Altruism In Physical Therapy

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Pages: 3

According to the American Physical Therapy Association, professionalism consists of seven main core values: altruism, compassion/caring, excellence, professional duty, social responsibility, accountability, and integrity. All of these values are significant and align with my personal beliefs. My understanding of professionalism has been shaped by various experiences gained from school, work, conducting research, and observing therapists. As a doctor of physical therapy student, I plan to encompass these professional values.
Altruism and compassion are critical values that I practice daily. I exemplify the belief of putting patients first; providing culturally competent care; and going above and beyond to meet patient needs. I have learned about these values while working with 90 therapists as an inpatient Rehabilitation Technician at the
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I have promoted excellence by being academically strong throughout my schooling and being a leader in the scholars program. When presented with a research opportunity in my sophomore year, I accepted as I knew it would help me learn new skills and advance knowledge in the physical therapy field. During my research, I was committed to maintaining professional duty and stayed beyond the required hours to streamline the data collection process and clearly present the results. I have seen the effects of poor professional duty in my grandmother's recent hospitalization. She was declining in her functional mobility and was not receiving therapy as she should have. I strongly advocated for therapy and performed therapeutic exercises with her. As a student physical therapist, I plan to continue to promote therapy and participate in professional outside activities. I plan to continue excellence by developing my research skills by staying up to date on current topics in the field, reading literature, and attending classes and