DPT Portfolios

Professional Goal Statement

     My professional goal is to become a compassionate, dedicated, and well-rounded physical therapist. My goal is to provide the most up to date evidence-based care that I can in order to optimize my health and wellness outcomes for my patients. I will focus on functional strength and movement that may be impacting and impeding my patient’s ability to be more independent with their activities of daily, hobbies, work, and lifestyle.

     Graduating as a generalist from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill DPT program, I intend to practice in an environment that will allow me to gain experience with various patient populations and diagnoses to maintain my “toolbox” of skills learned. Ideally, I would find a position in a more rural area of the state that would allow me to float between the continuum of acute and outpatient settings. I hope to work with acute and chronic orthopedic conditions. In addition, I would love to continue my education with pelvic health and begin to treat this population in an outpatient setting.

     As I gain momentum in my career, I anticipate taking on more leadership positions for the organization I am employed by, become a Clinical Instructor for PT students, and assist with some teaching in the area of my interest either at UNC DPT or a nearby DPT program.

Career Plan

• Past Accomplishments
  • B.A. Exercise and Sport Science; minors in Chemistry and Spanish for the Medical Profession; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (December 2018)
  • Research Internship with Duke Molecular Physiology Institute (2019)
    • See publication below
  • Work Experience as Nurse Aide I at Atrium Health University City Emergency Department from June 2019- February 2021.
  • President for Student Physical Therapy Association, January 2022-January 2023
    • January 2023-2024: 3^rd Year Class Representative
• Future Goals
  • July 2024: Pass the NPTE Exam
  • August 2024: Anticipated graduation from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Doctor of Physical Therapy Program
  • Fall 2024: Obtain full time position as a physical therapist

Clinical Experiences

• Craven Physical Therapy & Spine; New Bern, NC; June- August 2022 (8 weeks)
  • Outpatient Orthopedics, underserved population
• Carolinas Rehabilitation; Charlotte, NC; February- April 2023 (8 weeks)
  • Inpatient Rehabilitation – Oncology Team
• UNC Hospitals; Chapel Hill, NC; April- June 2023 (8 weeks)
  • Acute Care – Neurologic & General Medicine Floors
• Breakthrough PT; Morehead City, NC; April-July 2024 (12 weeks)
  • Outpatient Orthopedics

Self-Assessment

• Strengths
  • Organized, strong work ethic, and detail-oriented
  • Strong communication skills and ability to build great patient rapport
  • Leadership experience as Student Physical Therapy Association President
  • Interdisciplinary background, including research experience, previous work experience as Nurse Aide I in an emergency department, and international physiotherapy experience via internship
• Areas for Professional Development
  • Increased volunteer and professional outreach in local community for state and national organizations
  • Public speaking and presentation skills
  • Continued exposure and experience with wide scope of patient presentation and diagnoses
  • Developing better understanding for clinical prognosis with various diagnoses

Objectives

1. Obtain Doctor of Physical Therapy Degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill
2. Successfully pass the National Physical Therapy Exam and obtain licensure in the state I intend to practice.
3. Grow in my ability to read, analyze, and interpret literature in order to provide high quality, evidence-based care for my future patients
4. Challenge myself to attend 5 continuing education courses per year related to my clinical practice in order to enhance the quality of care I am providing to my patients.
5. Increase involvement in community and organizations that either increase physical therapy services to those unable to obtain or advocate for the advancement of the physical therapy profession

Specific Strategies

1. Enroll and complete the necessary coursework to obtain my degree. I anticipate selecting the following electives: Advanced Orthopedics, Spanish for Medical Professions, and Sports.
2. Create a rigorous study schedule from Fall 2023-July 2024 to study for both comprehensive exam and NPTE exam.
3. Every year, I will read 25 articles (roughly 2 per month) in the literature that will allow me to remain committed to learning and utilize evidence-based research in practice. My action plan is to pace myself and remain diligent in reading an article in the literature every other week during my free time and digest what component it can add to my practice. For the first year, I will commit to writing a sentence or two about the research in a word document to hold myself accountable.
4. Yearly, I will complete 75 hours of service in one shape or form, whether that be providing pro-bono services, serving in the community, or accepting students in the clinical setting to develop their professional skills. My action plan starting in school is to try to continue participating in SHAC and SPTA events. After school, I will explore APTA regional events and other services opportunities within the community I am living.

Electives

• Fall 2023
  • PHYT 875- Advanced Orthopedic Assessment
  • PUBH 613- Introductory Spanish Health Professions I
• Spring 2024
  • PHYT 874- Topics in Sports Physical Therapy

Published Research

• Internship with Duke Molecular Physiology Institute (January-May 2019)
  • MacDonald G, Sitlinger A, Deal MA, et al. A pilot study of high-intensity interval training in older adults with treatment naïve chronic lymphocytic leukemia.Sci Rep. 2021;11(1):23137. doi:10.1038/s41598-021-02352-6.
  • Maiden Name: Ferraro

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Events

     Throughout my time at UNC, I had the opportunity to immerse myself in many diversity, equity, and inclusion events. One of the biggest concepts that was interwoven within them all was combating bias. I have learned a lot about my unconscious biases in the past three years, especially upon entering the DPT program when reading the novel Blindspot.While these biases are innate, it’s imperative to identify them, recognize how they can influence my judgements, and work to negate their effect. Throughout my clinical rotations, I have actively worked to recognize my bias’s and ensure they are not influencing my clinical decision-making in-patient care. In addition, the Unconscious Bias Awareness and Respecting All workshops I attended have helped me learn how to effective advocate for my patient’s needs and how to manage a situation where another member of the interdisciplinary team biases may be influencing their judgement in patient care.

Interprofessional Education (IPE)

     In our DPT curriculum, we have had a plethora of opportunities to work with members of other interdisciplinary teams to positively impact patient outcomes and plan of cares. I have had great experiences on both my inpatient rehabilitation and acute care rotations of implementing effective communication and teamwork within the interdisciplinary team. In inpatient rehabilitation, I had the opportunity to participate in the weekly interdisciplinary meeting with the doctor, psychiatrist, occupational therapist, speech language pathologist, social worker, and nurse. In these meetings, I was able to communicate how the PT POC was progressing and things I needed assistance with to ensure safe discharge for my patients as well as listening and understanding what other facets I could assist other members with. In acute care, I frequently worked with the occupational therapist to co-treat in the neurologic intensive care unit and appreciated the perspective we both brought to patient care. It has been amazing to learn more about the focus of each specialty and collaborate on interventions to maximize time with our patients.

Product Examples

• Capstone: Pre-Briefing for Cardiopulmonary Simulation Experience
  • Advisor: Sean Lowers, PT, DPT
  • Pre-Briefing Presentation for Simulation Day- Efenecy
• Inservice Presentation for UNC Chapel Hill Hospital Staff: Identifying & Overcoming Barriers to Hospital Discharge for the Stroke Population
  • Efenecy- inservice presentation
• Education Handout: Preventing Caregiver Burnout
  • Preventing Caregiver Burnout

Reflective Statement

Overall, I look back and can’t believe it has already been three years! I have thoroughly enjoyed my time here at UNC and I am looking forward to taking the next steps in my career. I have enjoyed the mentorship from all the faculty members and clinical instructors I have had the opportunity to work with. As I study for the board exam, I realize how well this program was curated to expose us to the plethora of information that will make me a well-rounded physical therapist. Big thank you to all my classmates for the contagious, positive energy they brought to class and study groups to make the classwork and studying fun! I hope to be back to help the program in some facet in the future, either as a clinical instructor or class presenter on subject material.

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