First Year Blues

[AlanWattsBlues]

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Anyone else a bit disappointed upon entering school? We're in the middle of our second semester now, and while I've enjoyed some of the more academic coursework (things like anatomy/neuro/path/research) anytime we start talking about the nuts and bolts of PT, I feel like I want to curl up in a ball.

Acute Care taught me that I don't want to be doing acute care (which I pretty much already knew). In Tests & Measures and Interventions, the conversation seems to be happening at such a basic level.... After class I can go on youtube and find personal trainers presenting more useful versions of what gets taught in lab, and it leaves me wondering just what in the world I've gotten myself into.

My hope is that things will pick up, that next year might involve some more engaging stuff.

Does this experience resonate with anyone else? Has anyone been through this and found it gets better later on?

 

[noyceguy]

PT school is just something you have to sit through until you get your first job and can start learning for real. Remember, you are there to learn a bunch of stuff that you need to pass the boards. It is not supposed to be intellectually stimulating. Lower your expectations, do the work, and it will be over soon.

 

[AlanWattsBlues]

It is not supposed to be intellectually stimulating. Lower your expectations, do the work, and it will be over soon.

I think this is going to be my new mantra.

 

[noyceguy]

You're welcome

 

[NewTestament]

It is not supposed to be intellectually stimulating. Lower your expectations, do the work, and it will be over soon.

It's not? I agree with the second part of your statement but I don't see the basis for your assertion that PT school is not "intellectually stimulating." What is intellectually stimulating?

Kevin

 

[PTMattI]

Once you get past the basic stuff in tests + measures (im guessing you are doing goniometry, manual muscle testing, special tests, etc..) and get into the more advanced stuff such as joints mobs, PNF and clinical reasoning in your musculoskeletal classes you will find it a lot more interesting

 

[jesspt]

PT school is just something you have to sit through until you get your first job and can start learning for real. Remember, you are there to learn a bunch of stuff that you need to pass the boards. It is not supposed to be intellectually stimulating. Lower your expectations, do the work, and it will be over soon.

Also, be sure to tell your potential boss at your first interview that you are now ready to "start learning for real, as PT school didn't seem to intellectually stimulating."

OP-

It sounds like you enjoyed the foundational science courses. As PTs, we can potentially effect change on an anatomical/physiological/neurophysiological level. How do we effect those changes? With our interventions. How do we prove those changes? With tests and measures. Your viewpoint is too myopic and you need to look at the bigger picture. All of these classes are important. That doesn't mean that they are all going to be as entertaining as Fallon and Timberlake skewering Twitter (#i'mold). They give you the necessary tools to become a practicing physical therapist but they can't give them all at once, or you'd be complaining that PT school is impossible rather than taking issue with having a few classes you find uninteresting.

 

[noyceguy]

Sorry, for me sitting in class for 6+ hours a day and listening to professors read off Powerpoints is not my idea of stimulating.

 

[DPTinUTAH]

That's how I felt too. My gut says if you know for sure PT is for you, than you will get through all the BS stuff just to man up and get the degree. It is the people who are not completely sold on the profession that have difficulty with sitting through all the non-stimulating stuff we deal with. I'll be honest, I never realized all the fluff that would be involved in this either. I've been more nonstimulated in PT school than I was when taking prereqs

 

[AlanWattsBlues]

Thanks for the comments, folks.

It's a means to an end. I guess it just feels better when you're not alone.

 

[AlanWattsBlues]

As PTs, we can potentially effect change on an anatomical/physiological/neurophysiological level. How do we effect those changes? With our interventions. How do we prove those changes? With tests and measures. Your viewpoint is too myopic and you need to look at the bigger picture.

We've been talking about expanding ROM at specific joints and strengthening specific parts of specific muscles so that it can be detected in specific ways. What that has to do with pain, or function, or things that anyone really cares about...well, they tell us it's beyond the scope of our current coursework.

I'd love to look at the bigger picture. I'd like to have that conversation.

 

[noyceguy]

We've been talking about expanding ROM at specific joints and strengthening specific parts of specific muscles so that it can be detected in specific ways. What that has to do with pain, or function, or things that anyone really cares about...well, they tell us it's beyond the scope of our current coursework.

I'd love to look at the bigger picture. I'd like to have that conversation.

The shame of it is that vast swaths of PT are extremely interesting. But class is not. So anytime you want to talk shop, hit me up. The best conversations I have are with my classmates when we are learning it on our own.

 

[AlanWattsBlues]

The shame of it is that vast swaths of PT are extremely interesting. But class is not. So anytime you want to talk shop, hit me up. The best conversations I have are with my classmates when we are learning it on our own.

Thanks noyceguy.

 

[Honus27]

I’ve been having the same feelings, AlanWattsBlues. Honestly, anatomy and studying the human body isn’t my passion. I know this is nerdy (not that that’s a bad thing), but I really love studying more theoretical subjects like math. I’ve even been studying math now when I’m in PT school (usually a few hours during the weekend and about an hour one or two days during the week). I know that it’s bad but I enjoy it and I love the mental challenge it gives, and it’s a break and fun hobby for me. I actually wish that I would have majored in math in college and taken biology courses on the side.

I realize though that PT is a great field that many people enjoy and recommend. I also realize that it would be long and expensive to pursue a math education (and I might not even like the careers involving math), and it would make my current undergrad degree (bio) useless. So, if I did change, I think I would want to switch to something like teaching biology because I also like the theoretical side of bio (like evolution and neuro) more than the practical side.

It’s not that I don’t want to help people. I think PTs and other medical professionals are amazing for doing what they do. However, I don’t know if I can manufacture the passion for the academic side of things (and thus be a good clinician). Also, I don’t think I would be too good at clinical reasoning - things like muscle length tests are already giving me trouble. Plus I’m very socially awkward, and don’t know if I could handle the clinicals let alone going out into the job for real. (I know it’s ridiculous to consider teaching - which requires public speaking every day - when I’m socially awkward. I’m just thinking that if I have more of a passion in the material, I might be more confident than I am now. Now I sort of feel that I’m “pretending” to enjoy class. Even though some material is interesting, the majority is not to me).

My question is, at what point do you pursue a career that’s not your main passion because it’s a great opportunity?

 

[noyceguy]

I have zero interest in the academic aspects of PT research. I hate sitting in class because the material is boring as heck - even the stuff I am interested in manages to be boring in PT school.

But I love working with people and rehabbing them so this is what keeps me going. Realize that school is just school - it's not the job of being a physical therapist.

 

[DPTinUTAH]

Like noyceguy said, schoolwork is just schoolwork. The real question is, when you are out on clinicals, are you enjoying the actual job and can you see yourself doing this as a career and not being burned out from disinterest or lack of passion? If the answer is YES, then you are pursuing the right career path and the academic portion of PT school is just a right of passage. If the answer is NO, then it may be time to consider other alternatives instead of burying a financial hole. In regards to your question above, I don't believe there is ever a time to just pursue something b/c its a "good opportunity". If your heart isn't in it, and ur not passionate about it, regardless of whether its a good opportunity or not, you will find yourself burned out and unhappy. I truly believe you can create what you believe is a "good opportunity" by finding your passion and working hard at whatever that might be.