Physical Therapy
How do athletic people who get injured get through it? One important way athletes get through all their injuries is physical therapy, also known as PT. Without physical therapy it would be hard for athletes to heal the correct way. In the everyday life of a physical therapist they go through the process of helping athletes, and normal life people with their physical pains and struggles. My aunt amy is a PT at the Good Sam Hospital in Pottsville PA. She goes through the experience of helping and healing these people that need help everyday, and had a long journey to get where she is today and has plenty of experience with her job as a PT.
The hospital she works at is a local hospital at home where i am from, Pottsville PA. "i never thought i would come back to work at home, but i realized this hospital is my home and the people i met along the way made it a journey." stated. She always said she wanted to move away, but realized that Pottsville was her home. Unexpectedly she saw an add in the paper and took the opportunity. At first, she was very negative about this job considering it was not at her designated location. Now, years later she does not have one regret about it. The hospital is just like any ordinary, it has an ER, OR, and does everything a normal hospital does. The hospital she works at is a huge building that takes up a big chunk of our little city, but all the magic that she does happens in her small room. In her room you'll find wheel chairs, walkers, tape measures, weights, many exercise machines and many more things that help her patients get the care they need.
Her process in wanting to be at this point started in 7th an 8th grade. "basketball was my life in middle school, and when my ankle got seriously injured i never thought i would have the chance to play again." she says. She had a serious ankle injury in 7th grade, and hid it because she thought it would interfere with her chances of playing, after she could not hide it anymore she confessed. She got surgery and went through PT and the PT made her able to play again. "Once i saw how amazing their work was of healing people, i knew that was what i wanted to be." After that, she continued her schooling at West Chester, after she graduated she went 3 years for her masters of science and PT and a year and a half for her for her bachelor's degree. After all of her years at schooling she ended up at the little hometown hospital she never thought she would.
Amy's everyday routine is rough but she says it is worth it. Her shift starts at 6AM and ends at 3:30 PM everyday. Each patient she has, has a direct time to come in to see her. Her days are pretty planned out, except for the occasional calls to the ER. "the doctors trust me" she states. They depend on her for a lot of input in patients. She's the only physical therapist on the job most of the time so her days are usually always busy. "Getting rushed to the ER is always one of my biggest struggles, the doctors ask me what i should do and where they should be sent. Being put on the spot to try and figure out where i should send the patients is the hardest part." Amy mentioned. Also one of her every day struggles is that she has to do the evaluations of all her patients by herself. "it takes about two hours everyday to put in the evaluations of all of my patients." she says. She's the only PT on her floor of the hospital, so it gets insanely busy. Other than that, she's extremely thankful for her job and would not change a thing. Amy has been at this hospital for over 13 years, and does not plan on leaving. "I found my home at a hospital, and for how bad that sounds it is true. I love my job and the people I met along the way" Amy mentioned.
"The best part about being a PT? That is an insanely broad question" she says. But she says the best feeling is knowing she helps someone. Her favorite story is an elderly man that came in, he was told he might not be able to walk again. She helped him get through the process everyday and finally he was able to walk again. "Seeing that spark in their eye that they finally reached their goal, that is the best feeling because you knew you did your job right." She understands that phyiscal therapy can be uncomfortable for some people. It's not just a physical process, it is a mental. You need to make them believe they can do it.
Physical Therapists are more important to this world than people consider. They not only deal with althletes, but everyday people. "They come in looking like their life is physically over, and it is your job to change that." Amy stated. Physical Therapists help people who are injured get strong enough to go back to playing sports or being able to do everyday things again. Each patient comes in every appointment, and they have a set of exercises their therapist has planned that they need to do. Each exercise is built to help the muscles and ligaments that need strengthening. During this process, the therapist stands by their side and helps them do the exercises. Everytime they return, they make the exercises harder to build the muscles back to their normal state. The therapists records the patients data, what they are strong enough to do, and not strong enough to do. If they cannot do one exercise they will try an easier one until the muscles build up to get stronger. At the end of the day, then they take all their patients charts and put them into the computer. They do this so they could record the patients progress, and make sure the exercises they are doing are working and strengthen the muscles that need to be over time.
Being a PT is a hard and challenging task and experience. You do not only need to heal the patient, but make them feel comfortable with you. My aunt amy has been a PT for 23 years now, and she says helping people and getting them to their goal is the most important and rewarding part of her job. As difficult as it may be sometimes it is worth it. The schooling, the hard situations and long days are hard but it is part of it, she is glad she can help people everyday with her job.
The hospital she works at is a local hospital at home where i am from, Pottsville PA. "i never thought i would come back to work at home, but i realized this hospital is my home and the people i met along the way made it a journey." stated. She always said she wanted to move away, but realized that Pottsville was her home. Unexpectedly she saw an add in the paper and took the opportunity. At first, she was very negative about this job considering it was not at her designated location. Now, years later she does not have one regret about it. The hospital is just like any ordinary, it has an ER, OR, and does everything a normal hospital does. The hospital she works at is a huge building that takes up a big chunk of our little city, but all the magic that she does happens in her small room. In her room you'll find wheel chairs, walkers, tape measures, weights, many exercise machines and many more things that help her patients get the care they need.
Her process in wanting to be at this point started in 7th an 8th grade. "basketball was my life in middle school, and when my ankle got seriously injured i never thought i would have the chance to play again." she says. She had a serious ankle injury in 7th grade, and hid it because she thought it would interfere with her chances of playing, after she could not hide it anymore she confessed. She got surgery and went through PT and the PT made her able to play again. "Once i saw how amazing their work was of healing people, i knew that was what i wanted to be." After that, she continued her schooling at West Chester, after she graduated she went 3 years for her masters of science and PT and a year and a half for her for her bachelor's degree. After all of her years at schooling she ended up at the little hometown hospital she never thought she would.
Amy's everyday routine is rough but she says it is worth it. Her shift starts at 6AM and ends at 3:30 PM everyday. Each patient she has, has a direct time to come in to see her. Her days are pretty planned out, except for the occasional calls to the ER. "the doctors trust me" she states. They depend on her for a lot of input in patients. She's the only physical therapist on the job most of the time so her days are usually always busy. "Getting rushed to the ER is always one of my biggest struggles, the doctors ask me what i should do and where they should be sent. Being put on the spot to try and figure out where i should send the patients is the hardest part." Amy mentioned. Also one of her every day struggles is that she has to do the evaluations of all her patients by herself. "it takes about two hours everyday to put in the evaluations of all of my patients." she says. She's the only PT on her floor of the hospital, so it gets insanely busy. Other than that, she's extremely thankful for her job and would not change a thing. Amy has been at this hospital for over 13 years, and does not plan on leaving. "I found my home at a hospital, and for how bad that sounds it is true. I love my job and the people I met along the way" Amy mentioned.
"The best part about being a PT? That is an insanely broad question" she says. But she says the best feeling is knowing she helps someone. Her favorite story is an elderly man that came in, he was told he might not be able to walk again. She helped him get through the process everyday and finally he was able to walk again. "Seeing that spark in their eye that they finally reached their goal, that is the best feeling because you knew you did your job right." She understands that phyiscal therapy can be uncomfortable for some people. It's not just a physical process, it is a mental. You need to make them believe they can do it.
Physical Therapists are more important to this world than people consider. They not only deal with althletes, but everyday people. "They come in looking like their life is physically over, and it is your job to change that." Amy stated. Physical Therapists help people who are injured get strong enough to go back to playing sports or being able to do everyday things again. Each patient comes in every appointment, and they have a set of exercises their therapist has planned that they need to do. Each exercise is built to help the muscles and ligaments that need strengthening. During this process, the therapist stands by their side and helps them do the exercises. Everytime they return, they make the exercises harder to build the muscles back to their normal state. The therapists records the patients data, what they are strong enough to do, and not strong enough to do. If they cannot do one exercise they will try an easier one until the muscles build up to get stronger. At the end of the day, then they take all their patients charts and put them into the computer. They do this so they could record the patients progress, and make sure the exercises they are doing are working and strengthen the muscles that need to be over time.
Being a PT is a hard and challenging task and experience. You do not only need to heal the patient, but make them feel comfortable with you. My aunt amy has been a PT for 23 years now, and she says helping people and getting them to their goal is the most important and rewarding part of her job. As difficult as it may be sometimes it is worth it. The schooling, the hard situations and long days are hard but it is part of it, she is glad she can help people everyday with her job.
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