RUNNING HEAD: Internship Self-Reflection 1

Internship Self-Reflection

Practicum

Anna DiDonato

November 11, 2019

Throughout my practicum experience, I have learned a lot about myself and my outlook

on my future career. I began at Bucks Physical Therapy, an outpatient setting that began as a

facility that was family owned and operated and then expanded to six different locations all

within the Bucks County area. I found myself not getting as much out of my internship

experience that I had hoped for. I then decided if I wanted to fully enhance my opportunity

shadowing a physical therapist, I had to switch companies. I continued the majority of my

practicum hours with Fox Rehabilitation observing in-home physical therapy in New Hope and

the surrounding areas.

I feel as though my coursework prior to my experience allowed me prosper and be

successful by giving me the confidence that I know the foundation of what is going on. I was

able to understand the rationale behind my supervisor’s plan of action for the patient. Classes

that I have taken prior to my experience that most contributed to my understanding include

kinesiology and biomechanics. These classes taught me about where the muscles are in the body

and how they move and function. This is important when designing a rehab program because you

have to know which muscles work together and which muscles inhibit or work against each

other. From these classes I also learned which muscle groups are used in specific actions and

exercises which is also crucial information to know when choosing exercises to help a patient get

better. Therapeutic exercise, a class I am currently taking, is a great bridge between those

previous classes mentioned that taught about the muscles and some movements and my

practicum experience and the real world job of a PT. It teaches me about the process of healing

as well as specific exercises for injuries of each joint as well as progressions to make the

exercises harder as the patient continues to improve. I enjoy having this class after my practicum

experience because I can be more creative in thinking of exercises from all the different physical
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therapists I have shadowed. My practicum experience confirmed the information I have obtained

through my course work. I believe that our curriculum and professors set students up for success

in the real world. The case studies, labs, and practicals all introduce us to real life case scenarios

which is the best way to prepare for the real world, and it is evident that not all other schools

teach in this way.

Since I am a student shadowing, I could not participate in any hands-on activity. My

main responsibilities during my internship experience were engaging and interacting with the

patients, asking questions, and coming prepared with ideas of exercises that could be added to

change up some patients’ program. If I did not interact or talk to the patients, they may have been

uncomfortable which in turn could have affected their opinion of the company in a negative way.

I believe that my ability of being personable and holding a conversation has helped this company

and organization in a positive way because it shows they allow students to shadow who they feel

are prepared for the field, since communication is a crucial skill for a physical therapist. Some of

the principle beliefs of Fox Rehabilitation include team spirit, eradication of ageism, exchange of

abundance, and culture of respect. My ability to be friendly and sociable enhances the

organization’s culture of respect. Talking to patient’s and making them comfortable with a

student watching their rehab session says a lot about the student as well as their supervisor,

which reflects the company as a whole. This can also enhance the belief of the eradication of

ageism. That simply means that the company’s professionals treat all patients like able-bodied

patients, and just because most of their clientele is the older population does not mean they are

less capable of performing certain exercises and/or maintaining a certain level of strength and

endurance. Since I have talked to all the patients like individuals, rather than talking down to
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them as if they know less than you, I believe I also contributed to the organization’s eradication

of ageism.

My practicum experience verified my career goals for the future. The first company I

began my internship at, Bucks Physical Therapy, showed me that a small family business can be

tricky to run. There seemed to be less organization than other outpatient facilities I have

observed which all were bigger corporations such as Nova Care and Spear Physical Therapy. I

did not have a problem with those other outpatient facilities, so it made me realize that in the

future if I ended up in outpatient PT, I would have to carefully invest the company to make sure I

would fit in with the style and values of the company. However, When I went to Fox

Rehabilitation, I learned that I really enjoy in-home care. I learned that I enjoy spending the full

45 minute-1 hour session one-to-one with the patient. This allows for a more individualized plan

and allows the PT to oversee the patient more closely rather than giving them instruction with

what to do and passing them off to a physical therapist aid. I enjoyed the experience of being

with the patient and observing to make sure they have proper form. It also allows the PT to

notice where the patient is struggling and what exercises they find too easy, some things that

may be missed if an aid is overlooking them.

I did accomplish some of the goals I set for myself during this internship. I did get to

observe the differences in treating adults, kids, athletes, and non-athletes. I learned that he rehab

protocol is similar for all these diverse populations because all people who are getting treatment

are trying to get back to their “normal”, or where they were before an injury or disease. The

difference that I did notice was in their attitudes and their willingness to work hard to get better.

Athletes, elders who believed exercise is making them live longer, and adults who were in pain

and could not carry out their daily activities tended to work harder with their rehab. On the other
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hand, adults who were on worker’s comp, for the majority of the time that I observed, enjoyed

the time off work and were more relaxed about getting back quickly. Another goal that I feel I

accomplished is understanding what tests were used for evaluations. Although I do not feel fully

comfortable performing a full evaluation as that requires more education, I did get to observe

some evaluations and was able to understand why certain tests were used. From my classes I

learned that when one part of the body is injured, more often than not another joint or point in the

kinetic chain is also affected. When my supervisors were performing tests on clients, they would

check not only the muscles and joints that were reported to be hurting but also the ones above

and below to figure out where the issue is stemming from. This was necessary to correctly create

an exercise program to make sure the exercises target where the problem is coming from, not just

where the pain is.

The company Fox Rehabilitation, did not have any ineffective business practices that I

noticed. I thought all of the therapists who worked for the company were professional,

compassionate, respectful, and dependable. Therefore, I did not notice any ethical issues during

my time observing. The work environment was very efficient. The therapist I shadowed had her

whole day planned out including travel time between her patients’ houses. She always arrived on

time if not early. The only time management issue that I noticed is when my PT went to an

assisted living facility. The scheduling there was not blocked off patient to patient, rather her

schedule had her at that facility for a certain number of hours. Within that time slot, she could

see as many or as little patients that are available. Sometimes this was difficult because we

would go to a patient’s room only to find they were with the OT or eating breakfast or not in

their room, so we would have to go find another patient or go track them down. This sometimes
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worked out perfectly, but sometimes was a waste of time and affected how many units my PT

could get for the day.

My relationship with my supervisor became very strong throughout my experience. She

was very helpful in that she was very open to all questions and wanted to help me in any way

that she could. She shared her story and offered her tips about applying to schools. As my

internship experience continued, we began to talk as friends in a professional way which made

the experience more enjoyable as well as help me to meet my goals. She wrote one of my

recommendations which I believed helped me to get interviews to some of my top schools. I am

very appreciate and grateful for the bond we created and everything I got to learn from a

successful, well-liked physical therapist.

Even though my internship did not begin as well as I hoped, I did learn a lot about myself

and about my future career. Overall I would rate my experience an 8 out of 10. It was a very

valuable learning experience whether I enjoy where I was at or not. I would tell future interns to

take this opportunity seriously and put a lot of effort into getting the most they can out of it. I

would also tell them to be professional, but be themselves because it is a time to network and

make connections which will become useful to them in the future. A time that disappointed me

during my experience was when my supervisor was just taking students to shadow them as part

of their job and did not make them feel comfortable and welcomed. That did not contribute to my

learning as much as I had hoped. A highlight was learning about a new setting in physical

therapy that I only had a little experience with prior to my internship and learning that it has been

my favorite setting thus far and how great of a fit I was in that setting. It was exciting being able

to picture myself in that environment one day. I am thankful for this experience and excited to

see where it will take me.