September 4, 2025 • 20 mins
Mikayla Grocki, Mary McMillan Scholarship Award winner, shares her journey from student athlete to award-winning physical therapist alongside her faculty mentor Dr. Rashelle Hoffman from Creighton University. Their conversation reveals how balancing academics with research and service opportunities can create exceptional physical therapy professionals while preventing burnout.
• The Mary McMillan Scholarship Award honors the APTA's first president by recognizing six students nationally who demonstrate scholastic excellence, leadership, and significant contributions to the profession
• Mikayla's background as a collegiate soccer player informed her understanding of movement, eventually leading to her passion for working with older adults
• Research and service activities became outlets that fueled Mikayla's education rather than creating additional stress
• Mikayla participated in all aspects of research projects from screening participants to manuscript preparation and conference presentations
• Finding the right balance between academics and extracurricular activities is crucial for preventing burnout while still developing professionally
• Leadership opportunities can be found in small settings and don't require organizing large events
• APTA membership provides valuable networking, professional resources, and up-to-date information on regulatory changes
• Presenting research at CSM allowed Mikayla to connect with professionals across specialties and geographic regions
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to the APTA Nebraska podcast, where we dive
into the stories, challenges andinnovations shaping physical
therapy in our state.
We're here to advance, promoteand protect the practice of
physical therapy, optimizing thehealth and quality of life for
all Nebraskans.
Join us as we connect withexperts, share insights and
(00:22):
build communities throughout ourprofession.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
connect with experts, share insights and build
communities throughout ourprofession.
Welcome back to the APTANebraska podcast.
My name is Brad Dexter, I'myour host and I'm joined by
Rachelle Hoffman and MichaelaGrocchi today.
How are you guys?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Doing well.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Doing well, excellent Well for our listeners.
Can you guys just give a briefintroduction to yourselves?
Rachelle, I'll start with you,and thenela, you can go when
Rochelle's done.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
Awesome.
So I'm Rochelle Hoffman and I'mfaculty at Creighton University
in the physical therapydepartment.
I'm an assistant professor, andthe reason I'm here today
alongside Michaela is I'm thefaculty that led her nomination
for the Mary McMillanScholarship Award.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
And my name is Michaela Grocchi.
I just graduated physicaltherapy school in May, and I'm
practicing in Texas now ininpatient rehab.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Love it.
Thank you, guys.
So Rochelle mentioned thisalready, but the reason we're
having this conversation isbecause, Michaela, you were one
of the Mary McMillan ScholarshipAward winners this past year.
So as you were going throughyour physical therapy education
at Creighton, you were nominatedfor this award.
(01:34):
You were an APTA Nebraskamember at that time.
You've since moved to Texas,since home is in Texas, but we
want to honor that award andwhat you did and completed as a
student as well, and so it's funto just kind of highlight your
story a little bit here too.
So for our audience, anyonethat's not familiar with the
Mary McMillan Scholarship I'mactually going to turn the floor
(01:57):
over to Rochelle to talk alittle bit about that.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
Yeah, so I thought we would start with.
Well, who was Mary McMillan thatthis award is named after?
And she was actually the firstpresident of what was known as
the American Women's PhysicalTherapeutic Association and that
started back in 1921, thateventually transferred their
name to what we now know as theAPTA, and so to honor her legacy
(02:22):
and her leadership as beingthat first president of what now
is the APTA, they now award sixstudents nationally with this
award, so both PT or PTAstudents, so six are selected
each year.
(02:47):
This award is that you show someelastic performance, high
productivity and, ultimately, astrong significance of impact to
the physical therapy profession.
So things that I'm specificallythat they're also looking for
with that are going to be likeyou know, if you've had awards
in the academic sphere, but thenalso your extracurricular
activities, so things thatyou've done to already show
evidence as a leader at thestudent level, whether that be
(03:11):
at your academic institute orthey really like to see you know
out in the community how you'remaking an impact there.
And then, lastly, as this kindof evidence of contributing to
the profession, what are thingsthat maybe students have done,
whether it be in research, thatthey've actually maybe helped
out with projects.
They've been part ofpublications, maybe even
(03:31):
presentations at a state or evenconferences like CSM.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Thank you.
That was an excellent historylesson as well.
I didn't know we were going toget the history lesson today,
but that was fantastic.
So, Michaela, I guess myquestion for you and a place I
want to start here is whatinitially inspired you to pursue
physical therapy and maybe howhas your why behind that evolved
as you went through youracademic and clinical
(04:00):
experiences and now you're inyour first job?
Speaker 3 (04:04):
So I always knew I wanted to go into health care
from a pretty young age and Ialso was an athlete growing up.
I did everything from theballet to football one year.
So I knew that, you know,movement and being physically
active was always important tome and I, you know, physical
therapy is a perfect mix of bothhealthcare and, you know, that
(04:27):
movement aspect and being amovement expert.
Going into physical therapyschool I didn't really know what
I wanted to do.
Specialty wise, I liked workingwith athletes, I liked working
with older adults, butthroughout school I really found
this passion for working witholder adults and realizing that,
you know you can be an athleteat any age.
(04:48):
You know movement should neverbe painful or, you know,
limiting it should always beinspiring.
And so now that I've graduatedschool, my passion is really in,
you know, working with olderadults and getting them back to
doing the things that they loveto do and getting them moving
better.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
What were some of the maybe activities or experiences
that you had during school thatmaybe built this portfolio for
you to be recognized for thescholarship?
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I really liked being active in things outside of the
classroom.
It was kind of an outlet for meto take a break from studying
but still, you know, be in therealm of physical therapy.
So I did my undergrad also atCreighton and I was an athlete
there.
So I worked in, you know, theathletics department a little
bit and got exposure to workingwith athletes and doing research
(05:39):
with athletes and I in physicaltherapy school I shifted that
to working with older adults inthe research realm and that was
a good shift for me because Igot to see both in the same
community and it really inspiredme to be active with both.
But then transition, you know,to working in the population I
loved Creighton also reallyemphasizes service and our
(06:04):
program and Creighton alsoreally emphasizes service.
In our program Fridays werereserved for volunteer
experiences or researchexperiences.
So I challenged myself everyweek to either be doing research
or be doing some kind ofservice event in the community.
So service and research weredefinitely two of the things
that got me through school.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Excellent.
I'm thinking back to my own PTschool experience and I don't
know that I could say that samething.
You know, service and researchwere the things that got me
through school.
I think that's a really uniqueperspective.
I know a lot of students arejust trying to maybe keep up
with what's going on, andnothing wrong with that.
(06:43):
It's just we're all kind ofwired in different ways and it's
kind of fun to hear yourperspective on like that was.
Those were the things that, um,really kind of fueled you and
got you excited, and itcertainly fueled you, uh,
jumping into this profession aswell.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
Uh, rochelle yeah, I was just going to add a little
bit to that.
You were going to cue me anyway.
Um, I was just going to add alittle bit to that.
(07:19):
You were going to cue me anyway.
I just think it was reallyunique that Michaela didn't
start those things, as sheemphasized, when she did
undergrad here.
She established a lot of thoseconnections and got that
experience of like, well, whatis research, what does it mean
to be involved as a student?
What are some of the things Ican do?
You know, even with some of theresearch that she got into at
the graduate level when she wasin PT school, she was doing
(07:40):
almost all the components of thestudy.
She was screening participants,she was helping out with our
high-intensity interval trainingsessions, helping out with the
data analysis.
She's even working on amanuscript right now as
presented at CSM, and it'sreally rare that we see a
student show interest year one,semester one in PT school where
(08:01):
they can follow a researchproject across their entire GPT
education, and so she got to seeit from start.
You know now that that projectis even finished and we're
working on those follow-upmanuscripts, which is really
unique and kind of shows heralso dedication to that where it
wasn't just I want to do this,you know, one year to check this
box so that I get to move on.
(08:23):
She had a consistent passion inthis area, yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Yeah, can you, rochelle, maybe talk a little
bit more too?
So I want to highlight you as amember of our Nebraska chapter
of APTA as well.
You were faculty advisor thatmay be nominated for this award,
right?
Or you were part of that group,and, michaela, you've touched
(08:52):
on some of that already, butwhat were the things that you
saw?
And for other faculty that arelooking to nominate students
going through their programs,what would they be looking for?
Speaker 4 (09:00):
Yeah, so a few different roles that I have here
at Creighton.
One is that I am a researchadvisor for students that are
interested in working with youknow older adults and have you
know various projects that aregoing on, depending on the time
of year and funding that we have.
But I'm also the co-chair forour student awards committee, so
(09:21):
I'm also constantly seeing whatawards can we nominate students
for, and so it was thisbeautiful blend of I knew that
Michaela was, you know, workingwith me and seeing you know what
the qualifications were forthis award.
So having this alignment ofseeing how she's an outstanding
student and does well in theclassroom but then also showing
(09:42):
that she does really well atbalancing a lot of different
areas too, so showing that shehas evidence of showing
leadership in these other areas.
So showing that she hasevidence of showing leadership
in these other areas.
She mentioned a little bit withher career in soccer and she
helped volunteer at Top Soccerthat helps to teach kids that
have disabilities soccer too.
So she had a strong interest inshowing that leadership and
(10:06):
carving out time for that, whichis hard to do in PT school.
Carving out time even beyondjust the academic requirements
is tough, and then also with theresearch, really just taking
the initiative, we always triedto blend what things she was
doing in research to make themrelatable to clinical practice
and skills that she would need.
(10:26):
And so when she was screeningparticipants, some of that was
involved with calling doctor'soffices to get medical clearance
for participants.
So she got to get maybecomfortable I don't know if she
would agree with that wording,but comfortable calling, you
know, physicians that maybeshe's never talked to before
talking to their nurses aboutpotential participants and
establishing those communicationskills as well.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
That's great, michaela.
Since you were an athlete, youplayed soccer, correct.
Yep, all right, I'm going tocome out of left field here a
little bit.
Have any of you?
Have you guys watched Welcometo Wrexham at all?
Okay, michaela is saying, yes, Ijust found out.
You know Tom Brady and apartner of his have ownership
(11:11):
over another soccer team inEngland and they came out with a
show on Amazon Prime.
But one of the things that TomBrady talks about in there is
just hey, I was never worriedabout the game because I was
always focused on the processand practice itself, and if I
practiced at the highest level Ipossibly could, the game would
(11:33):
work itself out.
I'm assuming you have a similarmindset as an athlete and that
that even has flowed into howyou treated some of these
service opportunities andresearch opportunities within
the PT realm.
So, all of that being said,that's my lead-in to this
question.
Okay, so I know you probablyweren said my, my, that's my
lead into this question.
Okay, so I know you probablyweren't, when you came into PT
(11:55):
school, thinking about hey, Iwant to win the Mary McMillan
award.
Right, it was more about theprocess for you and just what
the experience was going to belike and doing those things at a
high level, um, trying to growthrough those opportunities.
So, beyond the recognition thatyou got from this, how do you
(12:15):
see the award influencing yourcareer path or even
opportunities that might beavailable for you moving forward
?
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Yeah.
So coming into PT school, Ireally just focused on setting
myself up the best I could forwhen I was a new grad and you
know everything was all on mefor the first time, um.
So I think the experiences I hadtruly set me up for that in
addition to my award but goinginto my first job and my
interview, um, I emphasized howimportant research was to me and
(12:45):
giving back to the communityand all of those things, and
that was something that wasreally reciprocated from her Um
and I was a little surprised by,but it was just an opportunity
to open that door in thatconversation and realizing that
as physical therapists we canreally make change in the
profession.
But we just have to be reallyactive.
In Texas, especially right now,like we just expanded our
(13:08):
direct access laws, and that'san area where you know the APTA
has been really active in allstates but something that we
need to understand as PTs andreally work with to better our
patients in the future.
So I think those opportunitiesjust set me up for being a voice
in our profession and not, youknow, being afraid to go out
(13:31):
there and, you know, ask forthings and be able to, you know,
advocate for our patients wherethey truly need to be advocated
for.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
I love it, rochelle, anything you want to add to that
?
Speaker 4 (13:46):
I think that having an award like this helps
articulate you know that youreally did aspire to these
levels and how you knowcompetitive these awards are and
so having you know we thinkabout something you can put on
your resume or CV or things likethat.
But it just gives more weightto what you're saying during
that interview because you knowanyone can walk into an
(14:08):
interview and say, like I valuethese things, but if you don't
have evidence of that then it'skind of tough to sell it versus
really demonstrating that.
And having that evidence Ithink is a great thing.
That helps you know Michaelastand apart and for you know
other folks that receive thisaward or other awards showing
their service and leadership andresearch efforts.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
So, michaela, I'm thinking about the things that
you've done, kind of the processthat you've walked through, and
I'm kind of wondering.
You know, there's a wholeperson that we're considering in
school, oftentimes right asyou're going through your
education, and not everyone iswired the same way as you, right
(14:49):
.
These things really kind offueled you.
Everyone is wired the same wayas you, right.
These things really kind offueled you.
They contributed to yourwellness in this whole person
concept.
But what would you communicateto students that maybe have a
different type of capacity orwellness looks a little
different for them?
How would you tell them toengage in service or research?
Speaker 3 (15:09):
I always live by the saying don't put your eggs all
in one basket because that's thequickest way to burn out.
I obviously focused on schoolas a priority in my learning and
it helped me give back to mycommunity, but it was also, you
know, a mental break from school.
Other things that I did duringPT school that were similar.
(15:44):
You know leadershipopportunities don't have to be
organizing, you know, hundredsof people and putting on huge
events.
It can be down to a smallclassroom.
You know event that makes you aleader.
So just finding things in yourcomfort zone that interest you.
But you also don't want tostretch yourself too thin,
especially in PT school.
You know it's.
It is a lot, but there arethings you can do to become a
(16:07):
leader in your community and togive back to the community.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
I appreciate that answer.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
Go ahead, rishon, I'll just add to that that it's
okay to try things too.
You know, hopefully we arestretching your comfort zone
probably in a lot of ways whenyou're in PT school, but trying
something and realizing it's notfor you and kind of stretching
yourself out there, maybe thatwasn't the right thing that you
could take on at that time, ormaybe there's different seasons,
(16:32):
maybe this semester you havemore bandwidth, maybe your
coursework is a little bitlighter, so you maybe try to do
a few more service opportunitiesthat semester.
So ebbs and flows, I think, areimportant to consider too with
you know, our whole person andbeing able to do things outside
of coursework and PT school.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Yeah, no, I appreciate both of your comments
on that.
It has me thinking.
I am gonna interview Dr NikkiSleddins in a future podcast and
she has done some research onburnout in our profession and
it's just interesting becausesome of the things that you're
talking about, michaela, it canfuel some people but for others
(17:12):
it might be a contributingfactor to burnout as well, and
there's a number of differentfactors that she has looked at.
But I'm looking forward tohaving that conversation as well
and I think some of these samethemes might even come up there.
So just to wrap up, again, Iappreciate both of you coming
onto the podcast and kind ofsharing Michaela your experience
(17:35):
from a student's perspectiveand Rochelle, your experience
from the faculty perspective.
Any closing thoughts for theaudience at all, anything you
guys want to say?
Speaker 4 (17:46):
I would like to actually ask Michaela another
question and put her on the spothere, just because hopefully we
have some either students thatare listening, those that are
maybe early career professionalswhy you would encourage folks
that recently graduated PTschool to continue their APT
(18:06):
membership.
What value have you seen inthat?
Speaker 3 (18:09):
I had the opportunity to present some research at CSM
in Houston, which is put on bythe APTA, and I networked with
so many individuals during thatexperience.
Honestly, it was crazy.
I met people from all over thecountry with interest in the
research I was presenting, butalso in patient rehab, because I
(18:30):
was going into that, and evensports.
The APTA is just a great way toreally network within your
profession and even outside ofyour profession.
I really like all of the toolson their newly updated website
and just the information that iscoming out every day about,
(18:51):
like I said earlier, the directaccess change in Texas.
That is something that you knowwas communicated directly from
the APTA to me, and just havingthat ease of gaining information
from the APTA is truly worththe membership.
So if you're a new grad, Idefinitely recommend it, just
(19:13):
for the mentorship and thenetworking and all the
information that they give you,because your first year will be
pretty overwhelming being out onyour own, so you need those
resources.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Absolutely Well.
Thank you both for being on thepodcast, for sharing your
stories here.
Well, thank you both for beingon the podcast, for sharing your
stories here and, yeah, I hopeour audience enjoys the
conversation as well.
I will put in a plug as themembership committee chair for
APTA Nebraska, for whetheryou're an early career
(19:56):
professional, you're a studentor you've been in the profession
for a long time, there are alot of membership deals through
the APTA that range from movingto financial planning, to
vacation resources, to new shoes, et cetera.
So check those things out.
It's not just the professionalresources.
There are resources that cankind of help us in life a bit as
well.
So again, thank you, ladies,for being on the podcast and
(20:20):
we'll look forward to the nextone.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Thank you.
Thanks for tuning in to theAPTA Nebraska podcast.
Stay connected with us for moreconversations that elevate our
profession and improve the livesof Nebraskans.
Don't forget to subscribe,share and join the discussion,
because together we're drivingthe future of physical therapy
forward.
Welcome to the APTA Nebraska podcast, where we dive
into the stories, challenges andinnovations shaping physical
therapy in our state.
We're here to advance, promoteand protect the practice of
physical therapy, optimizing thehealth and quality of life for
all Nebraskans.
Join us as we connect withexperts, share insights and
(00:22):
build communities throughout ourprofession.
Speaker 2 (00:24):
connect with experts, share insights and build
communities throughout ourprofession.
Welcome back to the APTANebraska podcast.
My name is Brad Dexter, I'myour host and I'm joined by
Rachelle Hoffman and MichaelaGrocchi today.
How are you guys?
Speaker 3 (00:33):
Doing well.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
Doing well, excellent Well for our listeners.
Can you guys just give a briefintroduction to yourselves?
Rachelle, I'll start with you,and thenela, you can go when
Rochelle's done.
Speaker 4 (00:46):
Awesome.
So I'm Rochelle Hoffman and I'mfaculty at Creighton University
in the physical therapydepartment.
I'm an assistant professor, andthe reason I'm here today
alongside Michaela is I'm thefaculty that led her nomination
for the Mary McMillanScholarship Award.
Speaker 3 (01:04):
And my name is Michaela Grocchi.
I just graduated physicaltherapy school in May, and I'm
practicing in Texas now ininpatient rehab.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Love it.
Thank you, guys.
So Rochelle mentioned thisalready, but the reason we're
having this conversation isbecause, Michaela, you were one
of the Mary McMillan ScholarshipAward winners this past year.
So as you were going throughyour physical therapy education
at Creighton, you were nominatedfor this award.
(01:34):
You were an APTA Nebraskamember at that time.
You've since moved to Texas,since home is in Texas, but we
want to honor that award andwhat you did and completed as a
student as well, and so it's funto just kind of highlight your
story a little bit here too.
So for our audience, anyonethat's not familiar with the
Mary McMillan Scholarship I'mactually going to turn the floor
(01:57):
over to Rochelle to talk alittle bit about that.
Speaker 4 (02:00):
Yeah, so I thought we would start with.
Well, who was Mary McMillan thatthis award is named after?
And she was actually the firstpresident of what was known as
the American Women's PhysicalTherapeutic Association and that
started back in 1921, thateventually transferred their
name to what we now know as theAPTA, and so to honor her legacy
(02:22):
and her leadership as beingthat first president of what now
is the APTA, they now award sixstudents nationally with this
award, so both PT or PTAstudents, so six are selected
each year.
(02:47):
This award is that you show someelastic performance, high
productivity and, ultimately, astrong significance of impact to
the physical therapy profession.
So things that I'm specificallythat they're also looking for
with that are going to be likeyou know, if you've had awards
in the academic sphere, but thenalso your extracurricular
activities, so things thatyou've done to already show
evidence as a leader at thestudent level, whether that be
(03:11):
at your academic institute orthey really like to see you know
out in the community how you'remaking an impact there.
And then, lastly, as this kindof evidence of contributing to
the profession, what are thingsthat maybe students have done,
whether it be in research, thatthey've actually maybe helped
out with projects.
They've been part ofpublications, maybe even
(03:31):
presentations at a state or evenconferences like CSM.
Speaker 2 (03:38):
Thank you.
That was an excellent historylesson as well.
I didn't know we were going toget the history lesson today,
but that was fantastic.
So, Michaela, I guess myquestion for you and a place I
want to start here is whatinitially inspired you to pursue
physical therapy and maybe howhas your why behind that evolved
as you went through youracademic and clinical
(04:00):
experiences and now you're inyour first job?
Speaker 3 (04:04):
So I always knew I wanted to go into health care
from a pretty young age and Ialso was an athlete growing up.
I did everything from theballet to football one year.
So I knew that, you know,movement and being physically
active was always important tome and I, you know, physical
therapy is a perfect mix of bothhealthcare and, you know, that
(04:27):
movement aspect and being amovement expert.
Going into physical therapyschool I didn't really know what
I wanted to do.
Specialty wise, I liked workingwith athletes, I liked working
with older adults, butthroughout school I really found
this passion for working witholder adults and realizing that,
you know you can be an athleteat any age.
(04:48):
You know movement should neverbe painful or, you know,
limiting it should always beinspiring.
And so now that I've graduatedschool, my passion is really in,
you know, working with olderadults and getting them back to
doing the things that they loveto do and getting them moving
better.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
What were some of the maybe activities or experiences
that you had during school thatmaybe built this portfolio for
you to be recognized for thescholarship?
Speaker 3 (05:18):
I really liked being active in things outside of the
classroom.
It was kind of an outlet for meto take a break from studying
but still, you know, be in therealm of physical therapy.
So I did my undergrad also atCreighton and I was an athlete
there.
So I worked in, you know, theathletics department a little
bit and got exposure to workingwith athletes and doing research
(05:39):
with athletes and I in physicaltherapy school I shifted that
to working with older adults inthe research realm and that was
a good shift for me because Igot to see both in the same
community and it really inspiredme to be active with both.
But then transition, you know,to working in the population I
loved Creighton also reallyemphasizes service and our
(06:04):
program and Creighton alsoreally emphasizes service.
In our program Fridays werereserved for volunteer
experiences or researchexperiences.
So I challenged myself everyweek to either be doing research
or be doing some kind ofservice event in the community.
So service and research weredefinitely two of the things
that got me through school.
Speaker 2 (06:22):
Excellent.
I'm thinking back to my own PTschool experience and I don't
know that I could say that samething.
You know, service and researchwere the things that got me
through school.
I think that's a really uniqueperspective.
I know a lot of students arejust trying to maybe keep up
with what's going on, andnothing wrong with that.
(06:43):
It's just we're all kind ofwired in different ways and it's
kind of fun to hear yourperspective on like that was.
Those were the things that, um,really kind of fueled you and
got you excited, and itcertainly fueled you, uh,
jumping into this profession aswell.
Speaker 4 (06:59):
Uh, rochelle yeah, I was just going to add a little
bit to that.
You were going to cue me anyway.
Um, I was just going to add alittle bit to that.
(07:19):
You were going to cue me anyway.
I just think it was reallyunique that Michaela didn't
start those things, as sheemphasized, when she did
undergrad here.
She established a lot of thoseconnections and got that
experience of like, well, whatis research, what does it mean
to be involved as a student?
What are some of the things Ican do?
You know, even with some of theresearch that she got into at
the graduate level when she wasin PT school, she was doing
(07:40):
almost all the components of thestudy.
She was screening participants,she was helping out with our
high-intensity interval trainingsessions, helping out with the
data analysis.
She's even working on amanuscript right now as
presented at CSM, and it'sreally rare that we see a
student show interest year one,semester one in PT school where
(08:01):
they can follow a researchproject across their entire GPT
education, and so she got to seeit from start.
You know now that that projectis even finished and we're
working on those follow-upmanuscripts, which is really
unique and kind of shows heralso dedication to that where it
wasn't just I want to do this,you know, one year to check this
box so that I get to move on.
(08:23):
She had a consistent passion inthis area, yeah.
Speaker 2 (08:26):
Yeah, can you, rochelle, maybe talk a little
bit more too?
So I want to highlight you as amember of our Nebraska chapter
of APTA as well.
You were faculty advisor thatmay be nominated for this award,
right?
Or you were part of that group,and, michaela, you've touched
(08:52):
on some of that already, butwhat were the things that you
saw?
And for other faculty that arelooking to nominate students
going through their programs,what would they be looking for?
Speaker 4 (09:00):
Yeah, so a few different roles that I have here
at Creighton.
One is that I am a researchadvisor for students that are
interested in working with youknow older adults and have you
know various projects that aregoing on, depending on the time
of year and funding that we have.
But I'm also the co-chair forour student awards committee, so
(09:21):
I'm also constantly seeing whatawards can we nominate students
for, and so it was thisbeautiful blend of I knew that
Michaela was, you know, workingwith me and seeing you know what
the qualifications were forthis award.
So having this alignment ofseeing how she's an outstanding
student and does well in theclassroom but then also showing
(09:42):
that she does really well atbalancing a lot of different
areas too, so showing that shehas evidence of showing
leadership in these other areas.
So showing that she hasevidence of showing leadership
in these other areas.
She mentioned a little bit withher career in soccer and she
helped volunteer at Top Soccerthat helps to teach kids that
have disabilities soccer too.
So she had a strong interest inshowing that leadership and
(10:06):
carving out time for that, whichis hard to do in PT school.
Carving out time even beyondjust the academic requirements
is tough, and then also with theresearch, really just taking
the initiative, we always triedto blend what things she was
doing in research to make themrelatable to clinical practice
and skills that she would need.
(10:26):
And so when she was screeningparticipants, some of that was
involved with calling doctor'soffices to get medical clearance
for participants.
So she got to get maybecomfortable I don't know if she
would agree with that wording,but comfortable calling, you
know, physicians that maybeshe's never talked to before
talking to their nurses aboutpotential participants and
establishing those communicationskills as well.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
That's great, michaela.
Since you were an athlete, youplayed soccer, correct.
Yep, all right, I'm going tocome out of left field here a
little bit.
Have any of you?
Have you guys watched Welcometo Wrexham at all?
Okay, michaela is saying, yes, Ijust found out.
You know Tom Brady and apartner of his have ownership
(11:11):
over another soccer team inEngland and they came out with a
show on Amazon Prime.
But one of the things that TomBrady talks about in there is
just hey, I was never worriedabout the game because I was
always focused on the processand practice itself, and if I
practiced at the highest level Ipossibly could, the game would
(11:33):
work itself out.
I'm assuming you have a similarmindset as an athlete and that
that even has flowed into howyou treated some of these
service opportunities andresearch opportunities within
the PT realm.
So, all of that being said,that's my lead-in to this
question.
Okay, so I know you probablyweren said my, my, that's my
lead into this question.
Okay, so I know you probablyweren't, when you came into PT
(11:55):
school, thinking about hey, Iwant to win the Mary McMillan
award.
Right, it was more about theprocess for you and just what
the experience was going to belike and doing those things at a
high level, um, trying to growthrough those opportunities.
So, beyond the recognition thatyou got from this, how do you
(12:15):
see the award influencing yourcareer path or even
opportunities that might beavailable for you moving forward
?
Speaker 3 (12:22):
Yeah.
So coming into PT school, Ireally just focused on setting
myself up the best I could forwhen I was a new grad and you
know everything was all on mefor the first time, um.
So I think the experiences I hadtruly set me up for that in
addition to my award but goinginto my first job and my
interview, um, I emphasized howimportant research was to me and
(12:45):
giving back to the communityand all of those things, and
that was something that wasreally reciprocated from her Um
and I was a little surprised by,but it was just an opportunity
to open that door in thatconversation and realizing that
as physical therapists we canreally make change in the
profession.
But we just have to be reallyactive.
In Texas, especially right now,like we just expanded our
(13:08):
direct access laws, and that'san area where you know the APTA
has been really active in allstates but something that we
need to understand as PTs andreally work with to better our
patients in the future.
So I think those opportunitiesjust set me up for being a voice
in our profession and not, youknow, being afraid to go out
(13:31):
there and, you know, ask forthings and be able to, you know,
advocate for our patients wherethey truly need to be advocated
for.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
I love it, rochelle, anything you want to add to that
?
Speaker 4 (13:46):
I think that having an award like this helps
articulate you know that youreally did aspire to these
levels and how you knowcompetitive these awards are and
so having you know we thinkabout something you can put on
your resume or CV or things likethat.
But it just gives more weightto what you're saying during
that interview because you knowanyone can walk into an
(14:08):
interview and say, like I valuethese things, but if you don't
have evidence of that then it'skind of tough to sell it versus
really demonstrating that.
And having that evidence Ithink is a great thing.
That helps you know Michaelastand apart and for you know
other folks that receive thisaward or other awards showing
their service and leadership andresearch efforts.
Speaker 2 (14:28):
So, michaela, I'm thinking about the things that
you've done, kind of the processthat you've walked through, and
I'm kind of wondering.
You know, there's a wholeperson that we're considering in
school, oftentimes right asyou're going through your
education, and not everyone iswired the same way as you, right
(14:49):
.
These things really kind offueled you.
Everyone is wired the same wayas you, right.
These things really kind offueled you.
They contributed to yourwellness in this whole person
concept.
But what would you communicateto students that maybe have a
different type of capacity orwellness looks a little
different for them?
How would you tell them toengage in service or research?
Speaker 3 (15:09):
I always live by the saying don't put your eggs all
in one basket because that's thequickest way to burn out.
I obviously focused on schoolas a priority in my learning and
it helped me give back to mycommunity, but it was also, you
know, a mental break from school.
Other things that I did duringPT school that were similar.
(15:44):
You know leadershipopportunities don't have to be
organizing, you know, hundredsof people and putting on huge
events.
It can be down to a smallclassroom.
You know event that makes you aleader.
So just finding things in yourcomfort zone that interest you.
But you also don't want tostretch yourself too thin,
especially in PT school.
You know it's.
It is a lot, but there arethings you can do to become a
(16:07):
leader in your community and togive back to the community.
Speaker 2 (16:10):
I appreciate that answer.
Speaker 4 (16:11):
Go ahead, rishon, I'll just add to that that it's
okay to try things too.
You know, hopefully we arestretching your comfort zone
probably in a lot of ways whenyou're in PT school, but trying
something and realizing it's notfor you and kind of stretching
yourself out there, maybe thatwasn't the right thing that you
could take on at that time, ormaybe there's different seasons,
(16:32):
maybe this semester you havemore bandwidth, maybe your
coursework is a little bitlighter, so you maybe try to do
a few more service opportunitiesthat semester.
So ebbs and flows, I think, areimportant to consider too with
you know, our whole person andbeing able to do things outside
of coursework and PT school.
Speaker 2 (16:51):
Yeah, no, I appreciate both of your comments
on that.
It has me thinking.
I am gonna interview Dr NikkiSleddins in a future podcast and
she has done some research onburnout in our profession and
it's just interesting becausesome of the things that you're
talking about, michaela, it canfuel some people but for others
(17:12):
it might be a contributingfactor to burnout as well, and
there's a number of differentfactors that she has looked at.
But I'm looking forward tohaving that conversation as well
and I think some of these samethemes might even come up there.
So just to wrap up, again, Iappreciate both of you coming
onto the podcast and kind ofsharing Michaela your experience
(17:35):
from a student's perspectiveand Rochelle, your experience
from the faculty perspective.
Any closing thoughts for theaudience at all, anything you
guys want to say?
Speaker 4 (17:46):
I would like to actually ask Michaela another
question and put her on the spothere, just because hopefully we
have some either students thatare listening, those that are
maybe early career professionalswhy you would encourage folks
that recently graduated PTschool to continue their APT
(18:06):
membership.
What value have you seen inthat?
Speaker 3 (18:09):
I had the opportunity to present some research at CSM
in Houston, which is put on bythe APTA, and I networked with
so many individuals during thatexperience.
Honestly, it was crazy.
I met people from all over thecountry with interest in the
research I was presenting, butalso in patient rehab, because I
(18:30):
was going into that, and evensports.
The APTA is just a great way toreally network within your
profession and even outside ofyour profession.
I really like all of the toolson their newly updated website
and just the information that iscoming out every day about,
(18:51):
like I said earlier, the directaccess change in Texas.
That is something that you knowwas communicated directly from
the APTA to me, and just havingthat ease of gaining information
from the APTA is truly worththe membership.
So if you're a new grad, Idefinitely recommend it, just
(19:13):
for the mentorship and thenetworking and all the
information that they give you,because your first year will be
pretty overwhelming being out onyour own, so you need those
resources.
Speaker 2 (19:27):
Absolutely Well.
Thank you both for being on thepodcast, for sharing your
stories here.
Well, thank you both for beingon the podcast, for sharing your
stories here and, yeah, I hopeour audience enjoys the
conversation as well.
I will put in a plug as themembership committee chair for
APTA Nebraska, for whetheryou're an early career
(19:56):
professional, you're a studentor you've been in the profession
for a long time, there are alot of membership deals through
the APTA that range from movingto financial planning, to
vacation resources, to new shoes, et cetera.
So check those things out.
It's not just the professionalresources.
There are resources that cankind of help us in life a bit as
well.
So again, thank you, ladies,for being on the podcast and
(20:20):
we'll look forward to the nextone.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
Thank you.
Thanks for tuning in to theAPTA Nebraska podcast.
Stay connected with us for moreconversations that elevate our
profession and improve the livesof Nebraskans.
Don't forget to subscribe,share and join the discussion,
because together we're drivingthe future of physical therapy
forward.
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