101 - Abby K Knows Being A Student PT Might Not Be Worth It

My name is Abby and I am a physical therapy student at the University of Pittsburgh. I am currently finishing up my last partially didactic semester and then will be in the clinic for 30 weeks in August followed by graduation. I have a background in rugby and bodybuilding myself as well as experience in fitness coaching for a wide variety of populations including runners, college athletes, athletes with disability, and people just trying to lose weight, gain muscle, or generally be healthier. I have my CPT from NASM as well as my CSCS and Pn1 certifications. In addition to my hands-on experience, I've collaborated on research in concussion and running through the University of Pittsburgh Concussion Research Lab and UPMC respectively. Outside of fitness and PT I am a massive nerd and love Star Wars, anime, and cosplay.

Topics Covered:
- Exploitative nature of clinical rotations and general PT school insensitivities regarding the financial burden of grad school - Paying full tuition to work 40+ hours/week for free, students sure of a setting they want to work in being forced to complete their rotation in settings they have no interest in, having to attend in-person class for lectures requiring no hands-on learning (It feels ridiculous to spend an hour of my day driving to class, pay for gas and parking, just to sit in an hour long lecture that could have been held on Zoom. Many PT students also have to work on top of school and I hate the "PT school is your job attitude"

- Disconnect between PT and S&C and fitness as a whole - How much of a difference are we really making? Especially with the pressure to see as many patients as possible at many outpatient clinics on top of completing documentations - how often are PTs actually able to dig deep at psychosocial issues and other issues that may affect a patient's rehab and overall health.

- Professionalism and being shoved into a box, having other interests or "unprofessional" content associated with a clincian on the internt does not mean they know less or are unable to be professional in the workplace. I think many patients almost have better connections with less "professional"clinicians because they see them as another person here to help them as opposed to a white coat talking down on them.