I have spent many years (>10 years total) as a patient in PT for a wide variety of injuries/surgeries, including most of my teenage years, so I kind of grew up hanging out in PT clinics. I loved sports and anatomy & physiology. It seemed a natural choice to go into PT myself. Decided at age 12 and never strayed from that plan.
I love getting to help in the journey from pain and disability to being functional and feeling good. It’s exciting and rewarding to be a part of that. Makes my heart warm and fuzzy.
The emotional reward of seeing patients happy and functional is pretty great motivation in and of itself, so I want to be the best I can in order to help as many people as best as possible. Internally I’m a bit obsessed with continually learning new information. Commitment to evidence-based practice means I stay up to date on the most current, most accurate information, which helps me provide the best possible care to patients.
I don’t have any trophies or awards, that’s not how my career has played out nor what I strove for. Positive patient reviews/outcomes and being known as a great PT are generally all the awards I need.
Professional goal, I don’t have a good answer, just to be the best possible Therapist I can be to help each patient as much as possible. And to help students/younger PTs become better Therapists as best I can. Personally, I don’t have much of an answer either. I hope to stay as active in sports as long as I physically can (I remain my own most frequent patient), and I like visiting as many different countries and states/cities as I can.
1. I play semi-pro women’s tackle football (Midwest Mountain Lions).
2. I was a Travel PT and lived full-time in a camper for 5 years.
3. I was a drummer for many years when I was younger, and I still play that and guitar for fun at home.
Football takes much of my free time Jan-Jun. I also play rec softball for fun. Traveling, following my sports teams, hanging out with my animals (1 dog, 2 cats), working on my >100 year old historic home, watching movies.
