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Why are we PTs?
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Why are we PTs? - June 7, 2001 8:02:00 PM
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Diane
Posts: 1507
Joined: March 9, 2001
From: Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Status: offline
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Hello folks:
I am truly enjoying reading the career advancement thread that is sparking such heated debate next door in Open Forum; thanks mcap. A lot of gritty and real and provocative comments. Lots of new voices coming on. Lots of verbal jousting. Seems like a lot of honesty coming out and probably high time it had a place to vent.
But I really truly wonder what makes people choose to be a PT. I can understand why people leave and become real estate agents and so on. What do we get out of it that makes us feel compelled to put up with what are clearly disincentives in the whole way PT is organized and delivered? The generally pervasive sense of being overworked/underpaid/exploited/no place to advance one's career?
Did we get hoodwinked by slick advertising somehow? Were we drawn to the drama of hospital atmosphere? Did we want to have a safe "job", that paid better than minimum and was indoors, without shiftwork? Were we addicted to the prospect of continuous learning? Did we want to be around people who were in worse shape than us so we could feel better about ourselves? Did we need to feel needed? Were we just naive about what this work could entail and then get disgruntled after awhile?
Looking back (wa-a-a-ay back..), my own motivation to become a PT at the ripe old age of sixteen was the following:
1. There were limited options where and when I grew up. The choices (for women) were nurse/secretary/teacher/ marry the local pig farmer. I thought Physiotherapy must be exotic because it had the most syllables, and besides I'd never heard of it before. I saw this brochure at a local fair, at a careers booth, and it had a picture on the front of a smiling woman dressed in a white dress (like a nurse but no hat!) helping a man with bandages into a Hubbard tank. Heck, I could do that, smile and help people. I liked the fact that the hours were daytime, and the average salary seemed huge at the time, and at that age, somewhere between $3-400/month.
2. I really liked touching people. When I was a little kid and new people came to the house I felt obliged to "feel" them to truly know them. (I learned appropriate boundaries of course.. )
3. I really wanted to go to university. I was the first person on either side of my family to go. Or even want to go.
4. This was at the end of the sixties and there seemed to be tons of federal money around - I qualified for a provincial health bursary that paid for my whole training. In exchange I would have to agree to work in the province in which I trained for at least three years upon graduating. No problema.
There was a convergence of factors here that pretty much paved the way. Even way back then with the school only three years old and the education less than stellar quality there was a lot of competition to get in. I got in without any volunteer work or job experience or even very high marks, against hundreds of applicants, straight out of high school, because in the interview I confessed that the reason I thought I'd be good as a PT was because I liked to work with my hands and I liked people. I graduated before the age of twenty and got a "job" in a hospital. It was downhill for a long time after that as I grew up; lots of times it all felt like a big mistake, but when I was away from it for awhile I would end up missing it. Miss touching people. Looking back I see it was the right choice after all. For moi.
I'd love to read other peoples' tales of how they got into this, what the attraction was, why those of us who stay, stay.
Bye for now, eh?
Diane the Can-8-jun
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Re: Why are we PTs? - June 8, 2001 8:59:00 AM
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Sebastian Asselbergs
Posts: 1211
Joined: September 29, 1999
From: Barrie, Canada
Status: offline
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Diane: good questions! From my own experience and many of my students, the reasons to go into physio are numerous. My own was that the high school teaching job I had, was "throwing false pearls to real swine" for me. Did not like it. A friend was in 2nd year PT and suggested looking at it. Loved it from day one. Mix of science, logic, detective work, hands-on, people oriented, and such a wide scope of specialisations! Many of my students started out as my patients in high school. Got fascinated with the process, the curriculum, and the possibilities of specialisation. One is in hawaii doing neuro, another with the Raptors' clinic, some are profs at universities, others are in home care, hospitals and private practice. I really think PT is so great because of the many directions one can go.
How about others' stories
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Re: Why are we PTs? - June 8, 2001 11:54:00 AM
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gerry
Posts: 238
Joined: July 6, 1999
From: Montgomery, AL, USA
Status: offline
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Diane,
Way to go, eh?
Great story, and almost Bobcatian in presentation! Loved it.
My mission when starting college was to design a new and much improved speaker system. I would have beaten Mr. Bose to it, but decided I wanted to work with people instead. Went into psychology but got disenchanted.
I worked one summer at a camp designed specifically for children and adults with disabilities, and knew I had found what suited me. Started looking at special education, medicine, etc, and a cousin suggested I look into PT cause they could not find one to work in the school system. I volunteered at a local hospital and worked along side a PT working with kids, and knew I had found my niche.
I also enjoy the direct interaction with people and the chance to share knowledge that is helpful to others.
Next...
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Re: Why are we PTs? - June 8, 2001 6:31:00 PM
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JadedPT
Posts: 13
Joined: November 29, 2000
Status: offline
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I recall picking up an issue of Newsweek while in College and reading about a Top 10 career that promised unlimited earning potential, an ability to pick your job, the opportunity to help others, and to have fun on the job. I was sold. A friend of mine in school heard the same from people he knew and we were thrilled to be going into such a great field. We figured we would start out at $60K and be making 6 figures within 5 years.
Amazingly, this sort of hype about a top 10 career is still being carried by news magazines.
At this level of pay and with no room for advancement I should have been a teacher. Teachers complain about their salaries but with increasing years of service their salaries become quite respectable plus they have countless days off, great benefits (health, dental, disability, eye care), a pension and job security.
When people ask about PT salaries I explain that it is very similar to that of a teachers except we do not get summers off.
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Re: Why are we PTs? - June 8, 2001 8:09:00 PM
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Rose
Posts: 122
Joined: September 19, 1999
From: Ohio
Status: offline
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I LOVE to tell "my story"..people usually expect the usual "I wanted to help improve people's quality of life", "I want to help people" etc.etc.etc.
In high school I wanted to be a Medical Technologist...NOTHING else could EVER be right for me. I always saw myself sitting on my stool with my white lab coat on in the laboratory testing blood and stuff all day and loving every minute of it.
After two years of college in MEdical Technology I found out I did NOT sit on my stool all day I had to go GET the blood !!! Wonderful !!! I get woozie and nearly pass out when I see a hypodermic needle and have to have my blood drawn. In a panic I ran to my college course book to see what I could get into without losing two yhears of credits...I just wanted to work in a hospital. I can still see the page....the four year course for MEdical Tech was on the top of the page and the four year course of PT was on the bottom... both had identical first 2 years... GREAT !!!! (said I) I'll be a Physical Therapist !!!! Mind you, I had absolutely NO idea what the heck a PT was, never heard of PT, never knew a PT, never saw a PT department..just knew I didnt want to lose those 2 years and wanted to work in a hospital...so I changed majors !!
God was certainly with me and THAT decision...it has been a very rewarding career.
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Re: Why are we PTs? - June 8, 2001 10:49:00 PM
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henryryry
Posts: 100
Joined: September 6, 2000
From: Brisbane, Australia.
Status: offline
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To Diane,
Great idea for a post.
Not too many people believe this when I tell them, I actually wanted to be a computer programmer or a Mathematician, and not a PT.
Nevertheless, after coming second in my high school and getting top marks, my parents pressured me to become a doctor. However, the fact that I loved using my hands and enjoyed talking to people(probably comes from learning the piano and guitar), I opted to reason my parents into "letting me" choose PT (oh... also because I loved to play sport and often get aches and pains myself).
Coming from an Asian culture, I did not have a clue about what PT's actually did, and so I went through uni learning not only how to be a PT, but always what does a PT do [IMG]http://www.rehabedge.com/forums/smile.gif[/IMG]
I am loving it so much that I have decided to do a Master's of Manip Physiotherapy next year to increase my knowledge base and skills.
So I guess I would have either being a computer programmer, Mathematician, Doctor or a PT... I became a PT, have enjoyed it everyday, and look forward to the challenges that lie ahead.
Henry***
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Re: Why are we PTs? - June 9, 2001 1:07:00 PM
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sarty
Posts: 65
Joined: April 22, 2001
From: Florida, USA
Status: offline
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Hi there,
Diane, what a neat idea! I think this thread and the 'embarassing moments' thread should be kept open indefinitely [IMG]http://www.rehabedge.com/forums/wink.gif[/IMG]
I graduated highschool and went to work in a PT office as the office manager's assistant. I filed insurance, did transcription, and filed. Occasionally, I answered the phone. I really didn't know what I wanted to do, but I thought it would be in the field of 'business', whatever I thought that was.
After about a month, the owner's aide got fired. I stepped in temporarily, and was amazed at what I saw. My PT was a great teacher....answering questions I didn't even ask. He'd send me to fetch a hotpack, and tell me WHY he was going to use it on the patient. He brought me in to watch him do evals. He let me help him set up the e-stim machines, and let me help the patients with their exercises.
Then, one day, he took me aside and told me I needed to go to college. He didn't say what field, just that I needed to go. I come from a family where most didn't graduate highschool, much less college. But he told me how important it was for me to seek out education, and that I should do it as soon as possible.
I began to really enjoy working with the patients, and took it upon myself to get out an anatomy book and start memorizing the bones and the bony landmarks. My PT let me start 'helping' him with the treatment plans, asking me what I thought should be done. I became enthralled with the process, and with watching people's bodies heal.
I applied to PTA school, and was accepted. I graduated, took my boards, and started working. I love it. I live it. My free time is spent over at allexperts.com answering PT related questions, reading my journals, and surfing the web. I was an aide for 4 years, and have been a PTA for 6, and without being too corny, I have to tell you that I love my job. I love this profession. And the more I learn about it, I love it even more [IMG]http://www.rehabedge.com/forums/smile.gif[/IMG]
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