Accepted!... but my concerns/fears about DPT school

[BranBran]

---

Members don't see this ad.

Posted this in the PT forum but pre-PT is more active so maybe more people can give me their input/advice...

Hello! So I was recently accepted into a competitive in-state DPT school, and the program begins next fall! There have been a few major fears that have been thinking about in regards to PT school. Please let me know how you feel about what I'm feeling or if you are feeling the same or different about beginning PT school.

1) The possibility of Burnout: I already feel exhausted and I'm only in undergrad.. What if I get to the 2nd or 3rd year then fail? I'll have a lot of debt and no license to work as a PT. I can't imagine having class 8am-5pm 5 days a week then studying 40 hours a week on top of that. I don't know if I could keep that up for 3 years straight! I am so passionate about PT and could not do anything else, but just because I have a fire and passion, does not mean I won't get burned out. Also, exercise is a good way to refresh and prevent burnout, but I had hip surgery over the summer for my labrum and that ****ed it up even worse... so it might be awhile before I can exercise. (I was obsessed with running)

2) Having "No Life" for 3 years: I'll be entering PT school at 20 years old.. so, I just feel like there is a lot that I want to do and experience before the 3 years of being locked in. There's so much to life that I feel like I haven't experienced or uncovered (for this reason I'm considering a gap year). I know I'll love what I'm studying, but studying is not the ONLY thing that I want to do.

3) Not being able to meet the physical demands of the job: as stated above, my hip is not doing hot. I've had severe chronic hip pain for 4 years and have seen probably 100 medical professionals who have tried to help me. It is to the point where it is making it difficult to do ADLs (getting out of bed, picking something up, etc). I've had 9 months of PT, steroid injections, nerve blocks, ~10 different medications, chiro, acupuncture, massage therapy, labrum surgery, prolotherapy, AND MORE, and I'm still in a lot of pain. I feel like if I don't solve this before PT school, I won't have time to figure it out during school. And, when I get to clinicals, I will auto-fail because PTs MUST be physically capable for the safety of patients and efficiency of doing work. It is difficult because my hip is why I wanted to become a physical therapist. But now, it is what might stop me from becoming a PT!

4) Debt: I don't want to sell my life to student loans for the rest of my life... financial security is so important to me.

Reasons I would want to go straight to PT school:

1) I am so passionate about PT.. my undergrad success is not a result from my intelligence, but is a result because of my drive. I cannot do anything else. I need to help people who have dealt with pain and injury like I have. I need to be there for the patients that are going through hell physically, mentally, and emotionally because of their injuries/conditions.

2) Would be cool to graduate at 23...

3) Don't want to "waste time" with a gap year... even though a gap year might be helpful for my physical/mental health.

Such a difficult decision for me... I want to go straight to grad school but maybe I should take a year off to take care of myself and refresh. Please let me know what you think! I'm torn. THANKS SO MUCH

 

[green_machine]

Don't romanticize the gap year! Unless your parents or a partner are willing to support you, you will need to work to eat and keep a roof over your head. If you have student loans, those will come due. Keep the momentum going. You'll be fine!
This coming from a nontrad who got somewhat stuck in a rut of wanting to change but needing to pay said bills.

 

[laurog1]

- In my personal opinion, I think the problems with your hip alone give you plenty of reason to wait on school for a little while. Though I'm not in PT school yet, I'm currently applying/interviewing and I'm trying to prepare myself for the hardest 3 years of my life in terms of studying. We all know the job is very physical, I think you should try to get your hip better as best you can! One of my college roommates was dealing with a variety of not overly serious, but still inconvenient health problems while trying to do nursing clinicals, and it was really tough to miss class and clinical for appointments.
- I had envisioned myself going right into PT school after college, but around junior year had a change of heart. I graduated from college in May and have been working as a PT aide since. I certainly was feeling the burnout in the end, and I have no idea how some of my classmates started PT school 2 weeks after we finished undergrad. While it is helpful that you would have the entire summer off, depending on your school that likely could be the longest break you have for the rest of your education. There is a 2nd year PT student in my clinic right now, and he loves being on clinical vs. in the classroom. But even though he isn't sitting in class, he works long days with his CI, who is always challenging him and making him think really critically (good things!), and on weekends he has assignments he has to send to his professors. So clinical seems to be a break in some ways, but definitely not in others. My experience working over the last 6 months has definitely made me an advocate for some time off. A coworker of mine went to a PT school interview and they asked him to describe his most challenging semester of undergrad - for him it was working part time, challenging courses, and being a collegiate athlete. Their response: PT school will be 10 times harder than that, all the time. Scary to think about, but I have yet to find anyone who says that it's not that hard. I say give yourself some time to breathe. Working full time made paying for my applications a little less daunting, and I've learned SO much, at least about outpatient ortho. I can't imagine entering a clinical rotation without this experience under my belt. I'll be 23 when I enter PT school (if I get in this cycle). In the grand scheme of life, 1-2 years isn't a whole lot, especially if you're trying to get yourself healthy and get some experience. I have to keep reminding myself that I won't be old if I graduate at 26, haha. We hopefully have plenty of years of work and life ahead of us! Several of my friends who had PT school interviews senior year said that many faculty members encouraged them to take time off. And some schools do offer the option to defer.
- And the debt is certainly a real concern. I still hear so many different views about it from PT's and management on whether it is worth it or not (trying not to let it deter me). If PT is where you want to wind up, I think you can do it regardless of whether you do it now or in a few years. If you gained acceptance now, you clearly must have good stats and good recommendations. I would think some time working could only make you a more competitive applicant!

That's just what I think, knowing nothing else about you, haha. Congratulations on your acceptance (pretty early too!), and I hope you find some solutions for that hip problem!

 

[dptjk]

Just a couple things. not in any particular order, and not addressing all of your concerns.

1. No matter WHEN you start, you WILL at SOME POINT question whether or not you should have chosen PT school.
2. But at SOME POINT, you WILL REALIZE that you made the RIGHT decision.
3. It's definitely not 3 years of no life. It is one year that is very hard work, and it gets pretty bad during midterms and finals. Not only do you have time to chill out, but you need to make time to relax here and there in order to maintain focus and not "burn out". The 2nd and 3rd year you will be doing more clinical rotations, and if you find those experiences to be miserable, then you definitely should not be pursuing PT, since those will be pretty close to real work life.
(If you are in PT school and you find that you have NO LIFE and have to study ALL DAY, then you are 1. studying ineffectively 2. studying distracted 3. not taking care of your health. I have classmates who have families and still do well. EFFICIENCY is key.)
4. I am a PT student in my first year and yes, I have had doubts. When you're in the midst of studying for 8 different classes and preparing for exams it gets overwhelming and you start to forget why you're doing all this.
5. But once you get through it, you will shock yourself at how much information you've retained and you will gain a confidence that you are actually capable of taking on such a demanding profession.
6. In terms of starting too soon/too late, I have heard both sides. I have classmates who just turned 22, and I have classmates in their 40's. For the most part, it seems that most of my classmates wish they would have started sooner. I honestly don't really see the point of "waiting," unless you're really unsure about PT. I don't see any benefit of "resting" a year or two after undergad, you'll be overwhelmed with your first semester at PT school regardless. The only thing that I will say is that my older classmates seem to have put a lot more thought and research into PT and they know exactly why they're doing this, they are more driven and motivated. I would say that is the main determining factor when it comes to academic performance, since pretty much all accepted applicants are good students.
7. For me personally, I think starting ASAP is good, because graduating a year sooner means another year of experience, another year of paying off loans, and in case you haven't noticed, prices for PT schools have not been going down. (Having said that, going into PT school with uncertainty of this being the profession for you is definitely not worth saving a couple $$)

 

[Azimuthal]

Be a hand therapist. Problem solved.

 

[uncwpt2018]

I'm a first year student that started 10 days after graduation and I can definitely relate to the fear of being burnt out, but if you are studying efficiently and make free time for yourself you shouldn't get too exhausted. HOWEVER there have been people in my class that haven't been able to manage their stress/time very well and it can become a problem. Being able to talk to classmates and professors as well as asking for help is crucial in managing stress.

I think the biggest reason you should wait is for your hip to get better. If you aren't able to complete your own ADLs, then you won't be able to safely interact with patients needing assistance which is required for your clinicals. A year off can help you earn money and give you some breathing room away from school as well.

 

[steveyk]

.