Physical Therapy Assistant - Personal Statement Example

Why I Want to Be a Physical Therapy Assistant? The objective of the essay is to proffer diverse issues relative to becoming a Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA), specifically addressing the following concerns: (1) examples of information on PTA and how it influenced the decision to become one; (2) personal strengths on communication skills and its impact on the PTA career; (3) difference between telling someone what to do and teaching how to do things; (4) services that PTA provide and how they are helpful to patients and to the community; (5) identification of weaknesses and means to address these to meet the goal of becoming a PTA and completing the South College PTA Program; and (6) PTA work settings and why one would enjoy working in each setting. Why I Want to Be a Physical Therapy Assistant? A therapeutic relationship is one that benefits the client’s health status. When therapeutic interventions are performed in a caring compassionate manner, an environment that promotes healing is established. Physical therapists (PTs) “are healthcare professionals who diagnose and treat individuals of all ages, from newborns to the very oldest, who have medical problems or other health-related conditions, illnesses, or injuries that limits their abilities to move and perform functional activities as well as they would like in their daily lives” (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2009). The duties of physical therapist assistants coincide with working in tandem with PTs towards treatment and rehabilitation of patients needing assistance in improving mobility and addressing pain (Moore, 2010, par. 1). Information on PTA There are diverse sources of information on the Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) as a field of endeavor. These information can be found in books, journals, publications and through the internet. One information from the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA, 2010) provides a brief backgrounder of the responsibilities, educational requirements, opportunities, expected earnings, work setting, licensure requirements, and employment outlook. This is a comprehensive source of critical information from the most authoritative source on the topic. The challenging facets coupled with competitive earnings potential and opportunities influenced my decision to pursue a career as PTA. Personal Strengths I am aware that a PTA must have skills on therapeutic communication and interpersonal skills to assist the patients in experiencing some form of catharsis. I am fortunate to have developed my skills in active listening and practicing empathy in the course of communication with patients. Empathy is manifested by imaging what it must be like to be in the patients’ situation. A nod to indicate understanding and mirroring the patient’s facial expression are examples of empathizing with the patient’s feelings in a genuine way. Active listening means taking time to listen carefully by giving the client my undivided attention through eye contact, responding to the client as needed and sythesizing and analyzing the health status for required therapeutic intervention in the process. Difference between Telling and Teaching What to do There is a whole lot of difference between telling and teaching someone what to do. Telling someone what to do implies verbalizing instructions without genuine concern or feelings for the person whom the message is relayed to. Teaching someone exemplifies genuine concern since the purpose of the instructor is to share a critical and relevant information or message to the recipient so that the recipient would be able to inculcate the knowledge and thereby apply it to future use. Services that PTA Provide PTAs provide a variety of services aimed at increasing the clients’ abilities to move and to regain functioning of daily activities. In this regard, PTAs assist in the following health care services: (1) teaching patients towards increasing mobility, strength and coordination skills; (2) “training for activities such as walking with crutches, canes, or walkers, massage; and (3) the use of physical agents and electrotherapy such as ultrasound and electrical stimulation” (APTA, 2010, par. 2), among others. These skills are helpful to be regained by clients to assist them in performing their functions well without the assistance of anyone. In doing so, clients would develop confidence in themselves and enhance healing through awareness that most of the usual functional activities can still be done despite some disabilities. Personal Weaknesses I am aware that there are still some weaknesses in exposure to different clients from diverse cultural backgrounds. In addition, there is still a need to develop more therapeutic interaction skills to incorporate awareness of language differences, gender, and health status of the patients, as required. These weaknesses can be addressed through continuous learning of concepts and through exposures to practical applications of therapeutic interventions in various work settings. I am determined to enhance my skills in rendering diverse therapeutic interventions such as learning appropriate exercises, supportive devices and therapies, depending on a multitude of factors that affect the health status of different types of patients. This would only be made possible with the guidance and assistance of a multidisciplinary approach utilized by the South College PTA Program. PTA Work Settings From among the work setting available for PTAs, I am most interested to work in hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation facilities, and in fitness centers or sports training facilities. Hospitals accord PTAs with the comprehensive work setting which hones the skills using a holistic approach. The setting is very challenging but rewarding due to the fact pace of client-practitioner interaction as well as the opportunities accorded to work with other health care professionals. The learning environment is continuously improving consistent with developments in technology and communication. In the inpatient rehabilitation facilities, services are more focused on the area of therapeutic intervention necessary for the unique needs of the clientele. This setting would give PTAs a focused direction and the chance to rely on their developed skills necessary for immediate, on the spot, therapeutic interventions. The fitness centers or sports facilities is a work setting focused on sports related injuries. Since majority of sports enthusiasts, who have had some sort of injury, need PTAs to guide them towards functioning at their best, this work setting proves to be very challenging with vast opportunities for advancement. Conclusion The nature of the tasks and responsibilities, the opportunities accorded, and the challenges and rewards of a career as a PTA enticed me to pursue it. I would like to be instrumental in helping people diagnosed to have limitations on mobility due to diverse medical conditions or health related problems. In my heart, I know that this is the career for me. References American Physical Therapist Association (APTA) (2010). The Physical Therapist Assistant. Retrieved 02 May 2010. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. (2009).Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2010-11 Edition, Physical Therapists. Retrieved 02 May 2010. < http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos080.htm> Moore, S. (2010). Duties of a Physical Therapist Assistant. Retrieved 02 May 2010. < http://www.ehow.com/facts_4963108_duties-physical-therapist-assistant.html> Read More