Core Values
Reflection
Over the course of my education in UND’s physical therapy program I have been given the opportunity to cultivate many facets of my personal and professional life. One of those areas has been through the development of my core values, which speak to growth in both my personal and professional journey. The rigor of the physical therapy program has made it necessary for me to establish an anchor to use as a guide for decision making and problem solving. In assessing my core values at the start of the program, I was able to use these values to influence me through difficult situations. Likewise, in assessing my core values at the end of the program, I was able to determine areas of growth and establish ways to utilize these values in future decision making processes.
The core values where I saw the most growth during the physical therapy program include compassion & caring, excellence, and integrity. Clinical experience, expansive projects, and group work have all required that I cultivate these specific core values by placing me in situations that require me to dig deep and identify what matters most when times get tough. Below is a more detailed explanation of specific areas of growth in terms of core values throughout my time as a physical therapy student.
Both of the Core Value Assessments can be found at the bottom of this page.
Over the course of my education in UND’s physical therapy program I have been given the opportunity to cultivate many facets of my personal and professional life. One of those areas has been through the development of my core values, which speak to growth in both my personal and professional journey. The rigor of the physical therapy program has made it necessary for me to establish an anchor to use as a guide for decision making and problem solving. In assessing my core values at the start of the program, I was able to use these values to influence me through difficult situations. Likewise, in assessing my core values at the end of the program, I was able to determine areas of growth and establish ways to utilize these values in future decision making processes.
The core values where I saw the most growth during the physical therapy program include compassion & caring, excellence, and integrity. Clinical experience, expansive projects, and group work have all required that I cultivate these specific core values by placing me in situations that require me to dig deep and identify what matters most when times get tough. Below is a more detailed explanation of specific areas of growth in terms of core values throughout my time as a physical therapy student.
Both of the Core Value Assessments can be found at the bottom of this page.
Accountability
In comparing accountability scores from my first year to my second year, I can see definite growth in areas such as seeking continuous improvement in skills, maintaining APTA membership, participation in achieving health goals in society, and educating students in a manner that facilitates learning. The most explicit reason for this growth comes from two experiences that I have had during my second year in PT school. The first is being out in the clinic working with other PT’s and realizing how important it is for us to support and challenge one another as clinicians in order to promote excellence in our profession. The other experience that I have had is with my time spent as a TA with first year students. Not only was it a way for me to brush up on my skills, but it allowed me to give back to the program and in a small way it allowed me to contribute to legacy of learning within the PT community.
Altruism
Areas of growth in terms of altruism from year one to year two in the PT program include acknowledging the importance of providing physical therapy services to underserved and underrepresented populations, going beyond the expected standards, and caring about my professional responsibilities before my personal needs. I have always been under the impression that physical therapy revolves around caring for others, but I witnessed first-hand during both clinical experiences the temptations that distract one from putting others first. It is not always second nature to serve others before serving ourselves. Practicing with an altruistic mindset requires consistent active decision making to place each and every patient above ourselves. I have learned that although my intent is to serve others there is a fair amount of discipline involved.
Compassion/Caring
This was one of the core values that I feel I portrayed the most amount of professional development. Again, clinical experience in the real world opened my eye to difficult socioeconomic situations, new cultures, generations, and religious beliefs that I was not familiar with. I definitely enjoyed this aspect of my clinical experiences and developed much more compassion and understanding for people in the world. It sparked an appreciation for me concerning the vast amount of diversity that is present in the world.
Excellence
This is another core value where I feel as though I grew dramatically during the last year. There were many aspects that showed improvement including portraying humility in professional and personal situations, using evidence to support decisions, tolerance for ambiguity, and sharing knowledge with others. To begin with, the one thing that I have really taken hold of during the course of my education in the physical therapy program is that it is impossible for me to know everything. The more I learn, the more I realize how much left there is for me to learn. Education & learning is not like a race where there is a definite start and a definite finish. There is no set time or day when I can stop learning. In order to be excellent in this profession I am going to constantly be encouraged to learn more and gather new information. This shift in perspective challenged me to participate in research, become a teaching assistant, admit when I simply don’t know, and be satisfied when there is more than one right answer. If I do not, it will not only be a disservice to patients but also to the profession.
Integrity
The majority of the development of integrity came about while working on long term group projects with classmates over the course of the last year. It became evident that working in groups requires a certain amount of skill to navigate all of the interpersonal challenges. Being trustworthy, recognizing my personal biases, confrontation, and recognizing my own personal and professional limits were definite areas that I was able to group. As basic as it is, simply standing up for what I think is right and acting with the appropriate degree of transparency is key when cooperating with one another toward a common goal. These basic life skills become even more critical in the professional setting when decisions and relationships are not black and white. Copious amounts of group work within the PT program had provided me the opportunity to continue to live and work with integrity.
Professional Duty
In terms of professional duty, I would say that I improved in two major areas over the course of my second year in the PT program at UND which include mentoring others to realize their potential and promoting the profession of physical therapy. I have been faced with doing this in a few different ways. The first is during my time as a teaching assistant by encouraging first year students to persevere and put their best effort in because they were capable of mastering the material. I could relate to the frustration and stress that they were experiencing and I felt as though it was appropriate for me to encourage them through the process. The second and most common or obvious was during patient treatment, encouraging them to give their best effort during treatment in order to get the best results. Lastly, Over the course of my physical therapy education I have had many friends and family members request what limited expertise I have on their injuries and recovery process and while I was not their primary source of health care I made sure to check up on them every so often to see how they were progressing and offer any more support. Many times I would refer these individuals to a physical therapist in my home town who I knew would care for them well. In referring or suggesting that these people see a physical therapist I promoted the profession.
Social Responsibility
Social responsibility is another area that I have grown more passionate about during this last year as a physical therapy student. Especially with classes regarding administration, patient education and advocacy I can see now just how important it is to be a voice in the community that promotes a healthy lifestyle. There is so much that PT can do to prevent the majority of the diseases that many in our nation suffers from and it is time for PT’s to step up to the challenge and promote ourselves in a way that highlights and utilizes every feature of our expertise. I am eager to be part of that change.
In comparing accountability scores from my first year to my second year, I can see definite growth in areas such as seeking continuous improvement in skills, maintaining APTA membership, participation in achieving health goals in society, and educating students in a manner that facilitates learning. The most explicit reason for this growth comes from two experiences that I have had during my second year in PT school. The first is being out in the clinic working with other PT’s and realizing how important it is for us to support and challenge one another as clinicians in order to promote excellence in our profession. The other experience that I have had is with my time spent as a TA with first year students. Not only was it a way for me to brush up on my skills, but it allowed me to give back to the program and in a small way it allowed me to contribute to legacy of learning within the PT community.
Altruism
Areas of growth in terms of altruism from year one to year two in the PT program include acknowledging the importance of providing physical therapy services to underserved and underrepresented populations, going beyond the expected standards, and caring about my professional responsibilities before my personal needs. I have always been under the impression that physical therapy revolves around caring for others, but I witnessed first-hand during both clinical experiences the temptations that distract one from putting others first. It is not always second nature to serve others before serving ourselves. Practicing with an altruistic mindset requires consistent active decision making to place each and every patient above ourselves. I have learned that although my intent is to serve others there is a fair amount of discipline involved.
Compassion/Caring
This was one of the core values that I feel I portrayed the most amount of professional development. Again, clinical experience in the real world opened my eye to difficult socioeconomic situations, new cultures, generations, and religious beliefs that I was not familiar with. I definitely enjoyed this aspect of my clinical experiences and developed much more compassion and understanding for people in the world. It sparked an appreciation for me concerning the vast amount of diversity that is present in the world.
Excellence
This is another core value where I feel as though I grew dramatically during the last year. There were many aspects that showed improvement including portraying humility in professional and personal situations, using evidence to support decisions, tolerance for ambiguity, and sharing knowledge with others. To begin with, the one thing that I have really taken hold of during the course of my education in the physical therapy program is that it is impossible for me to know everything. The more I learn, the more I realize how much left there is for me to learn. Education & learning is not like a race where there is a definite start and a definite finish. There is no set time or day when I can stop learning. In order to be excellent in this profession I am going to constantly be encouraged to learn more and gather new information. This shift in perspective challenged me to participate in research, become a teaching assistant, admit when I simply don’t know, and be satisfied when there is more than one right answer. If I do not, it will not only be a disservice to patients but also to the profession.
Integrity
The majority of the development of integrity came about while working on long term group projects with classmates over the course of the last year. It became evident that working in groups requires a certain amount of skill to navigate all of the interpersonal challenges. Being trustworthy, recognizing my personal biases, confrontation, and recognizing my own personal and professional limits were definite areas that I was able to group. As basic as it is, simply standing up for what I think is right and acting with the appropriate degree of transparency is key when cooperating with one another toward a common goal. These basic life skills become even more critical in the professional setting when decisions and relationships are not black and white. Copious amounts of group work within the PT program had provided me the opportunity to continue to live and work with integrity.
Professional Duty
In terms of professional duty, I would say that I improved in two major areas over the course of my second year in the PT program at UND which include mentoring others to realize their potential and promoting the profession of physical therapy. I have been faced with doing this in a few different ways. The first is during my time as a teaching assistant by encouraging first year students to persevere and put their best effort in because they were capable of mastering the material. I could relate to the frustration and stress that they were experiencing and I felt as though it was appropriate for me to encourage them through the process. The second and most common or obvious was during patient treatment, encouraging them to give their best effort during treatment in order to get the best results. Lastly, Over the course of my physical therapy education I have had many friends and family members request what limited expertise I have on their injuries and recovery process and while I was not their primary source of health care I made sure to check up on them every so often to see how they were progressing and offer any more support. Many times I would refer these individuals to a physical therapist in my home town who I knew would care for them well. In referring or suggesting that these people see a physical therapist I promoted the profession.
Social Responsibility
Social responsibility is another area that I have grown more passionate about during this last year as a physical therapy student. Especially with classes regarding administration, patient education and advocacy I can see now just how important it is to be a voice in the community that promotes a healthy lifestyle. There is so much that PT can do to prevent the majority of the diseases that many in our nation suffers from and it is time for PT’s to step up to the challenge and promote ourselves in a way that highlights and utilizes every feature of our expertise. I am eager to be part of that change.