DPT Portfolios

Professional Goal Statement

My professional goal as a licensed physical therapist is to provide patients with the tools to accomplish their individual goals. I will strive to always focus on the whole person rather than the specific impairments, providing holistic and individualized patient care. Upon graduating from the DPT program at UNC-Chapel Hill, I hope to practice in a sports medicine setting to assist athletes in returning to competition and maximizing performance in their passion. Although returning to the playing field is certainly a major milestone in sports rehabilitation, I don’t consider this to be the “end-goal.” Rather, I will aim to constantly be mindful of the longer-term outcomes, such as injury prevention, to promote lifelong wellness and contribute to the APTA’s vision of “optimizing movement to improve the human experience.”

 

Career Plan

Past Accomplishments

• Graduated from Florida State University in December 2020 with a B.S. in Exercise Physiology.

Clinical Experiences

• Clinical Rotation I: UNC Health Main Hospital in Chapel Hill, NC – Acute care.
  • June – August 2022 (8 weeks)
• Clinical Rotation II: Novant Health Pender Medical Center in Burgaw, NC – Neuro/Underserved.
  • February – April 2023 (8 weeks)
• Clinical Rotation III: UNC Wellness Center at Meadowmont in Chapel Hill, NC – Outpatient Orthopedics.
  • April – June 2023 (8 weeks)
• Clinical Rotation IV: Emory University Physical Therapy in Atlanta, GA – Outpatient Orthopedics & Sports Medicine.
  • May – July 2024 (12 weeks)

Objectives

• 2024:
  • Graduate with a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from UNC Chapel Hill.
  • Obtain licensure in North Carolina by passing the NPTE in October.
  • Become employed as a licensed physical therapist in an outpatient orthopedic or sports medicine setting.
• 2025-2026:
  • Begin obtaining athletic venue coverage hours required for SCS Board Certification.
  • Obtain ATRI Aquatic Therapeutic Exercise Certification.
  • Obtain dry needling certification.
  • Obtain either CSCS or Clinical Management of the Fitness Athlete (CMFA) certification.
• 2027 & Beyond:
  • Obtain SCS Board Certification.
  • Become a credentialed clinical instructor.

 

Experiences & Skills Gained through DPT Curriculum

Elective Courses

• Advanced Orthopedic Assessment & Treatment, Fall 2023
• Topics in Sports Physical Therapy, Spring 2024
• Advanced Neuromuscular Intervention, Spring 2024

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI)

Throughout my time at UNC, I’ve grown much more aware of the impact of implicit biases and learned strategies to overcome these. Prior to starting our first year in the DPT program, we read ‘Blind Spot: Hidden Biases of Good People’ – this book, along with our class discussions about the topic of bias, first opened my eyes to just how prevalent these issues are, both in and out of the clinic.

Taking the Implicit Associations Tests (IATs) by Project Implicit further highlighted the potential areas of bias, several of which I had not previously considered. For instance, age and weight were two factors that wouldn’t have been the first things to come to mind when thinking about underserved populations. However, my scores on these IATs revealed that I did hold subconscious preferences with regard to age and weight. Although I was initially quite disappointed by this revelation, I was motivated to take action towards reducing the impact of these biases. There will always continue to be room for improvement, but I feel I’ve become more sensitive and intentional in how I approach discussions and patient education on age- and weight-related topics.

During my second clinical rotation in a rural area of North Carolina, I encountered several situations that increased my awareness of the challenges faced by underserved communities. From attending interdisciplinary meetings and hearing from social work’s perspective, I realized that the discharge planning process is far more complex than what I’d previously believed. At this facility, it wasn’t uncommon to encounter cases where there were several considerations when planning for discharge and next level of care, such as individuals who were unhoused, uninsured, or other barriers to healthcare access. This experience taught me the value of collaborating with local resources and organizations in order to provide quality care and maximize outcomes in underrepresented populations.

Interprofessional Education Activities (IPE)

Interprofessional activities have been some of my favorite experiences throughout my time at UNC. Participating in these activities has helped further my understanding of the roles and responsibilities of other healthcare disciplines, as well as provide opportunities to educate others on what PT can bring to the table. In our ‘PT for Older Adults’ course, we attended a 2-day IPE activity where we reviewed and discussed patient cases with students in various other healthcare programs. In my group, it quickly became evident that we all tended to focus on the aspects of the case that were specific to our disciplines, overlooking details that were perceived as less relevant. Despite this, the goals for the patient were nearly identical across the board, with each of us taking a different approach towards achieving them. I’ve also noticed this trend when attending rounds or co-treating with other rehab therapies on my clinical rotations. These observations reinforced the importance of consulting with other professionals when patients aren’t responding to PT as expected, or when I may not have a strong understanding of a certain aspect of the case. For example, pharmacy may be able to identify alternative medications to reduce the impact of side effects on PT progress.

Product Examples:

• Capstone Project – Aquatic Therapy for Patients with Orthopedic & Neurological Diagnoses:
  • AquaticTherapy_Ortho.pptx
  • AquaticTherapy_Neuro.pptx
• Inservice – Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS):
  • POTS Inservice.pptx

 

Reflective Statement

Throughout the last 3 years, I’ve not only expanded my knowledge of the concepts of human movement, but also of what it means to provide high-quality, evidence-based care while upholding the APTA’s Core Values. My confidence in my knowledge, skills, and abilities has been a significant area of personal and professional growth since starting the DPT program. I remember feeling terrified to start my first clinical rotation, worried that I’d have absolutely no idea what was going on, despite constantly hearing “you know more than you think you do” from other students and faculty. Turns out, they were right! This phrase has since become my mantra for every clinical experience or difficult exam throughout my time at UNC, and has helped me to overcome the intense amount of self-doubt I’d faced in the beginning. Now, as I’m approaching the finish line and preparing to begin my career, I find myself feeling more excitement rather than fear.

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