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Making Lives Better

1st Lieutenant Kirkdon McBride, Physical Therapist (65B) talks about role/experience/benefits - part of Baylor program - has great reputation for physical therapy. Able to advance as therapists, and ability to lead people and teach others....

Making Lives Better

My name is First Lieutenant Kirkdon McBride. I work at Womack Army Medical Center in Ft. Bragg, North Carolina and my MOS is a 65-Bravo or Physical Therapist.

The Army offered me an excellent chance to serve my country and be on Active Duty. At the same time, I go to School in the Army's Baylor Program, which has a great reputation around the nation for physical therapy.

When you get accepted in the Baylor Program, you receive a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. I made a few connections and hopefully I'll be able to go sometime this fall and go to Airborne School.

There's an Air Assault School here at Ft. Bragg and I'm working to try to get that done some time in the next year before I change duty stations for another post.

As a military therapist, I think I have a better ability to discuss situations with doctors or advance myself as a therapist. I'm also able to lead people because in the civilian sector you can be a therapist all day long.

You continue to see patients, but you really aren't forced into the position of having to make clinical decisions or make decisions that are going affect things or figure out how to run a clinic. It combines both the leadership skills, which are demanded of being an Officer and also to run a clinic.

I've always wanted to serve my nation and have the capabilities of where I can try to teach others and lead troops. I'm also glad to be able to help somebody get better; make somebody's life easier or more productive by what we do as physical therapists.

I think that's kind of a crowning achievement. I can't think of, right now, of anything else in life I'd rather be doing than this.

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Making Lives Better