A'Donna Corbin is a candidate for Nominating Chair-Elect on the Student Assembly Board of Directors.
Being a physical therapy professional requires more than just clinical knowledge and skilled intervention. To be a true professional, a clinician also should be knowledgeable about the issues and policies that effect not only patient care, but the profession as a whole. This requires being an active, well-informed advocate for field of physical therapy. Membership in the American Physical Therapy Association is the key to achieving this optimal level of professionalism.
I have a unique perspective that I believe will inspire physical therapy students and professionals to see the importance of being active members of APTA and maintaining that membership throughout their careers. I was a physical therapist assistant for 10 years prior to entering my Doctor in Physical Therapy program. During that time, I was an active member of APTA, specifically in my state association (Texas Physical Therapy Association). I was secretary and special events coordinator for the North Texas District of the TPTA for 4 years.
As a physical therapist student, I am currently the president of our physical therapy student association. My goal for my program is to achieve 100% active membership in APTA within my program and to get a minimum of 10 students to attend each conference during the year. Working with my fellow Executive Committee members, we have gotten our student association budget increased to allow students to receive reimbursement for registration and travel expenses to conferences, in hopes of increasing student interest in conference attendance.
My vision for the future development of the Student Assembly and the physical therapy profession is that both will grow to a level that demands the respect and acknowledgement of the population that each one serves. I see the Student Assembly as a key component in helping prepare future physical therapy professionals to be active, well-informed advocates for the profession of physical therapy by instilling the importance of APTA membership as early as possible in each student’s educational journey. Those same students will become professionals that carry the Doctor of Physical Therapy title and are active advocates for the profession, making it clear to patients and other health professionals that physical therapists are uniquely skilled providers of choice and work tirelessly to promote the field of physical therapy.
My experiences as a clinician and now as a student again, have given me a unique perspective, one that I feel is my responsibility to share with other students. I can speak with students about the importance of APTA membership first-hand and how that membership lends itself to a greater level of professionalism and respect for the profession of physical therapy.