How to do it...

PT school figuring out is going. I'm not going to be able to fit all the credits I need into one year... Too many sciences, but I am tempted to try to do it anyway. I'm so impatient. Might be around home for 2 more years before I head to the city for 3 years of schooling.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to get a class or two this summer, although I already have a trip to NYC and a beach trip, so that's probably going to mess with what summer sessions I can attend...

Gotta get a good number of volunteer/shadowing hours in. It would be pretty sweet if I could get a job at a PT place so I could make money and get hours in at the same time.

Sometimes this adventure is so exciting I can't wait to begin it and other times I am so scared! But, I can't let fear stop me. This is my life and I've got to live it!

So... Hi

My week from h-e-l-l is over. Actually, that's a lie. I had a really good week, it was just really, really, really busy.

It's been awhile since I've written and I've been doing a lot of soul-searching. One of the reasons I wanted to go into exercise science was because all along I've been thinking about pursuing physical therapy. I thought I could use an exercise science degree to bridge myself into the health field. But, since that didn't happen, I have been thinking about other things.

I was looking at physical therapy school and it's expensive, really expensive. So, I thought maybe I would like to do a PTA program. I went up to a community college about an hour or so from my house and visited with the program head to talk about my desires to become a part of the PT world. After talking with him I felt a little more confident, maybe I can do this! So, I decided to call up a family friend, who is a physical therapist and do some shadowing with her. After spending 3 full (12 hour days) with her, I have pretty much come to a new conclusion. PTA is selling myself short.

I am a smart girl, and I've never really overly-challenged myself. I have had... oh, I don't know 3 people tell me to go for full PT and not to just do the Assistant.

2 of the 3 people told me that I'm a natural leader and should do PT, because I lead well. (I actually like to follow in some instances, but I suppose I can lead too. I like both sides.)

All of the people told me that I'm too smart for PT Assistant. Which, I guess is nice.


So...great! Right? Well, there is a big downfall... I am missing quite a number of core classes required for Physical Therapy school. I have to take about a year's worth of science courses before I could apply to PT school... This is going to be hard. PTA is less debt, less time but won't pay as well... I see pros and cons in both the positions, and I want to make the best choice for me.

The one really cool thing about physical therapy school is that it is now a doctorate degree. So, I would graduate with a clinicial doctorate and become a DPT.

Oh, and just in case anyone suggests it- there are only 3 programs in the entire USA that you can bridge from a PTA degree to a full PT... and I have been told by everyone that it is not a good idea to do.


So I have to decide one or the other. But, the more I think about it, the more I think I really want to push myself to do PT.

But, it's also going to cost me a shit-ton of money, which is deathly frightening to me. =/

Ok... Time to go lay down! I've been super lazy today and it has been fantastic!

New path... again

I think I've got it this time. Really, I do. Haha.

So- I am in the midst of getting into Physical Therapy Assistant (PTA) school. Butler County Community College has a 2 year degree and they only accept 30 students. Last year there was a waiting list.


I've been emailing the program director back and forth all week long, he seems really nice. I'm going to go meet him in person on April 21st.

Before I apply I have to have 20 hours of volunteer/work experience under a licensed PT or PTA. Luckily, I know a lady pretty well that does this for a living; and has her own business.

So far I've gotten 3 hours in, and this coming week I should at least get 10+.

I'm getting it done as quickly as possible so that I can get that application turned in and get accepted.

The best part is for the first time since I've tried to change my career SOME OF MY CLASSES FROM IUP COUNT!!!! Woooohooooo! All my science, math and english courses count, plus my liberal studies (Psychology, Sociology, Anthropology...) So the only non-PTA classes I will take will be Anatomy & Physiology I and II.


So, keep your fingers crossed that I can get my hours super quick and get my application turned in, so I can hopefully get accepted!! (Also, Penn State DuBois has a program so I can try to get accepted there as well.)

The 3 hours I spent with the PTA and PT on Wednesday was awesome. It was EXACTLY how I thought it would be, which made me super, super excited! :)

So, yeah. New life plan #230498234098234. It's all good. I think this time I'm done. (I think... I hope. I can't take this too much longer.)

Back to stress & frustration.

After my last post, it seemed like I was on top of the world... I just got sent back to the bottom of the barrel, probably for gloating too much.

The long and short of it is I'm not going to grad school anymore. I got rejected for an assistantship; so I have no way of paying for my education.

The bigger issue is this- exercise science is not a booming field... therefore, it is extremely possible for me to get my master's degree and not be able to get a job. When I was thinking about having an assistantship this took away some stress. My tuition would be paid for, and if I didn't find a job right away at least I didn't have to worry about student loans.

Well, with no assistantship student loans and a lack of finding a job is a situation I'm not putting myself in. It's the reason why I decided to give up on education. I already have one degree where there is difficulty in getting a job, so I don't want to put myself on the same path again. So, I made the regretful decision that I'm not going to be able to pursue this.


It's back to the drawing board. I'm checking into some various associate's degrees. I think I'm giving up on finding a job that I love... A job doesn't define me as a person; it's just a means to get the money I need/want for life. Plenty of people hate their job, so maybe I will too.

But, really, it's been a huge disappointment. I'm really tired of wrenches getting thrown into my plans and it not working out. I have to fight so hard for everything and other people just get things handed to them. I know, life isn't fair, but geeze... could I catch a break just ONCE?!

Argh. Back to the drawing board. Back to stress & frustration.

It's ok to follow your passion

I've been going through a really large life struggle for quite some time... around 2.5 years to be exact. Only recently I have decided that it's time to face my "fears" and do what will make me happy.

More recently over the past few months I've been undergoing a huge life change with deciding to no longer pursue a career within education, my first degree.

It started out small, but I gained enough courage and now I'm getting somewhere. I wanted to write, because, I feel like everyone needs a reminder now and again that it's ok to change your mind and follow your dreams.

When one door closes, another one opens.

Everything with teaching for me was so hard. Nothing came easy. No long-term sub positions, no jobs, no interviews, etc. Ever since I decided that I wanted to follow my passion of fitness and go back to school for Exercise Science... things have been happening. Right now they are small, but to me... they are so significant. That maybe God does have His hand on my life afterall, and maybe there is a reason I've gone through everything I have to get to this point.

So here's a couple small, but important things that have happened thus far:

1. I got my Spinning certification.
- This may seem unimportant but the truth is, I had been wanting to get certified for over 2 years and NO certification workshops have come closer than a 4 hour drive, that is until March 2008. I was blessed with the opportunity to get certified and the workshop was only 15 minutes from my house! After all I've seen since then, I truly believe that this class happened for a reason. I was meant to be there.

2. I applied for, and got accepted to graduate school to pursue my Master's in Exercise Science.
- Again, you may be thinking, yeah woo, everyone goes to grad school... BUT, I have no official schooling in Exercise Science, so the fact that they believed I can do it, is a big deal. I'm excited.

3. I've been self-teaching myself exercise physiology and retaining about 60-70% of what I read.
- This may seem like a "bad grade" when you think percentage wise, but you know what? I am reading a text book, and taking notes. That is it. No lectures, no real world examples, nada. Just myself and a book. And for that, 60-70% is pretty damn good.

4. I got my own Spinning classes. (Yes plural!)
- The local university has a spinning studio (that's where I first fell in love) and they hire certified students to teach. Since I'm no longer a student I shouldn't be able to teach-- but I am. I am teaching 4 classes a week and I absolutely wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I am so lucky to be able to do something I love and get paid for it.

5. Lastly, my big news is the YMCA.
- Very soon I will be also teaching some classes at the YMCA. I am so excited. When you teach 2 classes a week you get a free membership, woohoo! I will have a lot of opportunities for work this summer with summer camps, boot camps, "The Y Way" (Weightloss program like Biggest Loser only it's safe and effective. I HATE the BL, but that's another rant on it's on.) and other things.

I am so excited. The best part is this. After 6 months of employment the YMCA will pay for me to get ANY certification I want. (They will pay for half of a personal trainer cert) That means I can go to any Y Certification program (or really anything!!) and they will pay for it. They will pay for me to be a yoga teacher, a pilates teacher, resistence bands, cardio, step, etc, Silver Sneakers, etc, etc, etc. This is amazing. This is... this is exactly what I needed.

I closed one door, and so many small and great things are happening so far.

I am really glad I decided to follow my heart.

Welcome!

Welcome to From the Classroom to the Clinic! This blog has been a thought in process for quite some time, and I am finally bringing it to reality.

When I decided that I wanted to change my entire life and become a physical therapist it was a really scary, although exciting, thing. I spent hours on the internet looking up all the information I could about physical therapy and the schooling that you go through. Although I found some great information sources (I personally recommend the forums over at www.studentdoctor.net - they are great!) I was surprised that there wasn't really that much out there.

So, with that in mind I decided that I wanted to document my entire experience of physical therapy schooling from the moment I decided I was going to change my life (before I knew PT was the answer) all the way through to my graduation day (I hope!)

I only hope to shed some light on the wonderful world of physical therapy through this and document my own struggles and victories as I go through this amazing learning experience.

Come, join me!