Happy fall to
all! I am excited to bring you a program/clinical education update
from one of our second year DPT students. I have asked students to
do this from time to time because I feel like our clinical educators enjoy
hearing directly from our students! Thank you Nick for your
willingness to share your experiences across the past year.
Karen McIntyre, Director
of Clinical Education, CSU DPT Program
Update from Nick
Anderson, CSU DPT 2 student:
Spring 2018 started off
by welcoming the DPT Class of 2020 with new student orientation and a
dessert social. My DPT Class of 2019 excitedly moved into the role of “DPT 2’s”
and began serving as mentors to the incoming students, offering valuable advice
about how to navigate coursework and have fun at the same time. We
hope to pass on support the way our mentors in the Class of 2018 have for
us. Although the spring was
tough and filled with long nights of studying, one highlight was the ability
for many of us to attend the APTA’s Combined Sections Meeting held in New
Orleans in February. The experience was eye-opening for a lot of students and
an incredible way to make connections for our future careers in physical
therapy.
Upon return to CSU, we
had some other experiences outside of the classroom that helped us keep focused
on our “end goal” of becoming physical therapists. Many classmates
and I were fortunate enough to be able to participate with Dr. Katie Long and
Dr. Mary Milidonis as they provided physical therapy treatment at Verb Ballets.
This session allowed us to observe and then practice manual techniques on the
dancers. After treatment, students could watch the dancers rehearse or see the
actual show if there was one scheduled that night. It was a great
experience working with elite level athletes and being able to hone our manual
skills. Some of my classmates instead participated in a group
exercise class for individuals with Parkinson’s Disease at the Cleveland Clinic
Mellen Center with physical therapists Dr. Amy Chan and Dr. Kathy
Szirony. Students were able to help the PTs set-up both obstacle
courses and rotating stations targeting agility, strength, coordination,
endurance, balance, and more. The environment is very fun, all while
the participants are pushed to improve function. We are so grateful to our
community partners for these opportunities.
Summer 2018 brought my
DPT Class of 2019 to our first full-time clinical education
experience. These Applied PT I placements are 10 weeks in length and
were in acute care, home health and outpatient settings. This was the first
time we were able to work 40+ hours a week as a student physical therapist.
From talking to other classmates, everyone had incredible experiences and were
able to learn a lot from our Clinical Instructors and patients, while also
learning a lot about ourselves. As summer wound down, we were able to enjoy
some time together celebrating our accomplishments in the program thus
far. Our class planned a camping and canoeing trip during the few
weeks we had off after clinical ended. Classmates and friends met up and had a
great weekend to end summer and to relax before the start of coursework again.
Now that we are into the
fall semester, our class has brought our valuable full-time experiences in the
clinic with us back to the classroom. I believe our confidence has grown as
student clinicians, which will show during our shared experience at Cuyahoga
Community College’s Preventative Care Center. Each student will attend two
sessions there and will work with an interprofesional team of students from Dietetic Technology, Medical Assisting, Occupational Therapy Assisting, and Physical Therapist Assistant Programs. Exciting times for the DPT Class of 2019!
