A Career As A Physical Professionalist

The general definition of professionalism given by Webster is this, ' the skill, good judgement, and polite behavior that is expected from a person who is trained to do a job well.' I think you not only have to possess these qualities, but you have to want to do them if you plan to be a physical therapist and do it to the best of your ability. Like APTA's definition of professionalism for a physical therapist, there are core values that they consistently strive for and make an effort to embody. Some of these values are respect, communication, ethics, caring, and the ability to work with others. Therefore, as a doctor of physical therapy student, it is my goal to continually work towards those core values since my goal at the end of graduate
school is to become a doctor of physical therapy. In my foundation,though, I need skill, good judgement, and polite behavior. Skill is obviously involved in gathering and implementing the knowledge necessary to become a doctor of physical therapy. The next quality Webster points out is good judgement which encompasses all the decisions we make every day. Lastly, the character of having polite behavior is part of professionalism and I would continue to say that polite behavior should be part of anyone's demeanor consistently. I would suggest that all of these qualities to be at the forefront of what I consider professionalism as a student in the doctor of physical therapy program. Initially, having skill is not necessarily a quality someone is born with.
Usually, a skill is something that is discovered, developed, and applied. Going through my undergraduate program has prepared and honed my skills in studying, processing, and learning information needed to give me a steady foundation to jump into my graduate career as a DPT student. However, as a DPT student there is not one single magical skill that I can work on to become the best DPT student I can be. There will be many skills that need to be enhanced to ensure that I will be a functioning, influential, and beneficial physical therapist. I think many of these skills are laid out in APTA's definition of professionalism. Although, there are other essential cognitive skills needed to be a physical therapist such as anatomy and physiology, neuromuscular abilities, etc that I will learn in my graduate
studies. As a DPT student, I will have to constantly be making good judgements to establish my focus on becoming a doctor of physical therapy.
Every day, all day long people the world over are faced with many decisions. Our judgement on those decisions will impact the rest of our life, no matter the magnitude of the decision. Students don't always have the best judgement when it comes to their priorities in life, but at this point in my life, I want to better myself and gain more knowledge. My reasoning for that is so that I can be a good physical therapy student and as a result, graduate and become a great physical therapist. Polite behavior is almost a given when it comes to professionalism. Considering that as a DPT my main objective will be graduating and becoming a physical therapist; a person who is in constant contact with people. In general, people are not blatantly rude to each other, especially in a professional setting. This goes for DPT students and physical therapists, amongst themselves and with their patients. DPT student's emphasis should be on trying to maintain a positive attitude in the classroom and clinical settings and with each other, their teachers, mentors, and
patients. These three qualities all seem somewhat common sense when contemplating them in a graduate education setting, but I think they can be easily overlooked. Especially in stressful situations, but it is during those trying times that as a student I should be more aware of my attitude towards others and the decisions I make. Additionally, paired with my skills, proper judgement, and polite demeanor I think other qualities will supplement my professionalism as a DPT student. Compassion, respect, ethics, and my ability to work well with others to achieve a common goal are just a few values that will be tapped into as a student of the DPT program. Yes, I could be a good DPT student with the initial three qualities, but I think those other values will add to the quality of character I will become throughout my experience as a DPT student. It is my hope that I will be able to further my professional education as a DPT student in as many ways as I can.