Graduate School

Since Michigan State University does not specifically offer a physical therapy major, I have been looking into other schools that offer graduate programs for physical therapists. I have also been looking at some of the requirements and prerequisites that I will need to complete in order to attend graduate school. I found an article that listed some of the required courses. I learned that general biology, chemistry, physics, anatomy, and physiology courses are all required for a physical therapy major. The article talks about what a person does at graduate school.  It explains there is training and at training a person will learn how to diagnose patients, how to communicate with patients, and also how to handle various situations. The article also lists some graduate schools that have very good physical therapy programs. It mentions that the University of Southern California and the University of Delaware have the best physical therapy programs. This makes me realize that I should be taking many of my science courses early in my college career so that I will be prepared when I graduate. It also makes me think about where I want to end up when I graduate because it would be a good idea to base my graduate school around that.

Work Cited:

"Physical Therapy Schools – General Information for Interested Students ." Physical Therapy Schools Guide. Education Theme on Genesis Framework, 5 June 2012. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. <http://thephysicaltherapyexperts.com/40/physical-therapy-schools-general-information-for-interested-students/>.

Physical Therapy Code of Ethics

There is a code of ethics for many careers. For physical therapists, the code of ethics describes how they should treat their patients, and how they should behave on a daily basis. There are many variations of codes of ethics for physical therapists. This specific code of ethics from the American Physical Therapy Association's website contains eight principles that provide the standards of behavior for physical therapists.

Physical Therapy Code of Ethics:

1. Physical therapists shall respect the inherent dignity and rights of all individuals.
2. Physical therapists shall be trustworthy and compassionate in addressing the rights and needs of patients/clients.
3. Physical therapists shall be accountable for making sound professional judgments.
4. Physical therapists shall demonstrate integrity in their relationships with patients/clients, families, colleagues, students, research partici- pants, other health care providers, employers, payers, and the public.
5. Physical therapists shall fulfill their legal and professional obligations.
6. Physical therapists shall enhance their expertise through the lifelong acquisition and refinement of knowledge, skills, abilities, and professional behaviors.
7. Physical therapists shall promote organizational behaviors and business practices that benefit patients/clients and society.
8. Physical therapists shall participate in efforts to meet the health needs of people locally, nationally, or globally.

How code corresponds to my own beliefs and values:

All of the principles are very closely related to what I believe. I have always been a passionate person towards respect and trustworthiness. I want people to be able to trust my judgment and opinions, and I also want them to be able to trust me with confidential information. I am very good at listening, so these things are very important to me. I also love learning new information. I realize that new information will teach me how to handle new situations. All of these components are not only important to me, but they are also extremely crucial to a physical therapist career.

How college is preparing me for Physical Therapy:

1. I am planning to study abroad my junior year in college. By doing this, I will be preparing myself for the eighth principle in the code of ethics for physical therapists. I will be going to a different country, and I will be helping in the efforts of meeting people’s health needs globally.

2. The sixth principle states that Physical therapists should enhance their expertise through the lifelong refinement of knowledge and skills. Since I am taking classes at MSU right now that relate to a physical therapy major, I am preparing myself to become a successful physical therapist.

3. College forces me to precisely organize my materials, due dates, and assignments. By doing this, I am preparing myself for the seventh principle. This principle distinguishes that physical therapists should promote excellent organizational skills.

Work Cited:
Barnes, John B., Janet Bezner, and Rob Batarla. "Code of Ethics for The Physical Therapist." American Physical Therapy Association. APTA.org, Jan. 2011. Web. 28 Sept. 2012<http://www.apta.org/uploadedFiles/APTAorg/
About_Us/Policies/HOD/Ethics/CodeofEthics.pdf>.

Learning More and More

I know that physical therapists take note of a person’s overall health status, and then they use that information to create a wellness and recovery so that a patient does not have other health problems in the future. That is why I have been specifically paying attention to certain details about nutrition in my Introduction to Human Nutrition class. Right now, we are learning about how certain foods affect our bodies; we have been specifically looking at how fiber and whole grains affect our bodies. Fiber is a very important component to a person’s overall nutrition and can prevent many different chronic illnesses. Most people do have enough fiber in their diets. Little do people know, it can be an easy change to start choosing and adding more whole grains to our diets. We also have been learning that it is also very important that we look at the ingredients on food labels when choosing foods to buy from the grocery store. A label may claim that it has whole grains, but when you actually read into it, the product may contain refined or enriched flour. Changing diet and nutrition patterns can help a person overcome an injury or chronic illness faster. This is why physical therapists encourage healthy diets and the consumption of fiber and whole grains on a daily basis. This makes me wonder what some of the other nutrition recommendations are from physical therapists.

Attending a New Class

I decided to learn a little more information about athletic training since physical therapy and athletic training are closely related and connected. I am also considering an athletic training major since a physical therapy major is not specifically provided at Michigan State. One of my friend’s is in an Introduction to Athletic Training class, so I decided to attend one of these classes with her. At the beginning of class, the professor talked a little bit about what an athletic training major includes at MSU. I learned that undergraduate athletic training students complete a two-year athletic training curriculum major program and also work with numerous athletic teams at MSU. Through this intense program, students gain knowledge through a variety of situations, settings, and exposures. The athletic training student gets the opportunity to assist in decision-making opportunities, injury evaluation discussions, and communication situations. One of the main focuses of the class that I attended was taping, specifically on taping ankles and wrists for athlete's who have injuries. Each of the students got a hands-on experience and taped each other’s body parts. Their homework was to go home and practice their taping. What I thought would be an uninteresting class, turned out to be very fun. Athletic training requires a lot of persistence and determination, but I'm sure it would be worth it in the end.