3 answers
Christian
Student
Kerrville, Texas
6
Questions
Asked
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What character traits would a person need to become a therapist?
#therapist #physical-therapist #therapy
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3 answers
Deanne Smith
physical therapist
5
Answers
Cupertino, California
Updated
Deanne’s Answer
A physical therapist should be honest, ethical, patient, compassionate, logical, enjoy solving problems, and have lots of common sense. Liking people and being likable are equally important, since your therapy may only be as effective as the degree to which you are accepted and liked by your patients.
Sreethar Venkatesan
Rehab Manager
1
Answer
Buffalo Grove, Illinois
Updated
Sreethar’s Answer
A Physical therapist should be a people person. Love to meet new people with differing attitudes and mentalities. Able to keep stress at bay because many corporates require rather high work demands.
Lauren T
Physical Therapist Assistant
24
Answers
Joliet, Illinois
Updated
Lauren’s Answer
Deanne's answer checks off all the boxes! I agree with those.
Compassion is important. Compassion for helping others is what gets you through your work day. I would think that most people choose to be healthcare providers because they like helping people. It's extremely satisfying work. If I were lucky enough to not have to work, I would still want to do the work to some capacity because I enjoy it so much.
You don't have to be upbeat/perky/outgoing necessarily, but it comes back to compassion. If you love helping people, they're going to notice that you care and that could lead to more positive interactions. You will need to be good at communicating with people, so it would make it more difficult to be so shy and unsure of yourself that you're not able to do that. You will be up close and hands-on with patients and will be constantly interacting with them.
I am empathetic. So when I work with a patient I like to be able to relate to them which for me has made it easier to gain rapport and respect from a patient, or easier to have a conversation or keep them engaged in PT. Part of the patient's PT plan of care is setting functional goals for them to achieve. Maybe it's really important to them to be able to sit down and play board games with their grandkids. So your functional goal will be to improve tolerance to prolonged sitting or reaching away from their body to perform activities of daily living (ADLs). So you won't necessarily write down "play board games" in their paperwork, but you will know that this is important to them and can customize functional exercises for them to simulate playing a board game, or remind them and encourage them to work hard because this will help them achieve their personal goal.
Be the bright spot in your patient's day. They may be going through struggles you don't understand and it might mean more than you think that you are so kind to them.
Compassion is important. Compassion for helping others is what gets you through your work day. I would think that most people choose to be healthcare providers because they like helping people. It's extremely satisfying work. If I were lucky enough to not have to work, I would still want to do the work to some capacity because I enjoy it so much.
You don't have to be upbeat/perky/outgoing necessarily, but it comes back to compassion. If you love helping people, they're going to notice that you care and that could lead to more positive interactions. You will need to be good at communicating with people, so it would make it more difficult to be so shy and unsure of yourself that you're not able to do that. You will be up close and hands-on with patients and will be constantly interacting with them.
I am empathetic. So when I work with a patient I like to be able to relate to them which for me has made it easier to gain rapport and respect from a patient, or easier to have a conversation or keep them engaged in PT. Part of the patient's PT plan of care is setting functional goals for them to achieve. Maybe it's really important to them to be able to sit down and play board games with their grandkids. So your functional goal will be to improve tolerance to prolonged sitting or reaching away from their body to perform activities of daily living (ADLs). So you won't necessarily write down "play board games" in their paperwork, but you will know that this is important to them and can customize functional exercises for them to simulate playing a board game, or remind them and encourage them to work hard because this will help them achieve their personal goal.
Be the bright spot in your patient's day. They may be going through struggles you don't understand and it might mean more than you think that you are so kind to them.