Physical therapists are essential members of an interprofessional health care team, according to the MGH Institute of Health Professions. They should be prepared to act as patients’ first point of contact with the healthcare system, which entails working closely with patients, family members, and the community.
Physical therapists must engage with and respect a complex, multifaceted society in a kind, humanistic, responsible, and sensitive manner. Physical therapists have a duty to comprehend how their clinical judgments interact with the ethical and financial management of the environment in which they work, while also advocating for their patients and the welfare of society as a whole.
The professors agree that active adult learning is a strategy in which students use ongoing interpretive and reflective processes to combine prior and current learning. This best occurs in a learning environment where faculty, students, and graduates consistently strive for clinical excellence and professionalism.
Benefits of setting PT career goals
The benefits of setting goals for your physical therapy career are as follows:
Achieve professional growth
Knowing your career goals can help you advance professionally. You can advance your knowledge and take on intellectual challenges to become a better physical therapist. The objective and your strategy for achieving it can also act as a road map for career advancement.
Gain more career satisfaction
Setting PT career objectives can also give you something to anticipate while you work. Your motivation to overcome obstacles and perform well at work will increase the more fulfilled you feel about your work. Planning for rewards that excite you about your industry can help break up the monotony and prolong your career.
Provide a sense of accomplishment
Once your efforts pay off, you can feel proud of yourself and feel accomplished. Reaching your professional goals in PT can be an occasion to recognize your tenacity and the improvement of your employment status. You can increase your chances of feeling a sense of accomplishment once more by applying the lessons you learned on your journey to future endeavors.
Persevere through career hardships
Career aspirations can serve as sources of motivation. For instance, when you have a busy schedule or are dealing with challenging cases, your PT career goals can indicate that things will get better. Think about setting goals to keep your attention on your desired destination.
How to set PT career goals
To determine and achieve your career goals aspirations as a physical therapist, follow these steps:
1. Visualize your ideal results
The ideal outcomes depict the type of PT career that you hope to pursue in the future. Think about your professional goals as a healthcare provider for the next few months or years. It may be relevant to learning opportunities, working conditions, and new skills. Other examples include the variety of PT cases, the flexibility of the schedule, and the salaries. Your aspirations for your career can help you set objectives and plan how to get there.
2. Perform background research
Your aspirations may require you to have a connection to physical therapy. To assess the potential of your PT career and narrow down your career goals, do some background research. You can examine the accomplishments of someone who shares your qualifications, location, and interests. For instance, if you want to earn significantly more money, you might research the working conditions and places of residence of physical therapists in the state where you want to live.
Do some research on how competitive the job market is where you want to work. In order to predict the longevity of your career, you can also consider the projected growth in employment for physical therapists over the next 10 years. For instance, after gaining expertise in the field, you might think about moving to a city with more PT job opportunities. Learn what goals are attainable for you. Possessing a practical vision can help you work at your own pace and better manage your resource access.
3. Identify available resources
Resources can help you accomplish your PT career goals. Determine the financial and social resources that are at your disposal. Consider the costs of taking the courses and getting accepted to take the exam, for instance, if you want to earn a professional certification. Make sure you have access to or a strategy for gaining access to resources relevant to the objective you’re attempting to achieve.
4. Create a timeline
A timeline indicates how long you anticipate it will take you to accomplish your PT career goals. You can use it to keep track of your development and learn when you’ll be in a position to achieve your ideal job status. Think about constructing your schedule based on the conditions necessary to achieve your goals. The timeline, for instance, might be the number of years it would take you to complete another degree if you wanted to continue your education in the field of medicine. Verify that your timeline is appropriate for the goal you are attempting to accomplish. Consider allowing extra time in case your vision changes.
5. Distinguish short-term and long-term goals
Your PT career objectives may come true in the near future or in the years to come. Make a distinction between your short-term goals and your long-term goals when you envision the next stage of your professional career. Consider the accomplishments you can achieve in the coming weeks or months as well as potential rewards that might require a greater commitment.
For instance, if you have the credentials and financial means to relocate immediately, your goal of working at a metropolitan hospital might be considered a short-term goal. Owning your own outpatient center may be a long-term objective for you because you want to develop your leadership skills and hire qualified specialists to work with you. Differentiating your objectives can also impact how quickly you achieve them. Setting both short- and long-term goals can help you achieve significant advancement throughout your PT career.
Tips for setting PT career goals
Review the following advice for more information on setting career goals for physical therapists:
Promote your goals
You can remind yourself of the value of your labor when you advance your goals. Think about listing your desired accomplishments in writing and placing them somewhere you can see them frequently. You could, for instance, use a digital version on your phone’s lock screen or hang them on your bedroom mirror. Promotion can serve as a constant source of motivation. If you’re facing difficulties in your career, reading your goals will help you realize that the sacrifices you make are worthwhile. They can also provide you with information on what to do next to advance.
Reserve time for leisure activities
It can be crucial to set aside time for your personal life even though your career may be important to you. You can take a break and evaluate your achievements, which can help you focus better when you get back to work. Practice engaging in fulfilling activities for yourself, such as engaging in your passions and spending time with loved ones. You can plan your workday so that you have a good work-life balance. You could resolve not to work on career-related issues after dark or to set aside one weekend each month to unwind after work, for example.
Find a mentor
A mentor is a business expert who can assist you in pursuing your goals for a career in physical therapy. They can offer you psychological and emotional support as you work to improve your abilities. They can also provide feedback and track your advancement toward your objectives. Choose a mentor who you know and can rely on, like a former instructor or manager. Ask about job openings in the area and for advice on how to sell yourself to potential employers. In order to apply the lessons to your own career, you can also learn about anecdotes from the mentors’ PT work experience.
Establish milestones
Milestones show how far you’ve come in achieving your PT career objectives. They can demonstrate that you’re moving in the right direction and finishing tasks in the order you intended. When you reach your goals, you can celebrate them, which can keep you inspired and maintain a positive outlook on your journey. Consider establishing two or three milestones related to your overall missions for every career goal you set. If your long-term professional objective is to triple your caseload, for instance, your milestones might be raising your patient load by 10%, 15%, and 25%.
Modify with new information
Your goals may change over the course of your physical therapy career as your interests evolve and you pick up new skills. When your desired outcomes differ from what you initially expected, think about changing your career plan. You can make sure you’re still working hard and getting things done. You may be able to seek out new resources to assist you in achieving your goals as a result of the changes. For instance, you might change your goals to allow time to pursue other employment types if you decide to work as an independent contractor rather than a permanent employee at a hospital.
Setting Professional Goals to Grow! PT/OT Professional Development
FAQ
What are the career goals of a physical therapist?
An individual’s ability to function in society should be maximized by a physical therapist by addressing prevention, wellness, and rehabilitation across the lifespan and in a variety of settings.
What are professional goals examples?
- Take a course to sharpen your skills.
- Learn a new tool (or 5)
- Improve your public speaking and presentations.
- Research other departments.
- Improve team collaboration and communication skills.
- Build your network.
- Research a competitor.
- Get better at time management.
What is a personal professional goal?
SMART goals are objectives that are precise, measurable, achievable, pertinent, and time-bound. Your objective should be stated in your goal in a clear and specific manner. It ought to be a target that you can measure to monitor your progress and have a target completion date.
