Why You Should Gain as Much PT Experience as Possible

I was speaking with a woman who belongs to my gym last week who is deciding if she wants to become a physical therapist. I offered to take her on as a shadow later in the summer, but I also advised her to gain as much PT experience as she can in the meantime. I suggested she try to shadow physical therapists in a few different settings, but also to try getting a job as a PT aide.

Obviously, this will look good on her resume should she decide to apply to PT school. But more importantly, it will help her make the right career decision. The more time you spend in any setting, the better you understand it. Unfortunately, due to COVID, I’ve seen a rise in applications from students who have done either no shadowing whatsoever or very minimal observation or volunteering.

While some of these students have gotten into PT schools that have become more lenient about this requirement, I worry about their futures in the profession. If you don’t shadow at all or don’t observe for more than a few hours, you miss out on experiencing many of the job’s nuances.

For example, you won’t encounter difficult clients, patients who don’t get better, workplace politics, struggles with insurance companies over reimbursement, or tension with other healthcare providers.

While these may be some of the more negative aspects of the job, they are all too real and important to understand. Far too often, I read essays by pre-PTs with little shadowing experience who formed strong bonds with a special patient and have an overly-idealized view of the profession that involves becoming best friends with all their future patients. While I have had these encounters too, the profession is not all sunshine and rainbows, as the saying goes. It’s important to have a full understanding of the downsides to any profession so you fully understand what you’re getting into, and so you don’t burn out once you’re there.

There’s no doubt that it can be hard to gain hours. Many facilities cut down on shadows due to COVID and it can be hard to fit in time to observe when your time is already split between coursework, extracurricular activities, familial obligations, maintaining a social life, and working. These opportunities often don’t pay or pay minimally, which can be hard on those with jobs. However, it might be even more costly to enter a career that isn’t right for you.

If you’re applying to PT school, do yourself a favor and gain as much PT experience as possible – not just for your application, but for yourself!

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