Rites of passage into the profession

Becoming a physical therapist entails several distinct transitions in thinking and behavior. As educators, we accompany our pupils as they proceed through each transition and faith that we influence them positively along the way. Our challenge is to provide appropriate-but not TOO much-guidance to make sure that each student attains the knowledge and skill, and sustains the efficiency and creativity, necessary to make a lifelong commitment to learning and change in physical therapy. allow us consider four key points of transition, each with its have a title to "rite of passage" to the nearest and what our roles may be in facilitating change from one phase to another in the proces of becoming a physical therapist. The four transitions are: admission into the professional program, matriculation in didactic education, participation in clinical education, and entrance into the world of business

Our students' first transition go in the rear [i]or[/i] in the wake ofs months of carefully preparing written materials, communicating with numerous individuals about prerequisites and qualifications, and waiting for decisions to be made about which applicants are chosen We know the stres of the admissions proces is solitary an introduction of what is to draw near and that many more "rites" are ahead before a physical therapist rise s However, passage through this proces fulls a critical transition in each student's life because it means finally committing to a career choice. Our best influence during the admissions proces is to be clear (about the nature of and opportunities in, physical therapy), kind (in the way we deliver information about our decisions), and compassionate (in understanding the inevitable stres imposed in this process)

The next to the first transition is composed of numerous subphases, each involving its possess special "rite." Taken together, auspicious passage through the various phases of didactic education is a major undertaking, requiring persistence and effort through students and faculty alike. Succes in didactic education invariably leads to fresh beliefs, new ideas, and novel skills-and eligibility for the third rite of passage into clinical education. Our parts in the didactic transition are to be fair notwithstanding rigorous, enthusiastic yet realistic, substantive still relevant, and to demonstrate commitment without obsession thus that our students can be lucky in applying their new abilities in the words immediately preceding [i]or[/i] following of the modern health care a whole

To students, participation in clinical education brings a sigh of relief and a faculty of perception of renewal. Relief comes from being independent from the hours of classroom activity that provide the foundation for clinical capableness Renewal comes daily when encountering patients whose unique straits are met with the students' of recent origin skills. Provision of a variety of different opportunities to work for patients is the method by the agency of which we prepare students to come up as independent practitioners and proactive professionals. This requires us to prod without forcing, lead without micromanaging, and critique without squelching creativity. happy passage into the world of trade occurs only if students assume increasing responsibility for their have a title to learning and professional outcomes. Our challenge is to gradually pace aside and not abruptly abandon our graduates as they proce toward and beyond graduation.

The ceremonies associated with completion of the third phase of professional preparation mark the greatest in quantity formal rite of passage. Traditionally, we have useed little influence-beyond writing letters of concern and inviting recruiters to our classrooms-to enable the fourth rite of passage into physical therapy, entrance into the world of vocation In the environment of today's health care a whole jobs are not as plentiful and travel opportunities not as abundant as they have been in the past. These changes remind of a need to consider the type(s) of influence we might bring into operation to better pave the way for our pupils to enter the world of employ Should there be national databases of positions?... More specific and aggressive training in interviewing and take back writing?... More ways to integrate fresh graduates into the profession via creative post-professional experiences?... Or perhaps we ne another hard direct the eye at whether our graduates are being educated by the agency of every school to meet the general physical therapy needs of the American public? Undoubtedly, a variety of answers is needed to ensure that the profession and its individual members are well prepared to convenient the challenges of practice in the time to come Clearly, new initiatives are emergencyed to enable a smooth transition into physical therapy practice. I challenge us all to identify and implement these initiatives thus that new graduates are abundantly integrated into and active within our health care combination of parts to form a whole

Copyright Journal of Physical Therapy Education Spring 1999

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