Why I Became a Physical Therapist

Sometimes the road to finding ourselves and our calling is straight forward, sometimes it winds, and sometimes the path finds us. This is what happened to me. I had always been an athlete and enjoyed working out. I was fortunate not to be seriously injured during any sports, so I never experienced physical therapy as a means of recovery. Instead, I stumbled upon the field by accident.

What I Wanted to Be Growing Up

I had many ideas when I was younger but the primary goal was to become an actor and director.  However, as high school went on I realized the interest in this wasn’t as great and I had very little artistic talent. Around senior year I had realized, what came natural to me was math and science. With this, I had also found a passion for helping people. Despite being an introvert, I really cared about helping others in times of need. Around this time I also started watching medical-themed television shows which fascinated me and influenced me to become a physician.

My Journey to the Physical Therapy Profession

While starting to plan for college, I was looking for classes for my senior year. I always took any fitness courses that I could. Athletic training stood out to me. I assumed this was something related to working out so I was eager to take it. Once the course started however, I quickly realized this was about helping athletes recover from injuries and return to play. Of course this was an introductory class so it focused on anatomy, biomechanics, and giving a broad overview of the field. Two of the requirements of this class were to have several hours of observation in a physical therapy clinic and to assist in the athletic training room. My instructor was both an athletic trainer and a physical therapist. I am not sure what he saw in me but he took an interest and invited me to assist him all next semester in the athletic training room as well as recommended I pursue physical therapy in college.

As I began my freshman year of college, I found a great deal of joy observing in physical therapy clinics rather than physician offices. This is primarily a result of seeing how physical therapists were able to spend more time with their patients, getting to know them better. In addition, it was the difference of adding years to life through medicine or surgery, versus adding life to years. To me, adding life to years, through the power of movement, is more meaningful.

Throughout my years in clinical practice, this passion for providing quality in life and getting to know my patients has never left. It has driven me to pursue further education through my orthopedic clinical specialty and continues to compel me to pursue advanced training. When I became a physical therapist, the profession became part of me. Physical therapy is who I am, not what I do.

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The Athletico blog is an educational resource written by Athletico employees. Athletico bloggers are licensed professionals who abide by the code of ethics outlined by their respective professional associations. The content published in blog posts represents the opinion of the individual author based on their expertise and experience. The content provided in this blog is for informational purposes only, does not constitute medical advice and should not be relied on for making personal health decisions.