Kelsie Shaw

Narrative Self- Assessment: Year 1

The first year of physical therapy school was full of changes with ups and downs along the way,
both personally and professionally. This year has been of the most growth in my life, and
regardless of the growing pains that have taken place in the last 12 months- I am more sure now
than ever before that this is the career I want to spend my life pursuing.
During my first year of physical therapy school, the area I have experienced the greatest amount
of person learning is when it comes to how and when to study to maximize efficiency. I have
learned that I am a morning learner, and I am my most productive in the hours leading up to
sunrise. How I best learn varies based on the content of each specific course but looking back I
recognize that I have regularly utilized Panopto recordings to re-listen to content delivered in the
classroom. I have a few classmates I study with on occasion, and regularly practice skills with.
For studying information heavy content, I have found a combination of screen/ paper studying to
be the most effective for me.
Regarding professional learning, I have experienced the greatest growth this year in my ability to
complete an evaluation. I have learned and extensively practiced manual muscle testing,
peripheral nerve and dermatomal sensory distribution, myotomes, range of motions normative
values, and array of special tests. Apart from just learning these skills on their own, during the
past year we have also learned and practiced completing entire evaluations gathering information
of both subjective and objective nature.
Hands on practice of technical skills with my classmates in conjunction with live feedback from
our instructors was one of the greatest opportunities for learning I encountered during the first
year of physical therapy school. We encountered the unforeseen circumstances of COVID-19
during the spring semester and the move to learning entirely online was the greatest constraint to
my learning. Transitioning to an online program meant that the hands-on practice with
classmates and live feedback from our instructors ceased. Faculty did an amazing job
transitioning and maintaining rigorous course content online with continuous communication
with us as a large group, small groups, and on an individual basis. While online learning was a
setback in many aspects, it helped me to practice self-discipline, time management, and both
verbal and written communication skills even more than before.
Treatment development is one major area of clinical expertise in which I need further
development. My treatment “toolbox” remains small relative to the many intervention options
available. I want to be confident that the intervention I am choosing is the most effective for that
specific patients needs. I need more practice with skills like joint mobilizations, developing
home exercise programs, and developing treatment plans from initial evaluation to discharge.
This development will be facilitated with time. I will get more practice completing clinical
education courses during the second year of physical therapy school and during my clinical
experiences. I will ask questions to professors in class and lab, as well as my clinical instructors
during clinical experiences in order to reap full possible knowledge on this matter.