Hannah Cook

Professional Roles

Dr. Boyd

June 14th, 2021

Background Belief

My name is Hannah Cook and I am a 22 year old female born and raised in Northern

Kentucky. You will never hear me say the actual city I am from unless directly asked because I

am a firm believer that no one outside of Northern Kentucky knows where the cities are at in

NKY, unless you are from Florence or Covington. I grew up in a household full of women, my

parents always say they were trying for a boy and I was the closest thing they had, so they

stopped trying. As the youngest of three girls, I consider myself the most intelligent and my

father will tell you that I am the favorite. He has said this to everyone, even in front of my other

sisters, my entire life. I think this is because I was always the most athletic and the least of their

problems all throughout grade school.

Growing up in a female oriented home, I believe most of my personal attributes and basic

moral principles derived from home. My house is full of a lot of personality, with every

individual being very outspoken. You have to be assertive to ensure your voice is heard and I

would consider my family to be full of strong independent women. My father never taught us to

shrink ourselves, but simply understand that not everyone can appreciate a strong female, so in

that case, you are better off without them. You not only support the people in your corner but

you always defend them, which is why a lot of people would describe me as a ride or die type of

person. My parents were also educators and my father has served in the military for over 33

years now, so respect is a big thing in my family as well as the importance of an education, no
matter what profession you choose to go into. Although my family shaped most of my basic

moral principles and character traits, my mother and father grew up Baptist which had altered

their opinions on specific hot topics that my friends and my generation disagree with. Over time,

I have been able to rub off on my family and their political views have shifted more towards

acceptance than bible, but my opinions are more generational.

As you can tell from what has already been said, loyalty is a value I hold very dear and

something I also scored the highest in on my value assessment. I also value achievement and

recognition, as well as, wisdom and emotional well-being which I feel like all go hand-in-hand

and makes a lot of sense. Values that are the least important to me would have to begin with

power. Although I can take the reins of any project and get it done, I am also okay with stepping

back and letting someone else take control as long as I know that the goal of the project will be

achieved. I also don’t value physical appearance, aesthetics, or wealth and that’s because I don’t

typically pay attention to many superficial things in life. Three aspects I think will serve as

strengths for myself in this profession are my values in achievement, physical appearance, and

aesthetics. I highly value achievement, and for me right now that’s scoring well in all of my

classes so that I am prepared for the physical therapy field. I think the lack of importance for me

in physical appearance and aesthetics will be a strength because no matter what shape or

appearance my patient comes in as, it is my job to ensure they are treated the same as the fittest

patient I have. I am not here to judge anyone’s life choices, but to ensure everyone is receiving

quality physical therapy. A potential area of conflict would include my values in recognition. I

highly value recognition but I know I will not always receive that recognition throughout school

and the professional field, yet I still need to stay motivated to keep up with the same quality of

work or care I would give if I was being recognized for it.

 According to my VIA results, my biggest strength was Humor, followed by Curiosity,

Leadership, Bravery, and Teamwork. So far in our doctorate program, we have been told that

using each other as resources will be our greatest asset. We have also been told how stressful this

experience will be. I can utilize humor in graduate school to create a better environment

whenever the cohort is studying or working on projects. This will hopefully make it a more

conducive, less stressful learning environment where we can all work together and learn from

each other. In most cases, this would also create a better environment for a patient who is

struggling in PT, and bring in some optimism where there may be doubt. My ability to take

leadership but also work with a team will help in studying environments, as well as clinical sites

since I will need to have good Interprofessional relationships in order to achieve the overall

healthcare goal for the patient. Curiosity will take me far in both school and the clinical site

because concerning evidence based practices, there is always new research emerging on the best

practices for optimal physical therapy that we need to keep up with. And bravery is great for

when you need to stick up for your patient’s and their specific needs in a clinical setting to

ensure they are receiving their most quality care.

Going forward, I will use my background beliefs to ensure all of my patients are accepted

and given quality care despite their beliefs, appearance, or backgrounds. Even if a patient and I

disagree, it is still possible to continue quality treatment while keeping personal matters outside

of the work place. I can use my values and strengths to defend my patients and their needs, as

well as, work with other healthcare professionals to ensure the overall healthcare goal for the

patient is achieved while also considering the patient as a whole. Utilizing my strengths, I can

create a more light hearted, positive environment, even when situations may be tense, to ensure

we are still focusing on the patients’ healthcare above anything else. Overall, the focus should be
on the patient and their well-being, and I can use my “moral self” to ensure they are receiving the

best possible healthcare, as clinicians, we can provide.