We just started our first clinical rotation in orthopedics.  A classmate and myself are in Cary at a clinic and we just finished 1 full week of clinical.  Its been challenging to combine what we’ve learned with different therapists’ styles but I feel like I’ve grown already in just a week.  It is so good to be around patients again and it’s nice to practice the theories in reality.

Its been quite an adjustment to not see my classmates that I used to spend half of the hours in a week with.  It’s amazing how much you miss each other when its not there—a good sign of appreciation after all of the stress of last year.

To any 1^st years, enjoy your 1^st week!

I’m sitting on the couch relaxing in Michigan with a friend from undergrad after going to another friends’ wedding the other night.  As with every break, it feels like it can’t come soon enough but then when it comes, it’s everything you hoped it would be.

The whole last month has been ridiculously busy but we learned so much, we spent time together, and we got prepped and ready for Christmas.

Congratulations on your graduation class of 2011!  And good luck with the move and prepping for school to the class of 2014.

I cannot believe everything I have learned and had the opportunity to do in these last three years.  Elon University and all the professors in the DPT program have been an incredible blessing to my life, and I am forever thankful.  Elon was the only place for me, and I am so thankful that God led me to this university and this program.  I was challenged in ways I have never been challenged, and I was pushed to the edge of my mental, emotional, and physical limit at times throughout this program, but I am so thankful for the trials as God has used them to help shape me into the person, and soon-to-be professional physical therapist that I am.

The mighty challenge of physical therapy school leads to the feeling of a mighty accomplishment when it is complete. I feel that these past three years, this past season of my life, has been one of the most influential in shaping me into who I am and helping me to learn who I am.  As this season comes to an end, and as I prepare to go into the “real world,” I feel that I am well prepared and ready for my career and journey as a therapist.

If you have the opportunity to be a part of this program, Elon becomes your home for these three years. I encourage you to fully invest yourself into this program and pursuit, just as Elon and all the professors and staff will fully invest in your growth and development.

I am so thankful for my time at Elon. I am so thankful for all the DPT professors and staff members, as well as all the other professionals at Elon that helped me through this program. I am so thankful for all of my classmates and am so proud of them. I am so thankful to have had this opportunity to share my thoughts throughout this program and the journey God had me on at Elon through this blog.

Elon has prepared me well for this journey, and I am so thankful for the time I have had in this program to be shaped into the near-future professional physical therapist.  I look forward to finishing this internship strong and taking the steps necessary to prepare for my career!

In just a few weeks I will be writing my final blog post as an Elon DPT student – crazy.  I look forward to writing, and please let me know if anyone has any questions or needs anything!

I don’t know when it happened but sometime in the last 10 months, I really became a PT student.  I really became committed to my future in this career.  I learned more in the last 10 months regarding PT than I ever knew before.  My life has taken a path that few others do, and I’m so grateful for the journey its been so far.

We have now completed both the spine and lower extremity sections of orthopedics and are one week into the upper extremity.  In just one week, I’ve already warped into that person that thinks about the shoulder motions involved in the throw I watched during the football game, or in watching people get groceries from the shelves in the store.  I knew my thought process had been changing but I’m seeing life in new ways because of school.

Thankfully, we’ll finally get a break for Thanksgiving soon, followed by a quick couple of weeks until Christmas break.  After the New Year, we’ll move on to our respective clinical sites for our first experience in the clinic since school started.

We’re almost there!

Fall is progressing beautifully here with the return of crisp air and the leaves changing.  Fall is a wonderful season down here.  I had the chance to spend some time out in Asheville hiking and driving the Blue Ridge Parkway—definitely worth your time if you get the chance.  I’ve eaten my fair share of apples from “nearby” orchards and enjoyed running outside once again (in my favorite kind of weather, temperate).

I’m looking forward to meeting next year’s students!  Hope your preparations have or will continue smoothly.  As always, please feel free to ask any questions, as I know well that it’s not a minor adjustment.

I have been challenged in this program, sometimes more-so than I thought I could handle, but if it had been easy, it would not feel so rewarding to be where I am right now.

Being in this profession, you are going to come into contact with all types of people, patients, and families, carrying along with them their own special and unique stories.  In the past few weeks working in acute care I have spent time with more than a few patients and families dealing with hard situations.  One patient was an elderly man who was over six feet tall and outwardly appeared to be a stout, strong man who was now dealing with all sorts of complications from cardiopulmonary problems.  While this man appeared to be this strong person, I experienced his gentle, tender, and fatigued heart and spirit as he talked with me about how this sickness was just too much for him, that he was ready to go “home” (meaning Heaven).

I prayed with him and talked with him and left that afternoon with a greater understanding of the hope I have in Christ.  He is my strength.  His strength is revealed even greater in my weakness.  He is my hope and my purpose.  And because of this, I have a light of hope to share with each patient and family that I have the great opportunity to work with and serve.  The field of physical therapy is not just a career path.  It is an avenue to serve others in a time of need, an opportunity to provide hope when someone is lost or worn out.

When I began to write this blog, I was going to comment on a question that had been asked regarding the process of applying for PT school, but I just wanted to share a little of what was on my heart first.  Okay, now to the process of applying to PT school.

In regards to any advice I may have on applying to different schools, I am not very knowledgeable because I only applied to Elon.  I know there are many students who apply to multiple schools, but I just felt that Elon was the place for me, so that is the only application I filled out.  I applied to Elon after looking through Elon’s DPT website, after gaining an understanding of their modular schedule and getting a feel of the purpose behind the program.  I appreciated that the prerequisites at Elon were not as stringent as some other schools, with the purpose behind this being so that people of all different ages and backgrounds could be a part of this program, enhancing the diversity and strength of the program.

So, from this, I would advise that anyone looking to apply to a PT school search the school’s website and understand the anticipated schedule for the program.  I would also advise that if you have the chance, go tour the school and talk with people in the graduate admissions and DPT program so that you can get a feel of what life would be like on that campus, in that program.  I went on an informal tour at Elon a few months before my interview and when I left that day, I just felt like that campus was home, that Elon was where I was meant to be for this season of my life.

I am not sure if this helps in any way to answer this question, but if there is any other question that anyone has, please let me know, and I will do the best I can to answer.

Have a great day!

Its been a change of pace from the switch between the spine and lower extremity but we’ve had some interesting opportunities. Last week, we worked through an inpatient lab setting for patients post-knee (TKA) and hip (THA) replacement.   Our professors and some PTs and PTAs from the hospital came over and gave us advice and feedback. It was eye-opening to see the differences between how to handle rehabilitation post-TKA and THA in the hospital versus an outpatient setting.

Fall is fully here.  The temperatures are dropping, the leaves are beginning to change, the air is finally crisp, and the typical fall foods/drinks are everywhere.  I love it.

As with each passing month, I’ve learned to appreciate our class and the friends I’ve made here more and more.  I’m so glad I get to be part of it.

Hope you’ve all been well!

I was definitely somewhat nervous before starting that experience because I knew a high volume outpatient clinic was going to be challenging, but I can definitely say that I learned so much and feel that that experience was a vital one.  I started in acute care last week and am enjoying my time so far.  Starting in a new setting always incites some nerves on my part, so it is always nice to be a week or so into a setting, familiar with the people, as well as the functioning of the facility, including how documentation works at that setting.

While the nerves were still there with regards to the newness and unknown of starting in another setting, it has been encouraging to see the progress I have experienced throughout my time in this program, in that I do not feel any hesitation with talking with patients, families, or physicians, and I do not have any nerves with performing evaluations and daily treatment sessions.   While I definitely still have questions at times and I definitely seek guidance or assistance if needed, I have become confident in my abilities as a to-be-therapist and have begun to really consider myself as a therapist and not just as a student.
During this internship, I have met some amazing people, including co-workers, patients, and family members.  This is why I love this profession – this profession incorporates teaching, motivating, counseling, training, and serving, and that is why I am thankful to have the opportunity to pursue this profession.
Just a few more months left on my journey as an Elon DPT student, I wonder what God has in store.

We started back up three weeks ago with a very different schedule set up.  We are back to Wednesdays without classes, but instead, each one gets filled up with time in the lab, working on research, studying, volunteering, and periodically, a little social time.  We have class from about 9-5 every day but are only taking two classes and one online class.  Orthopedics is about 90 percent of our time and focus, while we keep up with our small group research and clinical imaging.

We’re about halfway through our first ortho section, the spine, and gosh, I am such an ortho nerd.  I get truly excited to learn techniques and better understand the pathologies that I’ve seen.  It’s reassuring to see my own excitement and passion for PT increase during these times and I’m reminded, once again, of why I commit so much time to learning, practicing, and studying.  I did choose this life for this period and there’s a good reason for it.

We also added three members to our class recently.  Two students from previous classes took some time off and have now joined our class to continue their time at Elon.  Also, our classmate and his wife, who were expecting their first child, had their beautiful daughter!  It’s been a fun chance for some change.

The undergraduate students are returning to campus and I’m just realizing how quickly summer has flown by.  The quiet campus will soon return to its normal order as we adjust to sharing the gym and library once again.

Hurricane Irene seems to be leaving us fairly alone here, at least from what I’ve experienced so far, so I’m quite grateful for that.  Hope the rest of you are staying/stayed safe as well!

Finally, if any of you are from the incoming class, please don’t hesitate to contact me with questions as you start to plan your next three years.  I know I had questions a year ago so feel free to ask about whatever you need!

This past week I was able to take a few days to go work at a children’s camp, and it was amazing.  During our internship, one of our requirements is to complete a consultation experience due to the fact that the service of consultation is one of the primary roles of a physical therapist.  For this experience, we were to explore opportunities to serve in our community through providing a service, through using the knowledge and skills we have as physical therapy students to serve others.

Here in Birmingham, AL, there is an organization called Lakeshore Foundation that serves individuals with physical disabilities.  I had the opportunity to help at an inclusion children’s camp, which was a camp for children with physical disabilities and their siblings.  With the inclusion camp consisting of both children and counselors of all realms of physical ability, the goal and the focus of camp was to emphasize the ability of all individuals, especially the ability to participate in sports and be active.

I had such an amazing time with these children and counselors, and while I feel I was able to serve by being a volunteer, I feel that I was the one truly blessed to be a part of this camp.  Throughout the camp, we all played different games, including basketball, volleyball, soccer, tennis, as well as other team-building games in wheelchairs.  In addition, we all tried out hand-cycling (bikes with the use of hand pedals), which was so much fun, but a definite workout ☺.

Through the emphasis of embracing the ability of individuals in wheelchairs and the ability of individuals with all levels of physical ability, a greater respect is developed for the similarities in all individuals and the great potential for success for all individuals.

As I sit here, I think about all that I have learned over this past week and over these last two and a half years, and I am so thankful that God’s has given me these opportunities to learn through my time at Elon.

I look forward to writing next month, as I will be just a couple of days into my acute care part of my internship!  Let me know if you have any questions, I’d love to give my perspective!  Have a great day!