Given that physical therapy students represent a significant portion of APTA membership, you can't really call the APTA Student Assembly's "Pulse" blog a "best-kept secret" or "hidden gem."
Still, because the blog series is targeted at students, it can be easy for practicing physical therapists and physical therapist assistants to overlook.
That would be a mistake.
APTA's articles for students feature energized, engaging content worthy of checking out no matter how long it's been since you've earned that sheepskin (and if you've ever heard it called "sheepskin," it's been a while).
Here's a list of the five most popular posts from 2017, with links to the original posts.
5. Develop Your Patient Care, Not Your Social Network
"Presumably, in hopes of avoiding it, students and new grads [often ask me] what I think is the biggest mistake folks make in the early years of their careers. Unlike many other questions, I’m confident on my answer: They spend far too much time networking on social media, which significantly handicaps their clinical skills development."
4. Jealousy, a Well-Known But Unspoken Part of Physical Therapy School
"Comparing grades, clinical experiences, and overall knowledge is not how we're going to be the best student or best clinician; to be honest, those things will hold us back. Not only that, but it will hold our profession back."
3. My Biggest Takeaways From Physical Therapy School
"I finally made it to #FreshPT status! It was a long, intense 3 years, but I made it! At this point, I thought I'd share my biggest takeaways from the journey that is physical therapy school in hopes that it will ease the minds of current physical therapy students."
2. Three Things I Wish I Knew Before I Started My Clinical Rotations
"It's a really interesting transition from student to clinician, even though every impressive clinician whom I've shadowed has maintained a student-like curiosity that blurs the line between these roles."
1. My Biggest Challenge in Physical Therapy School? Imposter Syndrome
"When I got to physical therapy school, I didn’t feel so successful anymore; I had never been challenged like that before. I was around the smartest people—fellow students, faculty, and mentors—that I had ever met. From the start, my professors would ask a question and someone was always there with the answer, as I sat next to them feeling clueless."