Summary - 2/15

Hayhurst, Chris, and Donald E.Tepper. “Physical Therapy’s Emerging Leaders.” PT In Motion 6.9 (2014): 36-42. Consumer Health Complete – EBSCOhost. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.

            The article I found is called “Physical Therapy’s Emerging Leaders.” The article begins

by introducing two physical therapists that were athletes when they were younger. Both of them were injured and required physical therapy at some point, which sparked their desire for this career. In the article they share a few experiences. First they answer the question “what is a natural leader?” Natalie Garland explains how important it is to build relationships and help out in the community in which you work. It is impossible to lead if no one follows, so get involved. Also putting patients first is key. If the needs of the patient are put before the needs of the PT, then the more likely they are to return, and the more likely you will be a successful PT. The main points of this article touch on the desire of physical therapy and how they develop over the years.

            There are also a few potential quotes in this article. The first one being: “Nathan Nevin, PT, DPT, discovered physical therapy in high school when he tore his ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow…” (1). This quote is significant because he found physical therapy in the same way I did, from a sports injury. Another quote is: “It’s key to build relationships of familiarity and trust quickly. As someone with a marketing background, I believe it’s even more vital to start building relationships before physical therapy is even needed.” (2). This quote means a lot to me because I learned the same thing at church. You cannot be a good leader without building relationships first. Learning this from two different sources makes my thoughts on the validity of it even stronger.

            This article credible because it is written by a group two people that have written numerous articles on physical therapy, each one posted on a credible research sight. All of the information gathered are accounts from different physical therapists. They talk about their experiences and thoughts on what it is to be a physical therapist, and how they got to where they are today.

            This will help me with my research because it is on the topic of my essential question. It helps me with my point that most physical therapists have an athletic background, and what drives those who do not. It also presents skills that are most beneficial to PT’s and what it takes to be very successful in this career field. Knowing these things will help me as I develop my resume in physical therapy, and when it comes to interacting at my mentorship. 

Summary - 1/25

Malone, Daniel, et al. "Physical Therapist Practice In The Intensive CareUnit: Results Of A National Survey." Physical Therapy 95.10 (2015): 1335. Publisher Provided Full Text Searching File. Web. 30 Jan. 2016.

The article I researched is called "Physical Therapist In The Intensive Care Unit." This article describes the lack of training certain physical therapists have in the ICU. It explains how PT's in the ICU have the same amount of training as those that work in the typical rehabilitation center. This is an important topic because the hardest patients to treat are the ones fresh out of the ICU. It is said that the safety of the patients relies on the skills of the Physical Therapists. Special training should be required to operate in the ICU in order for the doctors and patients to thrive.

I have also gathered a few potential quotes from the article for my research. They include:“In the United States, however, there is a paucity of information describing how ICUbased physical therapist services are implemented…” (2). “The purpose of this study was to characterize current physical therapist practice, specifically, practitioner demographics, ICU staffing patterns, methods of training for ICU practice…” (2). These quotes express the idea that PT services are not recognized when placed in the ICU, as well as methods of training are not really apparent. These are a few things that need to be fixed in order for patients fresh out of the ICU to receive the most benefits.

The source I chose is valid because I obtained it from a school sponsored research cite. This is also an article written by a group of PT's that are serious about their careers. They believe that for the safety of all patients, training must be necessary. They have also used a variety of experiments and studies to test the validity of the problem, and how it should be solved. This article gave me insight on other areas that physical therapists study. I was not informed that PT’s operates in the ICU before reading this article. I will be able to use this article in the research of my capstone project and for future reference in my field of study.

2/1 Assignment

I have been working on my project so far by gathering information. At my mentorship I have been very observant and attentive when it comes to helping out. I have also began to ask more questions about the career field, ensuring that I get all the information I need. So far I have not gotten much on paper, but I am benefiting a lot by my time at my mentorship. All of this is going to help me out when it comes to my final project, and I can not wait to begin working on the visual aspects to get this project along further.