
Paulina Tapia
Physical Therapist (student)
Not currently employed
Hampton, VA USA
“Tell yourself that you belong on the career path you chose. You will get there one way or another if that is your true passion. ”
Not currently employed
Hampton, VA USA
“Tell yourself that you belong on the career path you chose. You will get there one way or another if that is your true passion. ”
Physical Therapist (student)
I am currently in grad school in Hampton University and am finishing up my clinicals (test runs in various PT jobs)
I go into work from 9-5 at a hospital and see around 7-10 patients a day. Currently I'm working on in-patient care which means the patients I see stay in the hospital. While a lot of my job is taking measurements of them and helping them heal, it is equally focused on listening to and helping them cope with their personal problems since they like to vent. I build up a relationship with these patients.
Here's the first step for college students
Gaining experience and taking all of the tests you need. There's a high demand for physical therapists and employers mostly just care if you're certified or not.
"A major discouragement was my grades since they were slightly below many of the averages for schools I applied to. I would criticize myself for not doing better in my classes and wished I could retake them or fix them somehow. "
Since she knows she enjoys helping people without the need of pharmaceuticals and will continue to like it, she isn't daunted by doing it the "rest of her life" and the many different areas of PT make it possible to switch easily to a new environment