate in Physical Therapy – July 2023

Clinical Experience

• Clinical Affiliation I: UNC Hillsborough, Hillsborough, NC (June 2021-August 2021)
  • Acute Care
• Clinical Affiliation II: Duke Health Physical and Occupational Therapy, Holly Springs, NC (February 2022-April 2022)
  • Outpatient Orthopedics
• Clinical Affiliation III: Atrium Health Northeast, Concord, NC (April 2022-June 2022)
  • Neuro/Inpatient Rehabilitation
• Clinical Affiliation IV: The Running PTs, Cary, NC (May 2023-July 2023)
  • Outpatient Sports-Orthopedics

Electives

• Fall 2022
  • Advanced Orthopedic Assessment and Treatment
  • Teacher Scholar for MSK II
• Spring 2023
  • Topics in Sports Physical Therapy
  • Integrated Clinical Experience with Dr. Bria Dunn (60 hours)

Self-Assessment

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• Strengths
  • Communication
  • Adaptability 
  • Professional Behavior
  • Patient Rapport
  • Creativity in Intervention
• Areas for Professional Development
  • Hone clinical reasoning skills especially for high complexity patients 
  • Further development of patient education
  • Involvement in PT advocacy

Objectives

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• Graduate from UNC DPT in July 2023
• Pass NPTE board exam in July 2023
• Attend residency or obtain a full-time job as an orthopedic PT in Fall 2023
• Obtain my OCS
• Obtain my dry needling certification 
• Become a certified clinical instructor
• Become an adjunct faculty member for a DPT program
• Obtain a research leadership position within the APTA

Specific Strategies

• Follow a study plan or preparation course for passing the NPTE
• Continue to look for employment and apply to residencies and jobs within the setting and situation that fit my interests
• Find a mentor within my field of practice and remain in contact with previous mentors/clinical instructors 
• Follow a study plan or preparation course for passing the OCS exam
• Reach out to local DPT programs for adjunct faculty positions

Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

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UNC provided a plethora of opportunities for us to engage in DEI discussions not only among our own classmates, but other healthcare schools like dentistry and occupational therapy. For one of our first courses ever in PT school required us to read the book “Blindspot: the Hidden Biases of Good People.” This along with the Implicit Association Tools revealed implicit biases I didn’t even know I had myself. This helped me start to address these in my everyday life. 

I also decided to watch a discussion of Dr. Damon Tweedy’s book “A Black Man in a White Coat.” The discussion of Dr. Damon Tweedy’s book, “A Black Man in a White Coat,” sparked many interesting topics of consideration for not only the public, but especially those that are going to be future health care workers. The biases that exist in the world can profoundly affect the outcome of a patient. Science and medicine seem to be purely objectively based. If a patient presents with these symptoms, it has to be this disease, however, health is more than a condition or disease, it is multifaceted. Conditions can be affected by ethnicity, socioeconomic status, or even health insurance status. Even those factors are all intertwined together. Dr. Tweedy even touched on the idea of divided medicine: the idea of health care workers just treating people that are like them. At first this seems easier, but in my opinion, is not that realistic considering how heterozygous our communities are. The idea of not making assumptions of others, especially when providing care, was prevalent throughout the discussion. Providing equitable, respectful care is what needs to be in the forefront when interacting with patients. Equitable care, needs noting, might look different for people considering their own history and background. The second portion of Dr. Tweedy’s discussion that I found enjoyable was centered around his sense of diaspora culture within the medical community. His thoughts of not truly not fitting into either the medical community that is predominantly White or the predominantly Black community in which he grew up in. I also feel this way as being Indian American and not fitting into either cultures that I had the privilege of being a part of, and like Tweedy, feel the pressure of being perfect as people view me as a representative to my whole ethnicity or background. Although there are many Indians that are doctors, very few are physical therapists, and I am fortunate to have 3 other Indian classmates that I can openly discuss our shared experiences together with. Sometimes it is discouraging to not see people like you in a field that you are pursuing, but almost feels like an honor to maybe be a role model to someone in the future, to make Indian patients even more comfortable when I am their provider, or the opportunity to teach and learn about different cultures from my classmates. It can sometimes feel as though it is this immense responsibility and at times it is, but Dr. Tweedy’s discussion reminded me that there are so many providers grappling with the same thing and to view it as a privilege rather than a weight. 

Product Examples

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• Capstone
  • Investigating Kinesiophobia Levels after Primary and Secondary ACL Reconstruction 
    • I found the topic of psychologically-informed practice particularly interesting after researching this for Dr. Thoma’s lab presentation requirement. Luckily, Dr. Shelby Baez, a trailblazer in this area, is a faculty member at UNC. In collaboration with Dr. Joe Hart and his LEAP protocol study, we were able to fill a gap in the research regarding kinesiophobia in the secondary ACL reconstruction population. Having within-subjects analysis makes this project of high quality and novel in nature. 
• Inservice Presentation for Atrium Northeast therapy staff: Circuit Training Following Stroke_ A Literature Review.pptx
• Topics in Sports Therapy Presentation: Early Sports Specialization

Reflective Statement

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Wow! I can’t believe I’m already writing this!! It seems like just yesterday I was logging onto Zoom to start Debbie Thorpe’s class and look at me now, almost done with my very final rotation! I used to come onto this website and be in awe of all the things past students have done and now I’m in awe of my classmates and myself for all the hard work we’ve done to get to this point! I felt like we definitely started behind the eight ball given we were starting school in a pandemic that everyone was trying to figure out together and that’s what I feel like this class does best: make the most of figuring it all out! I am so grateful to have navigating this thing called PT school with them. I’m a true believer that we’re the best class to ever do it!!

Reflecting back, I can’t even put into words how much growth I’ve experienced and it extends far beyond the classroom. I came into PT school undecided what my favorite subspeciality would be and I went into every class and rotation with an open mind which only served me well. I continue to have a broad interest area that encompasses many sects of PT, but I finally figured out that orthopedics is where my heart lies! Thanks UNC for requiring us to explore all sects of PT! Yes, I learned SO much about PT and PT practice, but I learned so much about myself too. I’ve grown in my confidence, communication, knowledge, and practice. These past 3 years have taught me that I want to continuously learn, grow, and apply this to my practice. It also showed me that I 100% want to pursue an orthopedic residency opportunity and teach others in some capacity. The opportunities offered by UNC also grew my passion for research and presenting. I am so thankful to UNC for growing us to be great clinicians, but also well-rounded ones.

Lastly, I think this quote sums up my time at UNC quite nicely: “It’s rare, indeed, when you are doing exactly what you want to do, with exactly the people you want to do it with, in exactly the place you want to be. In life most people are happy when they get one right, and two is like heaven. Getting all three right can only happen at UNC.”

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