Accepted!

I received some great news today. I have been accepted to the post-professional doctoral program (ScD) at Texas Tech! Some of you who know me understand I have gone through quite a bit of soul searching to decide what direction I wanted to take my academic career. I strongly believe this program has the balance of academic and clinical education for this stage in my PT career.

If you are unfamiliar with the ScD designation as it relates to other doctoral degrees, I've included a Wikipedia reference to it. (Note: I don't make a habit of referencing Wikipedia, but it did offer a good description of the title.)

I'm sure there will be many challenges along the way and I won't always be this giddy about the process. Presently however, I am extremely excited about the opportunity and look forward to sharing my experiences along the way.

Thanks to all my family, friends, and colleagues who provided counsel to me in making my decision. You know who you are! Take care and see you at the next update!

Live from Lubbock

I'm sitting here in the lobby of a palatial La Quinta Inn near the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center in Lubbock, TX. This is my first visit to Lubbock and I have to say, it's both much smaller and nicer than I expected! If you want a good taste of West Texas culture, I strongly suggest a visit.

I am attending yet another course through the International Academy of Orthopedic Medicine. If you have not had the opportunity to attend one of these courses, I highly recommend them. They are a refreshing immersion into evidence-based concepts of orthopedic diagnostic and management techniques.

I just finished my most recent research-based blog (please see below!) and have to say starting this blog has been a truly enriching and invigorating process for me. This blog represents a major and fairly recent transformation I've had with respect to my career goals. I must admit to having some degree of professional burn out a few year ago...it's good to be back.

After only four months of beginning this blog, I've managed to find an equilibrium between editorial pieces such as my post on cults and my research-based posts. I imagine this will be a dynamic equilibrium hopefully favoring neither one nor the other. Regardless of the tenor or themes you see when you visit this site, I appreciate your stopping by to share in this personal journey to become a better physical therapist. Hopefully I can play a small part in yours as well. Take care!

Rod