How to Be an Active Student APTA Member

Hello, APTA stars! In my previous post, I talked about my experience at 2016 National Student Conclave, and I promised to share some tips on how to get involved in the APTA. Here are a few ways (some easier than others) to kickstart your APTA involvement. I have personally used all of these methods, and I don’t regret any of them!

Action Plan for APTA involvement:

Join (or resurface) Twitter. I know it may seem like Twitter is old hat, but trust me; everyone who’s anyone in the PT world is on Twitter. At the recommendation of a colleague, I resurfaced my dormant Twitter account this past summer after a couple years of inactivity, and I am so glad I did. I now connect with other students and professionals from around the nation, and I follow PT organizations that give me good information. Don’t know how to start? Create an account and follow me @KatieRagle. I’ll tweet you a shout-out, and you’ll have followers in no time.
Follow @APTAtweets for direct information on involvement!
Attend APTA conferences. And when I say attend, I mean actually engage with the sessions and attendees. You won’t get anything out of conferences where you float in to meet a school requirement, half-heartedly listen to a couple speakers, and ditch early because you’re tired. Actively listen to the sessions. Resist the temptation to only talk to people from your class who go with you. Put yourself out there, and introduce yourself to people. PT is an amazingly friendly profession, and the people who sacrifice the time and money to attend conferences are generally the ones who want to network and meet others.
Read your APTA emails! I know it can be overwhelming, but you can adjust the number of emails you receive if you log into your APTA account. One of the most important emails you can read is the Pulse—the Student Assembly newsletter/blog with all kinds of great information just for us students.
Student happens can be followed at @APTASA
Check out the #XchangeSA. This is a monthly chat that the Student Assembly Director of Communications holds with a professional in the PT field. These chats have covered everything from student debt management to mentorship to the value of APTA membership. Take a look at the archived podcasts and plan to watch the next one!
Our new Director of Communications is Cruz Romero, SPT CSCS. Follow him at @cruzromero602
Find someone who is actively involved in the APTA and pick his or her brain about how to get started. Don’t be ashamed to ask! I got my start by sending a simple email, and the next thing I knew, I was sitting in a state APTA meeting with the influential leaders in our field. One of the speakers at NSC told us that nearly every person who is actively involved in the APTA had someone who inspired them to do so. Please find that person. If you need it to be me, then let me know, and I’ll get you amped about the APTA. Both professionals and other students want to help you get involved, but you have to ask!

I know this is a lot of information, but hopefully, this gives you a few concrete things that you can do right now to get more plugged in. It may not seem like much, but you’d be surprised how more connected you’ll be by following these steps.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact me at raglekatie@gmail.com or on Twitter @KatieRagle.