ISM- MENTOR INTERVIEW ASSIGNMENT QUESTIONS

Student Name: Zoe Jessen Period: 6

Printed Name of Person Interviewed: Rob Bluhm

Role of Individual:
__X_Physical Therapist
Place/Name of Business: Hope Rehab

Business Address: 2785 Gulf Fwy S Site 125, League City TX 77573

Phone Number: 281 534 3300

Date of Interview: 4/9/18

Type of Interview: __X__ In Person

1. For someone working in your field, please describe the fantasies versus realities of the job.
(fantasy vs. reality)
The fantasies of being a physical therapist is that every patient is rehabilitated and works hard at getting
themselves better. Meaning, they perform the exercises at home that they are given and that they work
hard at rehab. The reality is that every patient is different and presents the challenges within the same
issue. Some patients after they finish therapy are fully recovered and some may never reach a full
recovery and will have to keep performing certain exercises.

2. What is your current educational level? What continuing education and training are required?
(educational level and requirements)
Rob Bluhm’s current education level is a Bachelor of Science degree. The requirements that are required
are 30 hours of continuing education every two years as well as 2 hours of those 30 hours needs to be
ethic. This accounts for all physical therapist

3. Please describe the typical day to day activities of someone working in your field.
(day-to-day activities)
The typical day to day activities for a physical therapist is education/ treating patients, evaluation,
diagnosis, communication, functional testing, and documentation (typing schedules and evaluations into
the system). Being a physical therapist is very interactive and takes a lot of commination not just within
the staff of the clinic, but with the patients themselves.

4. How secure are you in your current position? What do you think is the future of your field?
(job security)
Rob believes he is very secured in his current position as a physical therapist. Considering with aging
population, there is a lot of potential for growth. Although with insurance reapportionment less health

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care money is out there, meaning, the overall pay will be less. All in all, there is a great amount of
potential growth in the field of physical therapist.

5. What is a typical (average or lowest to highest) salary of someone working in your field?
(salary)
The typical average starting out is about 70,000 and can range to 120,000. The salary depends on
whether or not one is a physical therapist or a physical therapist assistant. A physical therapist assistant
(PTA) is considered a physical therapist, but they aren’t as qualified as a physical therapist. A PTA has
less schooling, which is why the salary can vary. Another reason why the salary can vary is because it
depends on a therapists setting (clinical, hospital, school, outpatient therapy, nursing home, home health,
hospice, etc.)

6. What potential for growth is there in your field?

(growth potential)
Potential growth for this certain position in the medical field is very good because there a variety of
different settings. These settings help one find the perfect environment they want to purse their life of
being a physical therapist in. This means there are more opportunities out there and options for
individuals.

***Questions 7-10 will be created by the ISM student.

7. What do you look forward to when you come into work every day?
Rob looks forward to working with a variety of people and enjoys that it isn’t the same thing every day.
He is experiences new things all the time and loves helping people recover to their fullest potential.
There is always something new in the clinic, and if you see patient with the same type of injury it
doesn’t necessarily mean that they will recover the same or even at the same pace.

8. What is the most common injury you see and why do you think?
The most common injuries Rob sees are back and shoulders. He believes these are the most common
injuries he sees because everything is related to posture. These injuries can start/occur when one is
young and can progress overtime causing many people to go to physical therapy for either their back or
neck. Some injuries that occur are more serious than others and can be prevented by working on your
posture every day and picking up heaving equipment properly.

9. Why did you want to become a physical therapist?

Rob was an athletic trainer in high school and enjoyed it a lot. Although he really liked athletic training,
he wanted to do work with a wider variety of patients. This helped Rob learn more about a physical
therapist. Some may think athletic training and physical therapist very much correlate, they still are very
different. He is grateful he tried athletic training because it led him to becoming a physical therapist,

10. Do you think being a physical therapist is rewarding? If so, why?

Being a physical therapist might be one of the most rewarding jobs out there. When patients come in and
out the clinic, I feel happy knowing I have gotten them one step closer to their goal, which is recovery.
Any job where a person can help others is very rewarding. If you approach your job as an opportunity to
help others, you will be successful.

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 Interview Summary
What information from this interview will you select for your ½ page typed,
bulleted list of research information—to be used in your presentation?
Create a bulleted summary list on the next page.

 The fantasies of a physical therapist are that all patients want to get better and perform exercises
at home that they are assigned.
 The realities of a physical therapist are that every patient are different and recovery at different
patients than others.
 Another reality is that not all patients fully recover and will need to keep continuing there
exercises after they finish rehab.
 When discussing my mentor in my final presentation I will want to discuss the day to day life of
a physical therapist.
 The information I will state is that therapist perform evaluations, diagnosis, functional testing,
and many more activities every day.
 Physical therapist need to be very vocal and be able to communicate with their patients so that
they reach their ultimate goal, recovery.
 The most common injuries Rob Bluhm (physical therapist at Hope Rehab) has seen are common
back and shoulder injuries.
 These are quite common because these are typical injuries that gradually get worse throughout
one’s life.

Revised Fall 2017

Revised Fall 2017
Revised Fall 2017