Assignment 12: Essential Question

My essential question:

How can I, as a Pediatric Physical Therapist, design the most personalized treatment for my patients?

Why did you select your essential question?

I selected my essential question, because I observed at the clinic that Physical Therapist treat the same injury in different ways. I was fascinated with the fact that, there is not one route you follow when treating a patient. Some patients may not be able to do specific exercises, so a PT has to modify the treatment and make it personalized for the patient. For instance, a patient may have recently sprang their ankle, therefore hindering them from doing the "Lady Liberty" exercise. In the "Lady Liberty" exercise, the patient walks around and holds a weighted stick, while balancing a disk on top of it. This exercise aims to strengthen their arm. Due to the sprang ankle, a PT personalizes the treatment and gives the patient a different exercise, such as "Y's,T's, and I's". This exercise refrains the patient from putting weight on their sprang ankle, while treating their initial injury of the arm. The way a Physical Therapist formulates a treatment and makes it personal for their patient is fascinating. I want to break down this process and analyze the different routes a Physical Therapist may follow.

What excites you most about finding the answer the this essential question? What excites me the most about finding the answer to the essential question is the research that I will be conducting. I enjoy reading and digging deeper into topics. I look forward to finding reliable articles and prints that I will be able to analyze and put forth in my research. Furthermore, I am excited about the questions I have for my mentor and other Physical Therapists. I enjoy asking questions and finding the solution to them. Most of all, I am excited about what I will gain throughout my research. I hope to become a better analyzer and researcher, which will aid me in future researches.

Do you feel that this question accurately reflects a desire/need that you have to find out more about this topic?

Yes I feel that this question accurately reflects my desire that I have to find out more about this topic, because it presents how Physical Therapist go about treating their patients. In the healthcare world, patients are treated in many ways. Some patients may be treated by a Nurse Practitioner or a Physicians Assistant, rather than receiving direct treatment from a doctor. In Physical Therapy, treatment is directly given by the therapist and is personalized for the patient. Through my research, I hope to analyze the practice of Physical Therapy and how therapists design a personalized treatment for their patients.