Doctor is Just a Title: How to really experience your #DPTstudent education

The collective here at PTTT appreciate the insights, contributions, and struggles of the #DPTstudent. And thus, we present a new guest post by a current 3rd year #DPTstudent @GabeStreisfeld. Gabe is an eager, motivated student who connected with both Kyle and Eric at #APTAcsm. His insights are both thoughtful and valuable. We also owe him for attending our talks. So, enjoy the read…
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Don’t worry, I am not about to argue why or why not the doctor of physical therapy is important, or whether or not we should market it. You can find that argument plenty of other places on the internet. Instead, I’d like to discuss the DPT education process from my perspective as a 3rd year doctor physical therapy student, and why I believe some students miss out on a huge aspect of it.

First let’s pave the way with google’s top answer to “definition of education”:

1) The process of receiving or giving systematic instruction, especially at school or university
2) an enlightening experience

Furthermore, when googling “definition of formal education”:

Formal education is classroom-based, provided by trained teachers. Informal education happens outside the classroom, in after-school programs, community-based organizations, museums, libraries, or at home.

I would argue that formal education is closely related to Google’s first definition. It is the hours spent in class. It is the hours spent memorizing the origin, insertion, and innervation of every muscle of the body. It’s the practicals, competencies, OSCEs (objective structured clinical examinations), and paper tests. The logistics that pave the path between students and those 3 powerful letters: DPT. Formal education can absolutely harbor definition two; enlightening experiences. Although, I sense the busywork and exam-related stress can sometimes interfere with the more contemplative, reflective, and self-directed experiences that many would consider enlightening. Formal education is only one side of the coin, and although I cannot dispute its importance, my observation is most students focus too heavily on the formal only to neglect the potential power of the informal.

Informal education is where definition two takes the forefront. It is seeking those enlightening experiences outside of class. Getting involved with PT organizations at the school, community, and national level; pro bono and volunteer experiences; the conferences; lively social media debates, and self-driven PubMed searches. It is even the critical blogs and podcasts that continuously question and reframe. Informal education is not merely the knowledge gained, but the actual process of seeking that information. It is a unique, learned skill. Informal education allows the student to add her personal interests, inquiries, and discoveries to the DPT. It is where the student can evolve herself , nearly without restraint, to a higher level of critical thinking. You know the saying “it’s not the destination, it’s the journey.” However, why is some of the knowledge, skill, and insight gained outside the classroom unable, or unlikely, to occur in the formal education environment?

Obviously, informal education differs from formal education. There is no set end product. No exams for which to study, or degree to be obtained. This allows the student to focus on the process, present experience, and self paced exploration which can ultimately lead to that sense of enlightenment and profound self- discovery. I have observed formal education struggle to extract such concepts, because the end products of grades, degrees, and expectations often cloud the student’s view of the present experience. And, the narrow focus can also hinder a sense of the bigger picture.

However, investing in informal education pays dividends. It provides motivating power, allows intrinsic self-guidance, and hopefully facilitates the evaluation skills necessary to add perspective to a seemingly endless list of assignments and tests. This facilitates the ability to fully appreciate the intended processes and outcomes of formal education. It is imperative that students and professors alike recognize this connectedness between the informal and formal, because if nurtured properly, it will contribute to the experience and meaning of achieving a doctor of physical therapy degree.

The opportunities that lie within the realm of informal education are equally as important to the DPT program as the concrete curriculum. The doctorate is 3 years of classes, assignments, and exams; but it is also 3 years of potential time. Time to explore the profession we will all be entering; to view the profession, beautiful and ugly, from the inside before actually practicing. Time to map out and dip our feet into the numerous career pathways before embarking on our own professional journeys. 3 full YEARS of time to hone not only our professional skill set and knowledge base, but lay the foundation upon which we build our future careers.

Personally, I feel that informal education has contributed significantly to my personal and professional development during the pursuit of my DPT. It is where my professionalism thrives, and my critical thinking is tested and molded; where my thought processes and assumptions have been challenged. Informal education has only one rule: that you are motivated enough to direct yourself toward improvement. None of your professors can fully guide you in this experience, although they may attempt to initiate a spark through various structured experiences like reflection assignments, discussion boards, research assignments, and compiled portfolios. But, these are still well within the construct of the formalized education process. Potential barriers to informal education include time, resources, and support.

However, the vastness of this informal domain allows for a variety of successful approaches; you just have to be willing to explore the possibilities. It does not need to happen every day, or even every month. It requires no schedule. As long as you remain pro-active, inquisitive, and open minded, informal education will find its way to you, even if you don’t recognize it. This self-directed discovery, the auto-didacticism, prepares us to remain ever a student even after formal education has commenced. This is where I truly believe the title doctorate gains substance, otherwise what is it besides grades on a transcript?

Due to the self-directed nature of informal education, I cannot tell you where to explore. I personally find my informal education at national and state level conferences; by reading blogs, both scholarly and opinionated; following and entering twitter debates; listening to PT related podcasts; collecting, organizing, and disseminating research on topics that I find interesting; engaging classmates in philosophical PT discussions. Even writing a blog post. It does not matter how you conduct your informal curriculum because it is that: informal. The only advice I can give on making the most out of your 3 year doctorate education is the following:

Do not limit yourself to formal education.
Do not think everything you have to learn about being a physical therapist will be taught in school. It won’t.
Learn how to question what is being taught to you, and how to seek your own answers to those questions.
Learn how to ask the right questions.

The profession has much to offer students who demonstrate interest, so take advantage. Informal education is what will make the difference in your education. It will help solidify the foundation of your career. It will give you the bigger picture of our profession, the one we, as DPT students, will soon be entering.

Finally, if you have been, or are planning on, spending your 3 years of PT school just getting through classes “B’s get degrees” style, by all means, you will obtain a DPT. But, then again, doctor is just a title. Remember, the piece of paper you receive on graduation day signifies merely the beginning of your journey, not the end.
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Gabe Streisfeld is a 3rd year DPT student attending Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, PA. He is a life-long student of human movement both professionally through his physical therapy education and personally via a variety of physical pursuits including (but not limited to) powerlifting, hiking, parkour, and bouldering.

He’s always been intrigued by human movement and its capabilities. He believes in not overcomplicating the elegant and evolutionary simplicity of the human movement system. We are beings with the ability to adapt and grow in the presence of a stimulus. He yearns to use his knowledge and views on the human movement system to help others understand their capabilities and improve their physical function.

Follow him on twitter @GabeStreisfeld

6 Replies to “Doctor is Just a Title: How to really experience your #DPTstudent education”

  1. Great insight.
    Interestingly, I’m completing studies in Adult Education and your comments highlight the biggest issue in our DPT educational system, professors. Professors teach with a heavy pedagogy focus, and seldomly facilitate an androgogy perspective to learning in our adult students. There are a few pioneers in education who are looking to change the mold and I really hope our professions takes holds, because I’m confident this will produce better clinicians (that being said, evidence will have to be generated to provide evidence of better outcomes, which I look forward to completing)
    Again, great insight and I hope many new therapist see this as a critical component of being a professional.

  2. LD,

    Thanks for stopping by, I appreciate your comments. I’d agree that higher edu in general, and PT school specifically, could benefit from an evolution in approach, philosophy, and models.

    As one lecturer at CSM stated our education is “a mile wide and an inch deep” lacking meaningful connection of concepts and theories. How well do we do at involving and motivating the student to learn in self-directed and self paced manner?

    I wonder if andragogy and pedagogy is a false dichotomy somewhat, especially in learning environments where certain topics, information, and detail MUST be transmitted and learned. For a variety of professions there is an absolute need to present and expose students to specific knowledge. Yet, often, it appears this need becomes the main focus, or approach, thereby neglecting, even if unintentionally, the need to involve the learner in a process of self-directed learning. I think a balance is necessary.

    http://www.insightjournal.net/Volume2/Andragogy%20and%20Pedagogy%20as%20Foundational%20Theory%20for%20Student%20Motivation%20in%20Higher%20Education.pdf

    http://rutraining.org/2011/09/08/andragogy-vs-pedagogy-much-ado-about-nothing/

    1. LD & Kyle,

      You both bring up interesting points. (Kyle, I am still working my way through those dense articles). I will bring up another point of discussion.

      I feel both pedagogy and andragogy are still in the realm of formal education. I feel andragogy can be the attempt of educators to inspire informal learning in the formal environment, but the moment that attempt is made it becomes inorganic. Surely educators can provide opportunities/activities that try to promote self-discovery, but once this is asked of the student as part of class requirements it can hinder the process as it is no longer self-directed. Does that make sense? I still find these methods of andragogy important as they can provide the necessary spark that leads to informal education, and may even improve self-directed skills used in informal learning, however I do not feel it reaches the point of BEING informal learning. I explicitly targeted students in my post and not professors/educators due to this point. I do not feel it is up to the professors/educators to inspire informal learning as much as it is up to the student and it is the responsibility of the student in higher education.

  3. I really enjoyed this perspective on informal vs. formal education. Last weekend, I graduated with my BS in Health Sciences and plan to work for two years as an aide before PT school. At my university, which was fast-paced with a quarter system, many of my peers were pressured to start PT school immediately. I sometimes feel pressured to change my mind on my plan, to apply earlier rather than later. When I look back on my four years of formal education, I believe I would prefer getting hands-on experience, especially in an environment where I am not pressured to get tested one week later. In my PT aide experiences, I felt free to apply my classroom knowledge, get comfortable with a range of patients, and develop my own approaches to different clinical situations. Do you have any information on PT aide or volunteering abroad opportunities? I have always been curious about PT on a global perspective.

  4. I really enjoyed this perspective on informal vs. formal education. Last weekend, I graduated with my BS in Health Sciences and plan to work for two years as an aide before PT school. At my university, which was fast-paced with a quarter system, many of my peers were pressured to start PT school immediately. I sometimes feel pressured to change my mind on my plan, to apply earlier rather than later. When I look back on my four years of formal education, I believe I would prefer getting hands-on experience, especially in an environment where I am not pressured to get tested one week later. In my PT aide experiences, I felt free to apply my classroom knowledge, get comfortable with a range of patients, and develop my own approaches to different clinical situations. Do you have any information on PT aide or volunteering abroad opportunities? I have always been curious about PT on a global perspective.

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