Helping people is a natural instinct for me. When choosing a career path, it only seemed fitting to find one in which I was able to do just that. Though my path took me in several directions in the beginning, all of them helped build a foundation that eventually led to occupational therapy.

The decision to then continue on to earn my clinical doctorate, was an easy one. This journey is not linear, but cyclical. I am continually growing and changing, always circling back to continue viewing things through a new lens and from a different perspective, but always with the same intention and goal, to grow myself and to help others grow along the way.

The focus of my work thus far has been in the acute hospital setting in the cardiac ICU. The initial passion for helping others, which I’ve always had, is supported best in this fragile state of the healing process. While each step of the therapeutic journey is important, for me the initial connections between a patient and their therapist in the hospital room are what set the stage for a successful recovery. While my personal journey to find my passion has been long, and has been punctuated with challenges and acute changes, I can't help but see the similarities in the journey of a patient faced with advanced heart failure, with sudden challenges and new plans at a moments notice, the fragility of this experience does not go unnoticed.

As blood flows through the body, from heart to lung, to heart and back, it nourishes the human body with the oxygen it needs, continually circling back and providing sustainability. This doctoral experience mimics the fundamental function of the heart, as I continually circle back with the intent of building my expertise. While there is no beginning and no end in the circulation of blood through our internal system, there is no beginning or end to the education and growth of my doctoral work.

Blood moving from the heart to the lungs, in order to gain essential oxygen can be seen as the building of foundational knowledge. As blood, rich with oxygen, returns to the heart, so mimics the expansion of the foundational knowledge gained. As the heart then pumps oxygenated blood out into the body, this mimics the dissemination of knowledge to others through education. The cycle of blood through the heart will stand as a metaphor for this journey, and within the borders of this portfolio is the evidence to support my clinical expertise in the area of advanced cardiac care.