DPT Portfolios

Professional Goal Statement

I am passionate about pursuing a career in neurologic physical therapy to treat a patient population of all ages with neurodegenerative diseases, spinal cord injury, vestibular impairment, and more.

During my time as a physical therapy student, I have taken special interest in progressing my professional development in treating patients with neurologic involvement. My clinical affiliations, and involvement in a neurologically focused integrated clinical experience, have provided me with a strong foundation to work with this patient population. I plan to combine my clinical experience with my interest in treating patients with neurological involvement to empower patients to achieve their individually meaningful goals and ultimately improve their quality of life. To do this, I plan to work in an inpatient or outpatient neurologic setting for a couple of years before pursuing my neurologic specialist certification to advance the tools that I have to empower this patient population.

Career Plan

Future Plans

• 2027 – Obtain Neurologic Specialist Certification
• 2025 – Advance professional development in PT through journal clubs, attending local and national conferences, participate in research
• 2024 – Begin career as a PT at an inpatient or outpatient neurologic setting
• Aug 2024 – Obtain licensure in FL by applying for Licensure by Endorsement through Florida Board of Physical Therapy
• Jul 2024 – Obtain licensure in NC by passing the National Physical Therapy Examination (NPTE)
• Jul 2024 – Graduate from UNC DPT Program

Clinical Experience

• 2024 – Clinical Affiliation IV: Outpatient Neuro, (12 weeks) Chapel Hill, NC
  • University of North Carolina Center for Rehabilitation Care
• 2024 – Integrated Clinical Experience Elective: Outpatient Neuro, (64 hours) Chapel Hill, NC
  • With UNC faculty member Vicki Mercer, PT, PhD
• 2023 – Clinical Affiliation III: Inpatient Rehabilitation Facility (8 weeks), Fayetteville, NC
  • Cape Fear Valley Health
• 2023 – Clinical Affiliation II: Acute Care Oncology (8 weeks), Chapel Hill, NC
  • University of North Carolina Hospital Main.
• 2022 – Clinical Affiliation I: Outpatient Orthopedics (8 weeks), Charlotte, NC
  • Select Medical

Past Experience

• Aug 2021 – Enrollment in UNC-Chapel Hill Doctor of Physical Therapy Program
• May 2021 – B.S. in Psychology, Second Major in Exercise and Sport Science, Highest Honors

 

Self-Assessment

Strengths:

• Patient rapport and empathy
• Tailoring plan of care, interventions, and feedback to the patient’s unique needs and goals
• Self-directed learner
• Accountable
• Interprofessional collaboration

Areas for Professional Development:

• Proficiency with writing Letters of Medical Necessity
• Advancing manual facilitation techniques
• Billing policies with various third-party payers

Objectives:

• Jul 2024: Pass the NPTE
• Jul 2024: Graduate UNC DPT Program
• Sep/Oct 2024: Begin career as a physical therapist in neurologic physical therapy in Florida
• 2025: Establish reliable method for professional development (i.e., conferences, journal club, research article weekly subscription, taking courses through the Academy of Neurologic Physical Therapy)
• 2027: Pass the Neurologic Specialist Certification exam

Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI)

Being a health professional involved providing care to patients with various backgrounds and cultures. To be an inclusive professional, it’s important that I acknowledge my own shortcomings so that I know what and how to better myself to provide patients a safe and inclusive environment. During PT school, I have been able to take the following JEDI classes (1) Unconscious Bias Awareness (2) Respecting All Workshop, and (3) Neurodiversity in the Academic Setting. These classes have taught me valuable skills that I will carry along with me into the clinical setting. One of these points is that “intent to do no harm is not enough”. This point reinforces that intent does not get rid of the harm that could be done to the patient. If I don’t acknowledge that, then the pattern will persist. Therefore, this point holds me accountable to ensure that I do not dismiss a patient’s concern just because I did not intend for it to be taken in a negative way. Instead, I have learned that I would need to observe the action, assess what went wrong, act to correct it, and follow-up with the individual it harmed. I want to foster a safe and inclusive environment for my patients, and I aim to achieve that by being aware that I hold unconscious bias, refraining from assuming a patient’s circumstances, and when I make a mistake, to address it and learn from it rather than ignore it.

 

Interprofessional Education (IPE) Activities

Patients will likely have multiple healthcare professionals on their healthcare team. Therefore, knowing how and when to communicate with the other team members is imperative for high quality patient care.  My clinical affiliations at an inpatient rehabilitation facility and outpatient neuro setting had interprofessional team members onsite for in-person collaboration. This took the form of either weekly rounds or quick debriefs in the office. I have taken part in a variety of IPE activities including attending a service trip in rural NC where physical therapy students collaborated with audiology, mental health, and public health to provide health services to the residents. This trip allowed me to learn about the scopes of practice of the various professions and when it would be beneficial to seek their services for a patient’s care. Additionally, I participated in an interprofessional meeting where we all worked together on a case concerning a patient with a traumatic brain injury. I collaborated with social workers, nurses, dentists, nutritionists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, residents, and more in scenarios at the acute care, inpatient rehab, and outpatient settings to determine which health services are a priority at each level and what those services include. Through these experiences, I will take with me, into my professional career, the knowledge about when to refer out, seek out a colleague’s professional opinion, and offer a patient resources about another profession that could benefit them to reach their goals.

 

Products

(1) Capstone Project: Establishing an Electronic Documentation System for Tyrrell County Service Trip

• Background of Tyrrell County Documentation System
• Instructional Form for Tyrrell County Documentation System
• Link to Documentation System

(2) Teacher Scholar Presentation (Introduction to PT Exam and Intervention):

• Presentation: Documentation and Artificial Intelligence

(3) Inservice Presentation at Inpatient Neuro Rehabilitation Clinical Site:

• High Intensity Interval Training Inservice

 

Reflective Statement

Throughout my three years in PT school, I began to reflect how much I have progressed in clinical knowledge and my own personal development starting with my participation in the Teaching Scholars course in Fall 2023. I was a teaching assistant for a class that I took myself during my first year of PT school, and I realized the material that was once was difficult for me was now almost second nature. I recognized that not only is my clinical knowledge advancing, but I have also developed confidence in my clinical reasoning. My first year, I was understandably unsure and less confident about my plan of care and clinical reasoning. However, as I completed each semester, I also made it a goal to advance my knowledge outside the classroom as well.  I participated in additional professional development activities including national advocacy at APTA’s Capitol Hill Day in 2023, attended a service trip to a rural underserved NC county, attended a neuro continuing education class, and more. Through these experiences and classes, I determined what interested me, was passionate about learning about it, and accordingly, I grew increasingly confident in my skills. As a lifelong learner, this is an invaluable skill that I have learned from the program. Overall, my time in PT school has boosted my confidence in clinical reasoning, taught me to persevere through obstacles, to prioritize a balance between life and professional events, and taught me that I am more than capable of excelling as a PT to provide patients with a high quality of care.

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