Jim Shepherd was 15 years old when he was involved in a major roll-over
car accident. He ended up with a broken neck. He was in intensive care for
a week.
"It was a long road to recovery for me, and it was this point I first experienced
PT (physical therapy)," says Shepherd. "Then a few years later I pulled my
hamstring during track season and it got so bad I couldn't walk. I went to
PT again and really started to enjoy the experience.
"I got to know my [physical therapist] and learned that it was the kind
of job I was looking for after high school -- the opportunity to help and
teach those in need while at the same time keep myself physically active and
engaged in lifelong learning."
Shepherd is now a physical therapist in Washington state. Every day he
gets to help others the way that a physical therapist once helped him.
"To finally see the light bulb go off when working with a
patient is something that gets me fired up and excited," says Shepherd. "I
feel that I can make a real difference for people and I get immediate results
that are tangible from my work.
"To be appreciated for what I do is also a highlight," Shepherd adds. "And
I cannot think of any other medical profession [in which] you can spend 45
minutes with a patient developing a relationship with them and learning how
you can best help that person where they are."
Physical therapist Kirsty Exner first became interested in this career
in her mid 20s. At the time she was working as a personal trainer at a physical
therapy clinic.
"The [physical therapist] there was inspiring and I just liked the work
she did," says Exner. "She seemed to find a lot of reward and meaning in her
job, and she was genuinely helping people to become better."
A lot of physical therapists have physically active backgrounds, and many
are former (or current) competitive athletes. Exner is no exception.
"I started off as a professional athlete doing extreme skiing, free skiing,
and I was also doing mountain biking," says Exner. "I had a big crash and
that got me back into school."
Being physically active helps you learn how the body moves and about the
ailments that come with sports activities. This helps you relate to your clients.
"Just having that awareness certainly helps you in your practice when you're
helping other people," says Exner. "You can relate a lot more... if you've
been in their shoes."
Graham Pollard also has a very physically active background. He first became
interested in physical therapy after playing first division rugby in Australia.
"We had a team [physical therapist], in addition to time I spent in the
clinic with one injury or another," says Pollard.
Pollard has a bachelor of science degree, a bachelor of physiotherapy,
and a graduate diploma in manipulative physiotherapy. He owns a physical therapy
clinic.
Pollard says a challenging part of being a physical therapist is "dealing
with a wide variety of personalities and sometimes life-changing injuries."
Another challenging aspect of the career is "clinical reasoning to establish
difficult diagnoses," he says.
What advice would Pollard give to an aspiring physical therapist? "Do some
job shadowing in different settings -- private practice, hospital, neurological,
pediatric, etc.," he says.
Shepherd offers similar advice: "If you are considering [this career],
I highly recommend looking into PT further and getting some volunteer experience
to know what type of therapy you want to do."