Name of Professional: Michele Valencia
Profession/Title: Physical Therapist
Business/Company Name: Edge Physical Therapy
Date of Interview: September 29, 2020
Assessment:
My first ever interview with a business professional was conducted with Michele Valencia of Edge Physical Therapy. Prior to this interview, I had conducted a Zoom meeting with current physical therapy (and former ISM) student Emma Klopatek, but this was the first interview I had secured with a physical therapy professional. Going into this interview, I hoped to gain information on what exactly a professional physical therapist thinks it takes to be successful in their field. Michele Valencia was just the woman for my questions - she had answers for everything.
Mrs. Valencia stressed the importance of being a good listener many times over throughout the course of our interview. The ability to listen to your patient and analyze how what they’re saying in regards to their pain corresponds to the exercises and movements you would use to treat them with is imperative. A physical therapist must be able to both talk and listen, because forming the bond between you and your patient is crucial during the recovery process. This bond creates a mutual trust and understanding between the two of you that both parties are going to work hard to get the best results for the patient. Another trait that Mrs. Valencia told me that a physical therapist must have is empathy. The central point of being a physical therapist is helping other people to improve their overall health and wellbeing. A physical therapist must be able to put others' needs first and be able to understand and sympathize with them.
I also learned an extensive amount about common strengths that physical therapists have from Mrs. Valencia. She repeated that physical therapists must be good listeners and have good listening skills, but she also added that good physical therapists are talkative and extroverted. This is a huge strength because it makes forming relationships with your patients much easier, and these relationships are what creates motivation for improvement. Mrs. Valencia also told me that physical therapists must be good team players. I questioned her about this, because I was initially confused as to how the ‘team’ could extend past the therapist and their patient, and she went very in depth about how tight knit physical therapists at the same clinic should be. She is a firm believer that everyone within a clinic is a part of a machine, and their teamwork makes it run. If a fellow therapist falls ill, you help their patients. If a fellow therapist is having trouble with a patient, you offer advice and do your best to help them out. It’s very important that everyone has each other's backs, and the ability to work well in a team is crucial in becoming a physical therapist.
The last thing Michele Valencia highlighted the importance of was the weaknesses of a physical therapist that could cause their downfall. She came up with two of them that were very common and warned me extensively to watch myself when it comes to these traits. She said that physical therapists can be too bossy or too authoritative and actually scare patients off, even though they genuinely have their best interests at heart. She also said that, while great empathy and caring for others is one of the most important strengths, it can also end up being one of the greatest weaknesses. Mrs. Valencia warned me that caring too much for a patient can cloud your vision and cause you to get off track with their recovery, which is the exact opposite purpose of a physical therapist. “Be cautious,” she told me, because “caring too much can cause harm in the long run”.
My interview with Michele Valencia was enlightening. Learning that I myself have a lot of the qualities she mentioned was the most exciting part of the interview to me and it and has given me motivation to continue down my path. I will use what Mrs. Valencia has taught me in order to become a great physical therapist to both my patients and my coworkers.