1. What Does Professionalism Look Like?

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The word professionalism has innumerable definitions depending upon whom you ask. For example The American Physical Therapists Association (APTA) defines professionalism as: “…applying principles of altruism, excellence, caring, ethics, respect, communication and accountability, and by working together with other professionals to achieve optimal health and wellness in individuals and communities.” However, this is a rather dense definition of the word. I believe that this definition can be broken down further, into what a student should demonstrate not only as a student in a Doctorate of Physical Therapy degree program; but in everyday life. In order to break this definition down, throughout the course of this essay we are going to answer two simple questions. 1) What does professionalism sound like? And 2) What does professionalism look like? …show more content…
One must always communicate as timely, accurately, and honestly as possible even when at fault as this demonstrates altruism. Altruism is the act of selflessly placing the needs of others before your own and of going above and beyond the expected level of care. When accounting for your actions one can sometimes be tempted to place their own needs before the needs of the patients. However, if one were to yield to this temptation this would demonstrate a complete lack of accountability and thus a non-professional demeanor.
The next question I posed was what does professionalism look like? Professionalism is shown in multiple mediums. It’s shown in how one dresses speaks, and carries themselves. It is shown in how you treat, interact, and communicate with others. In physical therapy gaining the patients trust is the foundation of care. Patients trust those who “look the part”. All patients want to receive the best possible care; if you appear disheveled, unkempt, and overall careless, patients will not readily trust you to provide the greatest