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Considering Personal Qualities while Career Searching

PhTh 102 Health Professions

Desirable Characteristics
Organizational skills Team work Integration of knowledge Evaluative skills Focused on continuity of care and service Responsibility and dependability Cognitive skill Technological skill Communication skills (Oral/written/computer) Confidence

Recognizing your interests, values and abilities, helps you to make a good career choice. When you know your interests early in your career search, you can identify careers that use those interests.

Interests
Your interests tell what you do and do not like to do.
For instance, if you like to work alone, a career in direct patient/client care probably is not right for you. Working in one of the computer areas might be better.

If you discover that many of the tasks listed in an occupation are not interesting to you, reconsider your choice

Values
A value is the importance that you place on various elements in your life.
Money might be more important to you than leisure time. Working with people might be more important to you than what shift you work.

Knowing what values you feel most strongly about helps you avoid compromising the things that are most important to you.

Values
Recognizing your values helps you prioritize your work-related values, such as
job security leisure time wages recognition creativity advancement working environment home life responsibility management

Job security
Is it important that you find a job immediately upon the completion of your training program? How important is job availability?

Leisure time.
Is it important for you to have extra time for leisure activities?

Wages
Is an average wage acceptable if you like your work, or is a very high wage necessary?

Recognition
Is it important that the job you choose is respected by the people in your community?

Creativity
Do you like to come up with new ideas to solve problems, or Do you prefer a job in which there is exactly one way to do things?

Advancement
Do you want a career that provides opportunities for promotion?

Working environment
Do you prefer to work indoors or outdoors?

Home life
Do you want to work a day time schedule (9 to 5) with some overtime and with weekends and holidays off, or Are you willing to do shift work (all hours, any day of the week)?

Responsibility
Do you want a job that requires you to make a number of decisions?

Management
Do you want to be responsible for supervising the work of other people or for organizing many tasks at once?

All of these factors affect your job choice. As part of the next assignment you will make a list of these work values and put them in order of their importance to you. When you research an occupation, refer to your list so you do not choose a job that conflicts with many of your values.

ABILITIES
An ability is something you do well. You have many abilities.
For example, you may work well with your hands, or you may be very good at mathematics.

It is much more pleasant to work in an occupation that uses your abilities.

If you choose an occupation that is too far below your ability level, you will be bored. If it is too far above your ability level, you will be frustrated. It is important to evaluate your abilities during your career search. List your abilities, and use the list when researching an occupation. Match your abilities to the job description.

Personal Characteristics
Certain personal characteristics, attitudes, and rules of appearance apply to health care workers in all health careers. Every health care worker must constantly strive to develop the necessary characteristics and to present a professional appearance. A professional appearance helps inspire confidence and a positive self-image.

Good health is an important part of appearance


eating correctly obtaining adequate rest exercising daily observing the rules of good posture avoiding the use of tobacco, alcohol, and drugs

Wearing the appropriate uniform or appropriate clothing and shoes is essential to projecting the proper image. Proper hair and nail care, good personal hygiene, and limited makeup also help create a professional appearance.

Personal characteristics
Honesty, dependability, patience, enthusiasm, responsibility, discretion, and competence are essential. In addition, health care workers must be willing to learn and to accept criticism. These characteristics must be practiced and learned.

Teamwork is important in any health care career


Interdisciplinary health care teams provide quality health care to every patient. Teamwork improves communication and continuity of care. A picture of the patients total care plan is clear when the role of each team member is known.

T.E.A.M.
T ogether E veryone A ccomplishes M ore
Teamwork and team building are essential if you & your fellow workers expect to accomplish goals

Leadership
In order for a team to function effectively it needs a qualified leader, good interpersonal relationships, ways to avoid or deal with conflict, positive attitudes, and respect for legal responsibilities. Effective teams are the result of hard work, patience, commitment, and practice.

Leadership
Leadership is a skill that can be learned by mastering the characteristics of a leader. A leader may or may not be a supervisor; any member of a group that contributes to the groups goals can be considered a leader. Of the three types of leaders, democratic, laissez-faire, and autocratic, the democratic leader is the most effective for group interaction.

Stress
A component in every individuals life. Stress can be good or bad, depending on the persons perception of and reaction to the stress. By being aware of the causes of stress, learning how to respond when a stress reaction occurs, solving problems to eliminate stress, and practicing techniques to reduce the effect of stress, an individual can deal with stress and even benefit from it.

Time management
An effective time management plan will reduce stress, help an individual attain goals, increase self-confidence, lead to a healthier lifestyle, and provide quality time for rest and relaxation.

Time management system


Practical skills that allow you to use time in the most effective and productive way possible.
analyzing how one actually uses the time available establishing short- and long-term goals prioritizing tasks that must be accomplished identifying habits and preferences preparing written to do lists and crossing off work that has been completed planning work carefully avoiding distractions taking credit for a job well done

The Americans with Disabilities Act


Was passed in 1990

The law is enforced by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and State and local civil rights enforcement agencies that work with the Commission

Americans with Disabilities Act


The ADA makes it unlawful to discriminate in employment against a qualified individual with a disability. The ADA also outlaws discrimination against individuals with disabilities in State and local government services, public accommodations, transportation and telecommunications.

Essential Functions
Essential functions are the basic job duties that an employee must be able to perform, with or without reasonable accommodation. You should carefully examine each profession to determine which functions or tasks are essential to performance.

How Are Essential Functions Determined?


Judgment as to which functions are essential, and a written job description will be considered as evidence of essential functions. Other kinds of evidence that can be considered include:
the actual work experience of present or past employees in the job, the time spent performing a function

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS FOR PT STUDENTS


Because an MPT degree, accompanied by a certificate of completion of academic and clinical requirements, signifies that the holder is eligible to sit for the examination for PT licensing and is prepared for entry into the profession, graduates must have the knowledge and skills to function in a broad variety of clinical, private, community, or school based situations and to render a wide spectrum of physical therapy services. Therefore, the following abilities and expectations must be met by all students admitted to the program.

Observation
The candidate must be able to observe demonstrations and learn from experiences in the basic sciences and in the clinical physical therapy laboratory such as
accurately read dials on electrotherapeutic equipment accurately read numbers on a goniometer hear heart and breath sounds assess normal and abnormal color changes in the skin and observe pupil changes

Communication
includes speech, reading and writing.
The candidate must be able to
assimilate information from written sources (texts, journals, medical/school records, etc.) attain, comprehend, retain, and utilize new information presented in written formats as well as produce appropriate written documentation speak, hear and observe patients in order to elicit information, describe changes in mood, activity and posture and perceive nonverbal communications communicate effectively and efficiently in oral and written form with all members of the health care team

Response time to emergency/ crises situations, as well as more routine communication must be appropriate to the situation.

Sensorimotor
must have gross motor, fine motor and equilibrium functions reasonably required to carry out assessments (palpation, auscultation, percussion and other diagnostic maneuvers) and to provide physical therapy intervention. should be able to execute motor movements required to provide therapeutic intervention (patient transfers, exercise and application of electrotherapy) and emergency treatment to patients. quick reactions are necessary not only for safety, but for one to respond therapeutically. actions require coordination of both gross and fine muscular movements, equilibrium and functional use of the senses of touch and vision.

Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative and Quantitative Problem Solving should have cognitive abilities Candidates

including measurements, calculation, reasoning, analysis and synthesis. Problem solving, the critical skill demanded of physical therapists requires all of these intellectual abilities. In addition, the applicant should be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships to understand the spatial relationships of structures.

Judgment
The candidate will be expected to demonstrate judgment in classroom, laboratory, and clinical settings which shows an ability to make mature, sensitive and effective decisions in the following areas:
relationships with supervisors, peers and patients/clients professional behavior the effectiveness of intervention and research strategies.

He/she must demonstrate an understanding of the rationale and justification for his/her performance.

Behavioral and Social Attributes


Candidates must possess the emotional health required to utilize their intellectual abilities fully, exercise good judgment, complete all responsibilities attendant to the physical therapy diagnosis and care of patients, and the development of mature, sensitive and effective relationships with patients and their families.

Behavioral and Social Attributes


Candidates must be able to tolerate physically taxing workloads and to function effectively under stress. They must be able to adapt to changing environments, to display flexibility and to learn to function in the face of uncertainties inherent in the clinical problems of many patients/clients. Compassion, integrity, concern for others, interpersonal communication skills, interest and motivation are all personal qualities that are assessed during the education process.

References
Chapter 3 in the text The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (http://www.eeoc.gov/facts/ada17.html) Essential functions adopted by the California State University Fresno Physical Therapy program

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