Garret Kerkvliet

Mr. Rudebusch

Big Stone Therapies

4/8/21

Reflection

For my senior project, I decided to study and observe the physical therapy field. This project

took around 30 hours of working between my research, shadowing, product, portfolio, and

presentation. The majority of this time was spent shadowing Big Stone Therapies in Watertown, SD,

and creating a final product. With the 20 hours of shadowing and 5 hours of research, planning, and

intense thought on my product, this led to about 25 hours. The last 5 hours consisted of coming up with

a research topic to base my essay upon.

Throughout my senior project, I faced many difficulties. The most difficult part about my

senior project was creating the product. At first, I was clueless about what I should create. Once I

figured out that I was going to make a treatment plan, it was just as difficult. To overcome this problem

that I was almost clueless about, I had to research, plan, and contact my shadowing mentor to find the

most efficient way to create the product. Another challenge that I experienced was time management.

With my participation in multiple sports along with receiving homework in my other classes, it became

a very stressful, and overwhelming obstacle that I felt I would never overcome. In order to get past this

obstacle, I had to sacrifice a few things. For example, I wouldn’t be able to hang out with my friends

until I finished my assignments, otherwise they never would have been completed. In the end, I

managed my time pretty well after much more concentration and focus on the project.
 By shadowing Big Stone Therapies, I was able to see the daily life of a physical therapist. Since

I was leaning more towards a career in exercise science, this was a perfect opportunity to see whether or

not I would want to pursue a career in that field. The job of a physical therapist is very demanding. It

requires great focus and concentration in order to do a good job. It is very important to have

communication skills in this field. Without good communication, the patient or therapist may never

click with each other, which could lead to poor therapy. Between all of these observations, I came to a

much better understanding of whether or not I want to pursue a career in physical therapy or not. I

learned a lot on how their job operates, which will better prepare my future endeavors. Nearing the

end of this project, I have found that I may be pushing more towards an athletic training career of sorts,

which will deal more with athletes. Overall, this was a great experience for me because I learned so

much not only about the physical therapy field, but also about myself and what I may want to pursue.

In the near future, I will be able to use all that I have learned from this experience to be

successful in whatever I do. It has taught me to be a focused, but relaxed and fun individual. Working

with the patients and coworkers will be much more bearable with the right communication. These

traits that I have learned will be used throughout the rest of my life to further the educational, social,

and physical aspects of my life. In conclusion, I want to thank Mr. Rudebusch for this project, as it has

better prepared me for the real-world and what I should be expecting. It was a very unique experience

that will be carried with me for many years to come.