So many patients who come to me, do so as a last resort. They have tried all
kinds of other medical modalities, but their illness has defied remedy and sometimes
even diagnosis. I empathize with their suffering, but my heart also skips a beat at the
prospect of a new medical puzzle to solve and a new challenge. I know their comfort
depends on it. It is with this sense of urgency that I listen, observe their body
language, posture and movement, to get the whole picture before each treatment. I
realize all I know to help them, and pour over my anatomy books in what spare time
I have, so I may know more. I have built my life’s work around meeting the
challenges my patients bring to me, and celebrating with them in the thrill of the
improvements we make.
Patients have complimented me on my breadth of knowledge and skills, and
their encouragement has motivated me to pursue the tDPT. Fulfilling the 2020 APTA
vision by which insurance companies, patients, and other healthcare professionals
already assume I am a DPT, will demonstrate my ongoing commitment to the
profession. Greater knowledge of pharmacology, diagnostic imaging, healthcare
policy, and evidence-based practice and diagnoses gained through the program will
empower me to be a more informed and versatile therapist. Once completed, holding
this degree would enable me to teach and publish, so that I may share my passion,
expertise, and experience with others who share my profession. Doing so would be a
source of great satisfaction and personal growth for me.
Saint Scholastica’s one hundred percent online format allows me to pursue my
tDPT while working full-time to run my practice and provide continuous care to my
patients. I like that the online program allows me to pause the lecture, when there is
an “aha moment” or discovery, do research, or clarify information before
proceeding. Therefore, setting my own comfortable pace for maximum learning and
comprehension of the material presented. Since my daughter is expecting her first
child this November, Saint Scholastica’s flexible and streamlined program design is
especially appealing to me because it will allow me the flexibility to enjoy being a
new grandmother while furthering my education. I also appreciate that your
university is regionally accredited, a rare distinction among tDPT programs.
The discipline of physical therapy is as dynamic and ever-evolving as the
human body itself. Every advance in our profession, aimed at easing the suffering of
those who seek out our expertise, creates its own new mysteries to solve. Just as
each patient is a new challenge, so too then, is every new discovery. My hope is
that, in earning my DPT, I can contribute more to the collective research of our
profession towards a world with less pain.
Mary Cox, PT
