Recently, I have become involved in the registered student organization (RSO) Pre-Physical Therapy Club at the University of Arkansas. The RSO wasn’t renewed after the girl that founded it graduated, and I was one of the founding officers that helped restart it. This is our first semester back again, and we have been reorganizing and planning various events and speakers.
The focus of the club is to bring students together who are interested in pursuing a career in physical therapy. The process of applying to physical therapy school can be pretty difficult and overwhelming at times, and the Pre-Physical Therapy Club gives students a chance to talk to other students who are in their shoes and to students who already have been accepted. In addition, it gives students an insight into the field as they talk to others, so they can get an idea if this is a career they are really interested in pursuing.
My officer position in the club is public relations. This means that I work on various ways to get the word of the club out there to students and let them know what we are doing. We had a current DPT (Doctor of Physical Therapy) student from the UAMS Physical Therapy program talk to students about topics like admissions tips, observation hours, GRE, grades, and answer any other questions the students had. For the remainder of the semester, we are planning on taking a tour of the UAMS facility, inviting admissions representatives to speak at our meeting, and making a list of facilities that allow students to observe physical therapists.
One of the biggest reasons I decided to join the Pre-Physical Therapy Club, is to network with students who will be going through the exact same process as me in a few months, and learn as much as I can. As a biology major, the majority of the students in my classes are interested in medical school, and this group is a way for me to trade ideas and thoughts with other pre-PT students.
Whatever career or field you are interested in, there is an RSO on campus for you. It’s a great opportunity to network and learn more about the field you would like to get into, or find out if it’s really for you! You can find a list of all of the RSO’s on campus at http://osa.uark.edu/registered-student-organizations/. If you can’t find exactly what your looking for you can start your own!
-Selina
