Reflection - 5/2

I have gained so much from my mentorship over the past year. Most of this included the hands on experience that I obtained from the staff at the Atlanta Rehabilitation and Performance Center. I learned so much about the career of physical therapy and the different job skills required for the job. I was also able to apply the exercises I learned at my mentorship to my own life. This definitely opened my eyes to the importance of this career field. Being able to see patients see improvement, and actually experience the improvement myself was definitely quite the opportunity.

I took a lot of action in order to gain the most from my experiences, the big one was staying informed. If I did not know a certain exercise or a piece of equipment I never hesitated to ask. The more that I knew about physical therapy, the better. My mentorship has also greatly helped me for the future. I now know what it takes to become a physical therapist, and the things that I expect to learn in college. This experience has also shown me that I do want to pursue this career, and I will at nothing to ensure I get there.

My mentorship has also greatly changed my view on this career field. I have learned so much about the different titles and roles of the employees at Atlanta Rehab. For example, physical therapists do not only specialize in sports injuries, they work for the rehabilitation of all people. Athletic trainers are the ones that work solely with athletes. Learning this swayed me more to the athletic trainer side, because I want to specialize in sports injuries. And finally, the advice that I would give to future hmp students is: pursue your passion. If you do not enjoy doing something, don't force yourself to do it. And most importantly, do not let anyone persuade you to do something aside from what you enjoy doing. Physical therapy is my passion, and I did not need anyone to tell me that. I discovered it on my own, and so should you.

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