Week 1.13.14

This week my blog will be focused on plans for my final project...

     First off, my final project is going to be focused on strokes, how they affect a person/their brain, and how people recover from them. I'm very interested in this because after interning at a physical therapy place, I've decided it might not be the career path just for me. However, I'm still interested in the human brain and how it works. Strokes are the perfect topic because they have to do with the brain, and physical therapy, so I can enjoy what I'm doing and still use my mentor as a resource in my project.
My current essential question: 
How will I compare and contrast different types of strokes in order to understand and create a situation regarding a rehabilitation plan for a hypothetical stroke patient?
This EQ has not changed from earlier in the year because I have not changed my mind about my project. I will be a hypothetical physical therapist who will create a rehabilitation plan for my hypothetical stroke patient.
     For my project, I will have to create a website that houses all of my work. In addition to this website I'm thinking about using an online tool that makes "webs". This would be a sort of brainstorming or outlining for my final patient plan. These "webs" are like bubbles with different words or ideas in them that then connect to smaller and larger ideas. An example and explanation of a "web" can be found at, http://www.inspiration.com/visual-learning/brainstorming-webs .
     For the "real inquiry" part of my project, which simply means going further than plain research, I'm thinking I'll do a few interviews. Next weeks HMP assignment will be to come up with 10 questions and interview someone who knows about your field of research. I was thinking I could do a few more interviews of different people (with the same questions), and then I could put them all side by side to compare them. I will probably come up with more "real inquiry" ideas as the project progresses, but for now I think the multiple interviews could be cool.

Week 1.21.14

     In regards to this semester, I think the most memorable experience I've had was when I found out one of the patients at my mentorship had passed away. He was an older man who had been working with the physical therapists for a while, and he wasn't focusing on anything specific, just mostly motor skills and basic strengthening. One day he didn't show up for his appointment, and then my mentor got a call that he had passed. It was shocking to all the therapists and interns I was working with, because this man seemed to be improving every time he came in. He was also one of the most happy people I've ever met, and I didn't even know him that long, barely even 3 months.

     This experience taught me that even in a career field like physical therapy, sad things can happen. However, I think that it would still be a great career, because I would be able to help so many people, even if some things did go wrong along the way. This patient was a great man and was always filled with joy, but that didn't give him eternal life here on earth. I think the most important lesson I've learned at my mentorship came from this experience, and it was that even though death happens, we have to be able to move on and continue to help others.

     This event has helped prepare me for later in life, when I will have to deal with the deaths of others. This was enlightening because I have never experienced death in my family or friends, and it made me realize how very real it is. I guess I just really realized that I will never see this man walk into my mentorship again. I'll never see his smile, or hear him joke around with the therapists ever again. I think this wonderful man's passing was just a big, first time experience for me that I will remember the rest of my life.

     As far as relating this experience to a future career in physical therapy, I think this teaches me that I need to be prepared for sad things to happen (no matter what career I choose). In physical therapy, I think the good done for others outweighs any kind of bad things I may experience. Being able to continue to help people when a patient passes or even just re-injures themselves after months of therapy would still be beneficial. In whatever career pathway I go down, I will have to go through situations like this, but I need to be able to see the glass half-full.