Degree After Degree: Doctor Gleim’s Journey of Physical Therapy
The health professional I interviewed is Doctor Meg Gleim. Doctor Gleim is a physical therapist at Pivot Physical Therapy. Entry into the field of physical therapy when she began her path to achieving her career began with earning a bachelors of science in physical therapy, which changed to a masters of health science with an emphasis on orthopedic therapy, and now as of about 2018/19 requires a doctorate. She has her transitional doctorate of physical therapy and a certification in orthopedic physical therapy.
When Meg was an athlete in hs she played volleyball and softball. She saw the trainers helping the athletes and thought what they were doing was cool. Initially, she wanted to be an athletic trainer, but a friend sparked her interest in a different path. Her highschool friend wanted to be an orthopedic trainer for the elderly. Doctor Gleim did not want to specialize in geriatrics, so she went the physical therapist route.
As a physical therapist Meg’s first responsibility upon meeting a patient is completing an evaluation of her patient’s physical complaints. She asks about their problems, does measurements of range of motion and strength. Next, she then presents her assessment to the patient of what she found good or bad during the evaluation and why she believes they have the pain/ problem. Finally, she comes up with a treatment plan to help their problem.
Doctor Gleim loves meeting and getting to know all of the different people she meets through her occupation. The most rewarding part of her job is when her patients tell her that she’s changed their life because they can now do something they couldn’t before thanks to her. An example she gave was about a woman who initially came to her with back pain, which developed into neck and shoulder pain. After months of treatment with Doctor Gleim, the patient was finally able to make a car trip from Virginia to Ohio. She deeply thanked Meg and told her that before treatment she would not have been able to make this trip. Instances such as this are what makes the profession of physical therapy so rewarding. Doctor Gleim was surprised to learn how many people don’t work out on a regular basis. Many of these people are older, and either don’t currently do any exercise, or for some, have never exercised regularly. She had found that the most challenging aspect of physical therapy is trying to get patients to buy into her treatment plans and why they need to do the exercises that will help their problem. She attributes this mistrust of the process to patients’ past failed experiences with the field of physical therapy.
Advice she had for anyone getting into the health field is to do lots of observation. She recommends this because it is a good way to find what you do or don’t want to do with your career. She also says to be patient. There’s so many paths in health, so take the time to find what you truly want to pursue. Doctor Gleim says she may have been a PA if she had known about it at the time, so find what you like and don’t like. However, she still loves the path she chose and recommends the field of physical therapy. From this interview I took away that healthcare is an ever changing and rewarding field that requires a lot of hard work and studying that still pays off.