| Looking for Physical Therapy position in IraqWhat type of job are you looking for? I have 10 years of experience as a Physical Therapist, with my Master's degree, in Alabama. Specialties include strong manual Orthopedic skills to include the evaluation and treatment of traumatic, overuse, sports-related, surgical/non-surgical and degenerative conditions. I am trained in and have performed disability/impairment ratings, functional capacity evaluations, and wellness screens to include post-offer, pre-hire employee health screenings, to include cardiac testing, for over 30 companies, to include obtaining contract with a Fortune 500 company and designing an employee wellness program for them. I am comfortable with the evaluation and treatment of acute and chronic conditions. I am also a Vestibular Rehab Trained Specialist, treating balance/equilibrium/inner ear dysfunction and have trained other therapists,nurses, and physicians in the differential diagnosis and treatment plan for balance/functional mobility deficits of both central and peripheral origin. I would just love the opportunity to find a place that I could be an asset and work with others whether it is in a leadership role or a staff role, and am really interested in helping the Iraqi people, and Americans in Iraq both military and civilian, and be able to contribute in some small way in the overall rebuilding and strengthening of that country so that the Iraqi people can enjoy their freedom and their governance, as they see fit. What nationality are you? American-Anglo What languages do you speak (and at what level)? English only but interested in learning new languages and new cultures. I recently bought a DVD/CD set for my computer to start learning Spanish on my own. What country or area are you looking to work in and why? Iraq. I have several close friends and church members who have been or are stationed in Iraq. I am overwhelmed and humbled by their sacrifice and service to America, but I also think of the Iraqi people and what they have lived through, and know that there must be mixed feelings toward America, and like all young governments, are going through a critical time right now. I feel like Iraq is a friend of the United States now, and I hope that the United States can continue to be a friend to the Iraqi people, and I want to help in any way that I can to help the Iraqi people, especically those who may have been injured during this conflict, as well as those experiencing injury or musculskeletal dysfunction from just normal daily activities as many of the patients that I have treated over the past 10 years here in America. What countries have you worked in? United States of America What countries do you have a visa to work in? None currently, but have begun the process for Iraq. What field do you currently work in? Currently I am doing prn work and consulting work in home health, hospital based inpatient/outpatient, and private practice outpatient. My niche/specialties are Orthopedic, Vestibular/balance, and adult/geriatric gait disorders. For the past 2 years I have worked primarily in home health and outpatient, with a focus on the evaluation and treatment of Balance disorders, both central and peripheral, and am certified in the treatment of Vertigo and can perform all of the Canalith Repositioning techniques for Benign Paroxsysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV). What fields have you worked in before? I have done a lot of contract and Private practice work, so you have to be a "Jack of all trades" when doing so, especially since many of the areas we were in were rural American towns, underserved as far as medical facilities/specialists. Thus, I have worked in virtually every Physical Therapy field except for pediatrics and Women's health (although I had to do a small amount of that in a few of the rural hospitals and home health contract assignments that we had). For the past 5 years I have worked simultaneously as a hands-on manager in Orthopedic Outpatient clinics, hospital inpatient and outpatient, skilled nursing facilities, in-patient Senior Care psychiatric units, and home health. Before that, I was a facility director of Orthopedic/Sports Medicine and Occupational Medicine at a busy, 17 partner, Physician-owned Orthopedic outpatient practice. What qualifications do you hold? 1996 B.S. in Biology/Psychology, Troy State University, Troy, AL 1999 Masters of Science, Physical Therapy, University of Mobile Mobile, AL - Certifications in Blankenship and ErgoScience Functional Capacity/Work site Evaluation and Injury prevention - Have performed disability/impairment ratings in AL and FL - Completed training for Medicaid in AL for electric wheelchair fitting - Certified in CPR and Emergency First Aid - 10 years total experience in Orthopedic outpatient (both private practice and hospital based), hospital inpatient, SNF, Occupational medicine to include work-site assessment/injury prevention, wellness, and home health - 7 years of managerial experience to include supervision of up to 30 assitants, support staff, marketers, and clerical staff - Responsible for budgets up to $1.4 million - Have designed and staffed turn-key operations/facilities - Have worked closely with physicians, board members, nurses, other allied health professionals, discharge planners, plant/company CEOs and plant supervisors, occupational nurses, civic groups, and media - Had a guest host spot on a weekly sports radio show every Friday to discuss sports injury and injury prevention - Have appeared on television both for remote spots, PSAs, and local community health show "Live at Lunch with Angie Casey, WTVY Chanel 4, in Dothan, AL - Have worked closely with junior high school, high school, community college, and small Universities' sports departments/teams to design both in and out of season strengthening/injury prevention programs with measurable results - Have designed marketing materials and worked closely with image agencies and trained marketers (in addition to having to be one) in many different therapy programs - Have computer skills in Microsoft Office Suite to include Word, Publisher, Excel, Outlook, and Power Point - Can type 80 words per minute - Have been responsible for attending and coordinating many community and occupational health fairs and free health screenings to include blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, vision, and balance screenings - Have made inumberable cold calls, informal, and formal marketing events to include presenting Power Point presentations to hospital boards, local civic groups, Senior Citizen groups, kidney dialysis clinics, and CEU events for nurses, physicians, case managers, and therapists - Poster Presentation at Ameican Physical Therapy Association's 1999 National Conference in Orlando, FL - Presented at first annual Symposium for PT-Solutions, LLC in Atlanta, GA in 2005 on "Shoulder Impingement Syndrome: Evaluation and Treatment of the 34-45 year old Female" non-athlete - Great Inter-personal skills and love of people Which do you consider more valuable? Formal education or skills and why? They are inseperable in my opinion. You must have the knowledge base of the formal education at an accredited institution, however, you can not even begin to approach every condition and disease that exists in the 6 years required for a Master's degree in Physical Therapy. Therefore, it is when you begin to work, and hopefully with good people around you, that you really learn to apply the theory and practice that you begun during your formal education, training, and clinical affiliations. The culmination of the two, over time, results in the formation of a therapist's skill set, along with continuing education and independent study of the most recent research and techniques in your specific area of practice. Describe the benefits of working with others Where do I begin? Beyond the personal and professional satisfaction that one experiences when you make a real, tangible difference in the quality of life of another individual, there is the relationships that you develop with both your patients and your peers. It is the reason that I guess everyone who goes into the health care field took that road to begin with. If not, you won't last very long. It can be very challenging working with others, learning to respect differences of opinions based on culture, religious beliefs, background, etc., but it is the end result -- that satisfaction when you have a patient come back and thank you months or years later, for helping them regain their place in the community, both at work or at leisure. There is also a satisfaction that one gets when they are a good steward of the financial resources of the health care system in their geographical region. That is not only a benefit, but in my humble opinion, a responsibility of those of us in health care. You can also learn much, both from your patients and your peers when you are in a situation that affords you the opportunity to be a part of a group or a community. Describe the benefits of working alone The graduate school that I attended was 100% "Problem-based" or "Self-directed" as far as the curriculum. It was the only one in the United States at the time. That led to much frustration at times, because more times than not it resulted in over-learning or over-preparing. We were taught how to rely on ourselves and our research skills in order to find the information that was pertinent to the specific case that we were working on. However, as we approached graduation, and especially several years into our respective practices, we really started seeing the benefits of the program (or the method to the madness as many of us like to kid about). The bottom line is, it teaches you how to find information, be it from a reference book or periodical, or to search out reference persons. It also taught us to look for peer reviewed literature, and not to take the first article or web page that popped up on the internet when using a search engine. There is a lot of good information out there now with the internet, but there is probably just as much, if not more, bad information; So, you must learn quickly how to cross reference material and key elements to look for that will tell you if a source is credible or not. What was your worst working experience? I don't know. Right out of school my first job was at the largest Orthopedic practice in southeast Alabama. It was a brand new rehab department, that consisted of myself and one other PT for a time. There were days that I would see 30 patients, including up to 10 walk-in new patients, and at the same time I was trying to study for my boards, as I was working with a temporary license. Most of my work days did not end until 9-10 p.m. including paperwork, and then I was supposed to study for boards! I was so exhausted that I woke up many a night with my face planted in my study guides. It was stressful and crazy at times, but it all worked out in the end. It definitely prepared me right out of the gate for a fast-paced work environment and taught me the importance of time management skills. Other than that, the bad experiences had more to do with politics or working within unorganized, and even on occasion, borderline unethical departments. I learned about conflicts of interest and walking the tight rope between loyalty and respect for your supervisors and patient advocacy and being an advocate for the system. What is the most important lesson you have learnt throughout your career? That you must work hard, learn from your mistakes while minimizing them, know your limitations, and don't be afraid to say "no" when in doubt. Never be afraid to ask questions, and also don't worry about who gets the credit, as long as your patients reach a good outcome. Empowering others, and allowing others to get credit goes a long way in relationship and team building, and will always produce a better result for everyone than having a selfish attitude. What unique skills do you have? I outlined many above. I really think one of my best attributes is my communication skills. That is really key in forming good professional and personal relationships. Communication is key, whether it is verbal, non-verbal/body language, or written. I have been told, and always tell those that I manage, that just like location is everything in the real estate industry, communication is everything in our profession. What would you consider as your 'dream job'? I don't know if there is a such a thing. I believe that a situation is only what you make of it. You can have 2 people working the exact same job, one is happy and the other is miserable. Now, sometimes there may be key, tangible reasons for this. However, I have learned over time, that even the facilities that I have worked in that had a reputation for being "awful" as far as the work environment, that usually those people didn't look for the good in the job, and misery loves company, so you would usually see those people in groups constantly talking about how bad everything is. I encourage employees to stay out of those groups, or better yet, be a leader, and change the tone of those groups and then watch and see how a "bad situation" can begin to transform right before your eyes. The things that are important to me now are working in a facility that believes in and values the rehab department and those working in it. One that doesn't mind spending money on equipment or hiring and retaining the best staff as long as you can show that it has a net positive outcome for the overall business/facility. What are the most interesting aspects of your field? People are the most interesting thing in this world, period. After that, technology and the human body working together to reach sometimes unexpected results and outcomes are very interesting to me. The new developements and findings that are constantly improving and changing the way that we do what we do is fascinating to me. Neuro-plasticity is very interesting to me, especially most recently with my specialization into the vestibular/balance field of Physical Therapy. How things that I learned in school ten years ago, were not all together correct afterall, because we are constantly learning and updating how we treat the human body. That is really cool, for lack of a better term! What are the least interesting aspects of your field? The necessary evil of paperwork and insurance, HMO's, people sitting in government buildings telling us who and how we are to treat our patients. That can be a real drag sometimes. How will working in a foreign country, especially one with such a different culture and that we were at war with, and in a sense we still are, affect your life? That is a question that I look forward to finding the answer to. If there weren't at least some questions that we do not have the answer to without having to actually go through the experience first, then life would be pretty boring, wouldn't it? How can potential employers contact you? The best way is via email. My address is mcdanieljoseph@rocketmail.com They can also call me in the U.S.A. at 1-334-798-2717. I am on Central Standard Time. Thank you. |
