Program: Master of Physical Therapy (MPT)
Year in Program: 2
A lot of what inspired me to become a physical therapist was influenced by my mom. Growing up she was an education assistant in the school system and seeing the impact she had on kids was very special. Although I didn’t feel like pursuing the educatio side of things was the right fit for me, I really enjoyed biology and physical education (PE) in high school. I combined the two and pursued a Bachelor’s in Kinesiology degree, where I realized that physical therapy was a great way to help people, just like my mom had been doing for so long. I have fallen in love with the field ever since.
Although I am not in a research-based graduate program, I had the chance to be a part of a Quality Improvement (QI) project within our program that aimed in improving the Total Knee Arthroplasty (TKA) experience of individuals at the Prince Rupert Regional Hospital (PRRH) student-led clinic. Research indicates that the stronger an individual is before a TKA, the better their outcomes will be. My team and I created a prehabilitation program that focused on strength and quality of life for the patients in Prince Rupert, which will be implemented in this coming year!
As I am seven weeks away from the end of the MPT program as I write this, I am very excited to jumpstart my career in the field of physical therapy. I am looking forward to getting the two national exams out of the way and becoming a fully licensed PT!
To be honest, I was not making my personal wellness a priority at the beginning of COVID-19, but with practice and experience, I realized how important it is. If I’m feeling tired or burnt out, I remind myself that the whole world is going through a pandemic and that because of this, I need to be kind to myself. It is next to impossible to be as productive as we were before COVID-19, so I have set reasonable boundaries for myself because of this. I have enjoyed physically-distanced hikes with friends and beach visits to keep myself mentally in check.
Golfing with friends and family! It is great because you can keep more than 2m apart the whole time.