Blog 20 - Interview 4 Preparation

1. Who do you plan to interview? What is this person's area of expertise? 

• As of now, I have a few people in mind to interview.
• My mentor, Debbie Choben: Pediatric Physical Therapist
• Co-volunteer, Kenneth: Child Therapy Aide
• My first interviewee, Cindy Eslava: Pediatric Physical Therapist
• The one I choose to interview will all just depend on their scheduling as far as when they are available. I hope of all three, I get to interview my first interviewee the most because she really gave me the foundation for me to start my senior project. I would like to finish that foundation by interviewing her for my last one as well. 

2. Post 20 open-ended questions you want to ask an expert in the field concerning your senior project. Your focus should be finding answers for you EQ. 

• EQ: What is the most important factor in ensuring that a child born with limitations reaches his/her full physical potential?
• What is the biggest challenge in pediatric physical therapy? Solutions?
• What is the first appointment/evaluation like with the patient? How important would you say it is?
• What can a parent do to become more involved in the physical therapy process? 
• How do you know when a child has reached their "full physical potential?"
• How important is developing a strong relationship with the patient?
• What does that relationship consist of? (trust, communication, etc.)
• How important is working in a team in pediatric physical therapy?
• How can a pediatric physical therapist establish good communication with the parents?
• What factors play a part when making a plan for a patient?
• Through research, one of the goals of pediatric PT for the patient is for them to "function independently in all environments." How do you work towards that and is it different for different patients?
• What is the most rewarding thing about pediatric physical therapy?
• What is the best form of patient/parent education?
• What happens when the patient/parent does not receive good education? 
• What are the unexpected factors that you have to keep in mind when doing pediatric PT?
• Has there ever been a time when a parent does not comply to the plans? How does this affect therapy and what can you do to help?
• If you had to pick one, what would be the most important factor that ensures successful pediatric physical therapy and why?
• Throughout your years of being a physical therapist, what is the most important skill you have learned?
• What goes into having a good evaluation? How may this affect the therapy to come?
• What certain characteristics should a good pediatric PT possess?

Blog 19 - Third Answer

1. What is your EQ?

• What is the most important factor in ensuring that a child born with limitations reaches his/her full physical potential?

2. What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

• The most important factor in ensuring that a child born with limitations reaches his/her full physical potential is active parent participation.

3. What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

• The most important factor in ensuring that a child born with limitations reaches his/her full physical potential is a strong relationship between the PT and the child.

4. What is your third answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

• The most important factor in ensuring that a child born with limitations reaches his/her full physical potential is a strong diagnosis/evaluation and flexible planning.

5. List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

• PTs are usually responsible for the diagnosis of a patient for their disorder/injury. This is a critical step towards any sort of patient recovery. A proper diagnosis will allow for a proper path to making successful plan. 
• Planning is essential in physical therapy. It is really important because physical therapy is not a one time thing. It usually happens over the span of a time frame and the progress is gradual and not instant. Having a plan ensures that this progress is made and is successful.
• Especially in pediatric physical therapy, curve balls are being thrown constantly. Not only does the PT have to deal with the physical growth of the child, but also the emotional/social growth of the child. This means that the plans do have to be solid but also flexible in the way that it can deal with any unexpected factors that the PT may be encountering. 

6. What printed source best supports your answer?

• "Preparing for Your Visit with a Physical Therapist." Move Forward. American Physical Therapy Association, n.d. Web. 18 Sept. 2015. <http://www.moveforwardpt.com/Resources/Prepare.aspx#.VfuRHH9Vikq>

7. What other source supports your answer?

• Milligan, Lauren. "The Initial Visit Is Everything." WebPT. WebPT, 12 Oct. 2015. Web. 30 Oct. 2015. <https://www.webpt.com/blog/post/the-initial-visit-is-everything>.

8. Tie this together with a concluding thought. 

• Overall, I picked a strong diagnosis/evaluation and flexible planning as my second answer because it is especially important in pediatric physical therapy. Both are reliant on  each other and the overall process of the pediatric physical therapy. If the PT does a proper evaluation and makes a solid plan for the patient while still being able to deal with the unexpected factors, it will ensure that a child born with limitations reaches his/her full physical potential. 

Blog 18 - Answer 2

1. What is your EQ?

• What is the most important factor in ensuring that a child born with limitations reaches his/her full physical potential?

2. What is your first answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

• The most important factor in ensuring that a child born with limitations reaches his/her full physical potential is active parent participation.

3. What is your second answer? (In complete thesis statement format)

• The most important factor in ensuring that a child born with limitations reaches his/her full physical potential is a strong relationship between the PT and the child.

4. List three reasons your answer is true with a real-world application for each.

• Trust: the patient needs to be able to trust the PT at all times. If the child does not trust the PT, more than likely the patient (keeping in mind is a child) will be scared and not comfortable around the PT. This makes sessions, exercises, etc. so much harder and will not let the child reach his/her full physical potential. I have seen this first hand at my mentorship and it shows that if the patient trusts and is comfortable with the PT, it is much easier for the PT to do their job.
• Fun: because this is pediatric physical therapy, physical therapy needs to be fun at all times. The patient will not do the work they are suppose to if they are not having a good time. This "fun" really acts like their motivation to do their exercises and stretches. They don't see it as work, but rather, "fun" and are much more inclined to reach their full physical potential if they have fun! I have seen this first hand at my mentorship and my mentor really urges to make sure she is having fun with her patient. 
• Communication: it's very common for a pediatric PT patient to have a disorder of some kind and that may include disorders that hinder their ability to communicate. However, this does not mean they do not understand what you are saying. It is very important to tell the patient what you are doing to them and be very verbal during the sessions. At my mentorship, there is not a time where my mentor does not talk to her patient. There is a constant exchange of words or sounds and that makes the PT experience all the more successful.

5. What printed source best supports your answer?

• Buckland, Melanie, and Maureen Suhr. "The Physical Therapist- Patient Relationship Through the Years." HSS: The Playbook. N.p., 29 Aug. 2014. Web. 1 Oct. 2015. <https://www.hss.edu/playbook/the-physical-therapist-patient-relationship-through-the-years/#.Vg4Zb_nBzGc>.

6. What other source supports your answer?

• Andrus, Brooke. "5 Reasons Patient Engagement Is the Path to Optimal Outcomes." WebPT. WebPT, 13 Oct. 2015. Web. 30 Oct. 2015. <https://www.webpt.com/blog/post/5-reasons-patient-engagement-is-the-path-to-optimal-outcomes>.

7. Tie this together with a concluding thought. 

• Overall, I picked a good relationship between the PT and the patient as my second answer because it is especially important in pediatric physical therapy. Communication and trust can be answers on its own; however, they all embody a strong relationship. If the PT and the patient have a strong relationship, the patient is more than likely to do their exercises, stretches, listen, etc. This will ensure that a child born with limitations reaches his/her full physical potential. 

Blog 17 - Interview 3 Reflection

1. What is the most important thing I learned from the interview?

• The most important thing I learned from my interview is probably more possible answers. Throughout the interview, I mentioned possible answers I had in mind to my EQ just to see what my interviewee would think of them and she completely agreed on its importance. She also justified my first answer and that made me confident in what  I have learned so far in this project. 

2. How has your approach to interviewing changed over the course of your senior project?

• I think  as far as interviewing goes, over the course of my senior project, I have learned to be a lot more comfortable when it comes to interviewing someone. Actually listening to what they have to say and not so worried about getting all my questions out has really made the whole interview process a lot less nerve wrecking. I think because I have gotten more comfortable, I am able to get more genuine questions out and connect more with my interviewee. 

LINK TO SOUNDCLIP:  https://soundcloud.com/megan-thi/interview-3

Blog 16 - Independent Component 2 Approval

1. Describe in detail what you plan to do for your 30 hours.

• For my 30 hours, I plan to take an online class in Anatomy and Physiology. I will be taking this class on the Carnegie Mellon University website in which they offer free classes to take. Knowing anatomy and physiology is just one of the many education requirements needed  to get your degree in physical therapy. This class will teach me a lot about the anatomy of the body and this is extremely important in physical therapy!

2.  Discuss how or what you will do to meet the expectation of showing 30 hours of evidence.

• To show my hours, I will be keeping a log of everything I learn during every session. This way, I will show what I am actually learning throughout the whole process. I also will be able to take screenshots of any quizzes or tests I will take to show my progress throughout the whole class. 

3.  Explain how this component will help you explore your topic more in depth. 

• This component will really help me explore my topic more in depth because I don't know much about the body now, and taking this class will fix that problem. It's one thing to know how to act around children in pediatric physical therapy and how to make them do their exercises/stretches, but a whole other thing to know WHY you are doing those exercises and how that affects/helps a patient's body/disorder. This is possibly another answer I could use. 

4. Post a log in your Senior Project Hours link and label it "Independent Component 2" log.

• https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XypT3oTppXYuirmBN9VZXjMhynEhiQra8tdKqh8Irm0/edit?usp=sharing

Independent Component 1

1. Literal

• a)  "I, Megan Thi, affirm that I completed my independent component which represents 30 hours of work."
• b) My mentor, Debbie Cheben or Kristin Horn. 
• c)  Senior Project Hours:  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1XypT3oTppXYuirmBN9VZXjMhynEhiQra8tdKqh8Irm0/edit?usp=sharing 
• d) For my Independent Component 1, I chose to do the extra 30 hours. This just meant coming in regularly to my mentorship and doing the usual tasks I would do at my mentorship. 

2. Interpretive 

• Because I chose to the extra 30 hours, there is not a lot physical evidence I could produce. I was able to sneak this picture of the PT gym in which I do my mentorship. However, because of confidentiality issues with patients, I am not allowed to be taking pictures with them or have them in pictures in general. I hope this picture is enough to show you that I do volunteer there and have been for my 30 hours. Also, my senior hours log can be referred to in the link above or on my blog.  I think the significance of these extra 30 hours is really big. Physical therapy isn't an easy topic, especially pediatric physical therapy. There's a lot to learn in a really short time, so I believe that these extra 30 hours I did really pushed me to learn as much as I can about this topic. 

3. Applied 

• I think this component really helped me to understand the foundation of pediatric physical therapy better. Casa Colina, my mentorship place, is really big and there are a lot of people working there. I believe these extra hours I vowed to do really let me get the chance to familiarize myself with the area and therapists and fellow volunteers. This is extremely important towards the foundation of my project because you need to be able to work together with each other and also, get along. This independent component really got me comfortable with my mentorship place and I think going forward as I continue my mentorship, this will allow me to learn even more. 

Blog 15 - Lesson 2 Reflection

1. What are you most proud of in your Lesson 2 Presentation and why?

• In my Lesson 2, I am most proud of my answer. I feel like I was able to really support my answer through a lot of different sources and because of that, my overall presentation was a lot stronger. I'm proud of the presentation as a whole with my activity and everything!

2. What assessment would you give yourself  on your Lesson 2 Presentation? Explain why you deserve that grade using evidence from the Lesson 2 component contract.

• P/AE
• I feel like I used my time very effectively! I had something to say/do throughout the entire presentation. I also cited not only one, but multiple sources that referred to my answer.  Overall, my presentation showed that my  in depth research and  was engaging/effective!

3. What worked for you in your Lesson 2?

• I think in my Lesson 2, my activity really worked for me. It took me a good while to figure out what I was going to do for my activity, but once I found this one, I had no idea how perfectly it would tie into my answer. Because of that, I feel this really worked for me in my lesson 2 because it gave the rest of the class an example as to why my answer is my answer. 

4. What didn't work? If you had a time machine, what would you have done differently to improve your Lesson 2?

• The only thing I struggled with was meeting the time requirement. I did meet it in the end, but it was stressful to think that I didn't have enough talking time at one point. When I practiced at home, I had a lot to talk about and actually talked for longer than I liked. However, when I actually went up there, I missed a lot and talked a lot faster. So if I had a time machine, I would talk slower if I could, just take a couple breaths , and relax so that I wouldn't have to worry about time so much. 

5. What do you think your answer  #2 is going to be?

• I am not sure on what my answer #2 is going to be yet. But some ideas are: the positive attitude a physical therapist should have or the extent to which a physical therapist can work in a team.