Andrew Strottman

Responsibilities

The responsibilities of my internship included starting and finishing patients for Physical Therapists. This included running the patient through their exercises and performing different modalities with them. I also made sure that the gym was clean and equipment was put away in the correct spot. After each patient visit, I would clean the beds and other equipment that was used to maintain cleanliness. I was also in charge of doing laundry and making sure all of our sheets, pillow cases, and towels were cleaned daily. I was also responsible for ordering any materials that were needed.

Accomplishments

The greatest accomplishment of my internship was helping a Physical Therapist think of different exercises to run the patient through to help strengthen them and get them back to where they were before. Seeing the progress in patients and seeing their faces when they could tell they were improving was very rewarding. I'd say everyday you get to see the impact that you had on patients and were able to see them on their first day in the clinic to their last day.

Learning experience

Some of the great lessons that I learned with my experience were to always listen, be present, work with an open mind, and be patient. Being able to be quiet and listen to what people who have been through all the schooling and learning from them on a daily basis is extremely knowledgable. Being able to be patient and work with an open mind were great lessons for me too. Being able to be calm and try to resolve a situation or be present when a patient is going through a tough time and just needs someone to listen and show compassion are very important in this field.

What advice would you give?

Some advice I have for future students in this major are to apply yourself. You are able to learn so much more when you apply yourself in anything you do and try to connect that to a real life scenario. Be a good listener, you are able to learn a lot when you listen and hear the advice that people are trying to give you. Lastly, remember to be patient and try your best. Sometimes it can get overwhelming and you just need to remember to breath and take a second to think about what happened and how you are going to handle the situation.