Arguably the most challenging academic year, allowed for a deep exploration of clinical practice in our management courses:
Musculoskeletal Dysfunction (bones & muscles!)
Neuromotor Dysfunction (BRAAaains)
Cardiopulmonary Dysfunction ( heart & lungs)
Integumentary Dysfunction ( did you know that PTs did wound care? read about it here: Helping Them Heal: PTs role in wound care.)
Not to forget about pediatrics, geriatrics, medical imagining, prosthetics and orthotics, and women's health... I was a permanent resident in the library!
HOWEVER:
All work and no play makes for a very cranky graduate student so luckily this year was also full of opportunities to explore inter-professional development, attend conferences, participate in service opportunities, and compete in races.
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Effective Team Membership
Inter-professional Team Building - Physical Therapy Students and Physicians Assistant Students working together for a community practicum project: Health and Wellness in the Adult IDD community. Read more about our project and my experience here: IDD Refelection
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Service Oriented Advocacy
This year I found myself returning to the National Physical Therapy Conferences I attended in my first year: National Student Conclave was just around the corner in Arlington, VA and The Combined Sections Meeting was held in San Diego, CA. Aside from the stark contrast in weather from the year prior, I found myself able to engage with the discussions and other professionals more than the year before. I also became involved with two special sections in the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) the Cardiopulmonary Section and the Oncology Section. I volunteered at their booths to give individuals information about the sections. For the Oncology Section, I also created a Celebrate Life Tree. We invited individuals to place a leaf on the tree for individuals who have been affected by cancer.
I also had the opportunity to put my anatomical knowledge and love of painting to work at The National Museum of Medicine's Anatomy of Sports event. As an illustrator I was there to paint directly on athlete's bodies to reveal the key muscle and bone structures, as a physical therapy student I got to speak to passers by about those key muscle groups and how to improve their performance while preventing injuries. Another medical illustrator set up an anatomical art demonstration that literally illustrated how a horse and rider's bodies must work in tandem to achieve maximum performance!
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Depth and Breadth of Practice
As I began to develop some more specific passions as I moved through my physical therapy curriculum, I found opportunities to hone those interests discovering conferences to attend to deepen those passions.
TED MED
When TED MED moved from California in 2012 to The Kennedy Center right around the corner from George Washington, I knew I had to get involved! I first found myself serving as the GW liaison between the School of Health Sciences and TED MED, we hosted the live streaming events for students to get as close as possible to the main-stage (with out actually being there of course) and I even got to attend the conference for a full day. The following year, I continued to stay involved with the TEDMED community and was chosen as The Great Challenges Scholar. I received a full scholarship to attend the 2013 Conference and helped organize The Great Challenges Initiative. I even got to put my artistic abilities to work as a graphic facilitator! What a truly incredible week. Read about my first experience : Through the looking glass at TEDMED.
Johns Hopkins Critical Care Rehabilitation Conference
I attended this conference for the first time on a student scholarship and I was blown away!
What was so fantastic, was hearing first hand from the clinicians who have been at the front lines of creating, sustaining, and fighting for these early mobilization programs in the ICU. I can not tell you how exciting it is to listen to a lecture when the research the speaker is citing is their own! When you can speak to them in person and ask all those itching questions you get when reading articles. [nerd alert!] I blogged extensively throughout the weekend and was asked back for the next conference to head up the "social media" efforts.
One thing that resonates through all of these experiences, is that CHANGE has to start with us! As health care providers, we have to recognize the short comings in our system and work together to make a change. This is what Johns Hopkins has done with the early mobilization program in the ICU, the built a program from the ground up, slowly accumulating funds, support, and research. However, I learned over the weekend what a complex task early mobilization is and requires collaboration of many disciplines to succeed –> but it was done here and CAN be implemented else where.
Check out my Blogs to learn more about Social Media and Health Care & The Johns Hopkins Conference:
