Let’s be honest we all want to be great and change the world, thats why we go to PT school (maybe thats not 100% true for everyone) but what really makes us GREAT Physical Therapists?
I have recently been on a quest, to find What makes a Great PT. My brain is very categorical and I like to be systematic so I have been observing and eliminating factors that I DON’T think make a PT great. I’m pulling an Edison on this question probably, by finding a 1000 things that don’t make a PT great to find that one (or few) things that really separate the Great from the good.
List of things that DON’T make you great:
- getting the best grades in school
- always going “by the book”
- being comfortable in your knowledge
- treating your work as just a job (no passion)
- being disconnected from other professionals
- doing it for the money
Possible IT factors:
- curiosity– Pursing new info, ways to treat, certifications, etc.
- passion– loving what you do! I don’t think enough weight can be put on this
- critical thought (challenging current thought)- challenging what you are actually doing
- creativity– Undervalued in PT I think. New ways to approach old issues.
- Willingness to teach- huge huge huge (Thanks Jimmy)
I have a few PTs in my immediate circle that are GREAT PTs and I am still trying to distinguish what it is that separates them from the rest. But the end result is a PT that gets good outcomes, is professional, is confident, is a leader, and is looked up to.
I want to be a Great PT and I want my classmates (you guys) to also. Maybe that is the it factor itself.
Hope this is helpful 🙂
(picture curtesy of pastormark.tv)
F3 Physical Therapy 
Fellow DPT student and I think you’re spot on with many of these qualities! I don’t think passion can be overstated – as PTs we should have a profession, not a job. In my experience one quality I may add would be a willingness to teach, both to rising PTs as well as to patients. Communication becomes vital in proper patient care, as well as furthering the profession, by being both available and willing to teach/mentor DPT students who are searching, like you and I, to become GREAT PTs instead of simply seeing patients until the day is over.
Great insight above, best of luck to ya!
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Thanks Jimmy! Thats massive, I’m going to add it in there!
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