CUNY Physical Therapy School

¶ … attending a graduate physical therapy program is a daunting task for me. It is daunting, not because I do not know my objectives, but because I am not certain that my objectives are the type of professional objectives that a graduate school considers when looking at potential applicants and trying to decide which applicants will get into the select few coveted spots. After all, one of my objectives is not one that lends itself easily to measurement or quantification, and the other objective might appear to be selfish.

However, because they are my honest objectives, they are the ones I will share with you. My first objective is to help people. As a healthcare provider, I believe that helping people is at the core of everything I do in my professional life. Working in physical therapy, these improvements can seem difficult to quantify, and, to those outside of the medical field, they may seem insignificant. Frequently the changes are incremental, so that they build upon one another and may not be significant until several small changes have coalesced.

However, I know how important regaining the use of a single digit can be to a person who has lost bodily functioning. I have been able to witness the improvement in quality of life that comes with enhanced mobility. I have even seen physical therapy used, not as a means of rehabilitating someone who is injured, but as a means of slowing down the progress of typically degenerative diseases. I want to help these people regain functioning and regain quality of life.

I find this to be a difficult goal because it can be very difficult to measure. Moreover, because so many people in physical therapy are undergoing lifestyle transitions, such as relocation from independent living to skilled nursing facilities, it can be difficult to focus on the positive changes that therapy can cause. However, I know that as a physical therapist, I must focus on the many different ways that I will help patients, every day.

As I stated, my second objective seems to be a selfish one, but I am motivated by the higher salary and career security offered by pursuing a graduate degree in physical therapy. I believe that these two components will contribute to security for me and my family, in a way that will benefit us. However, I think it is important to.