Internship Thoughts
I think being involved in an internship has helped me gain confidence in myself. I have a better outlook on things and I know how to deal with different types of people along with different situations that may occur. This internship has confirmed me that Physical Therapy is the career path I want to take. It does not seem like a job to me because I enjoy it so much. I just cannot wait until I will have the knowledge to evaluate a patient, set up their exercise program, and help them rehabilitate and motivate them to get them back to how they were before their injury.
I have learned that it is important to make relationships with your patients because that is how they will gain trust in you. I did a couple weeks of my internship at Bryn Mawr Hospital and I saw that before seeing a patient the therapists would look into their charts to see why each patient is in the hospital, what their past medical history is, what tests they have done during their stay, and also their vital signs to make sure they are okay/safe to move. The more information the therapist knew, the better they connected with the patient when meeting them for the first time. Some of these patients were very sick and in a lot of pain, but if they trusted their therapist they put forth the effort to try to reach the goal of sitting at the edge of the bed or transferring from the bed to the chair.
Before this internship I volunteered at The Vanguard School, which is a school with students who have disabilities. Most of the students there require physical therapy and or occupational therapy so I got to shadow the physical therapist. During my internship, I was able to get experience with a hospital setting, outpatient setting, and also geriatrics. I now know that after seeing all of these different types of settings, one day I want to work with children who have disabilities. I wouldn’t mind working in any setting, because I would still be doing something that I love and have an interest in, but working with children would be my dream. If I am lucky enough to find a job that does work with disabled children, I will have reached my goal. I’m sure it will be tough, but I am motivated to work hard and I am up for any challenge.
I have learned that it is important to make relationships with your patients because that is how they will gain trust in you. I did a couple weeks of my internship at Bryn Mawr Hospital and I saw that before seeing a patient the therapists would look into their charts to see why each patient is in the hospital, what their past medical history is, what tests they have done during their stay, and also their vital signs to make sure they are okay/safe to move. The more information the therapist knew, the better they connected with the patient when meeting them for the first time. Some of these patients were very sick and in a lot of pain, but if they trusted their therapist they put forth the effort to try to reach the goal of sitting at the edge of the bed or transferring from the bed to the chair.
Before this internship I volunteered at The Vanguard School, which is a school with students who have disabilities. Most of the students there require physical therapy and or occupational therapy so I got to shadow the physical therapist. During my internship, I was able to get experience with a hospital setting, outpatient setting, and also geriatrics. I now know that after seeing all of these different types of settings, one day I want to work with children who have disabilities. I wouldn’t mind working in any setting, because I would still be doing something that I love and have an interest in, but working with children would be my dream. If I am lucky enough to find a job that does work with disabled children, I will have reached my goal. I’m sure it will be tough, but I am motivated to work hard and I am up for any challenge.