Project Title: Preparing For a Career in Physical Therapy Through Service

Service Site Names: OSU Martha Morehouse Medical Plaza and National MS Society – Ohio Buckeye Chapter

Describe your involvement with this organization

I have been volunteering through the OSU Wexner Medical Center since my first semester freshman year. I volunteered there because I knew it would expose me to many different types of health-related careers and I wanted to help people in a health-related setting. After finally deciding to major in Exercise Science, I decided to start volunteering at Martha Morehouse, where I volunteered in the Sports Medicine/PT Department for 3 hours/week each Monday. I assisted the Physical Therapy clinic staff during PT sessions and helped with restocking therapy supplies around the clinic. I also was able to communicate with the patients and make them more comfortable during their PT sessions.

At the MS Society, I helped prepare for the upcoming Walk MS race, which raises money for people and families dealing with Multiple Sclerosis. I helped plan for the set up of the race that day with one of the coordinators.

Describe what you gained as a result of this experience

Working at the PT clinic at Martha Morehouse made me really fall in love with the physical therapy career. Not only did I enjoy the actual things the PTs did to help their patients, but I also loved interacting with the patients and helping them during their PT sessions.

I really loved working with the MS Society because you work with many people who have to go to physical therapy to deal with their MS. It really helps show how much of an impact a physical therapist can make on someone’s life and how important my future career is.

Describe positive changes to the community as a result of your service experience

As a result of my service at the PT clinic, I think that many of the patients left with a happier, more fun PT session, which brightened their day. I think making someone’s day a little easier or happier is very important to the community, especially someone who is going through an illness or injury that forces them to have to go to physical therapy. I know that working here made me want to become a PT, and maybe someone else who had a PT session decided they wanted to become one also because of their time at the clinic.

As a result of my service at the MS Society, people with MS, their families, and others who just want to support the cause will be able to participate in the Walk MS race. The community will benefit because it will be a fun day for everyone participating. Also, and most importantly, it will raise money for people with MS and their families, which supports a very important cause.

Describe a person with whom you interacted that made a strong impression on you, positive or negative

At the PT clinic, I was in a session with a man who seemed very shy and reserved at first. After we started talking for a while, I realized he was one of the most interesting people I have ever met. He was a professional dancer and has travelled all over the world. We ended up chatting even after his PT session ended. Talking with him made me realize that it is extremely important to interact with your patients, not just treat them. You want them to feel comfortable and actually want to come to sessions, which will only help them to recover faster and more efficiently.

Working at the MS Society (over the summer), I had an interaction with a family (a dad and his two kids) who were waiting for the mother to cross the finish line of the Bike MS race. After talking with the family for a while and see the look on the kids’ faces when they saw their mother cross the finish line, I realized that even though MS is a debilitating and horrible disease, people can still make it into something that brings joy to their day and helps the cause while they’re at it. This interaction made me want to do the exact same thing with my family in the future and I hope it encourages many other families to participate in events like these that raise money for an important cause and are fun, too!

Complete the following sentence: “Because of this service experience, I am __________”

Because of this service experience, I am a better communicator and a more compassionate person. Also, because of this service experience, I am more excited than ever to become a physical therapist and I believe I will be a better one than I would have been if I did not participate in this experience.

I interviewed Dana Maslar, a first-year PT student at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis (IUPUI). I decided to interview Dana because she is/was in a situation that is very similar to mine. For example, Dana went to Indiana University, a big, public university like OSU and had the same major as I do (Exercise Science). Also, since she is a first-year, she just went through the application process recently and was able to give me a lot of helpful information about it.

As a first-year student, Dana’s major responsibilities include going to class and studying (a lot!). A typical day for a first year PT student includes 2-3 classes, starting around 8-10 AM and ending around 5 PM, and then studying at night. According to Dana, even though you will be pushed harder than you have ever been before, you will be more interested in what you are learning and you will use what you are learning in your future career, which makes it easier to enjoy studying a lot. Along with these physical responsibilities, PT school requires mental and emotional responsibilities as well. It is important to be sensitive and empathetic as a physical therapist to truly understand the person’s impairment. It is also important to be curious as a PT – the field is always changing so you are always learning something new. Lastly, it is a PT’s responsibility to be adaptable. As a PT, you will be put into new situations and it is important not to get flustered so you can critically think your way out of the situation to help your patient.

Some of Dana’s experiences and training before PT school include 100 hours of shadowing (60 hours outpatient and 40 hours inpatient), some of which she obtained through an internship through school. She also volunteered at a hippotherapy program, exposing her to a different type of therapy and to working with disabled kids. Dana recommended undergrad courses to take to really help prepare you and put you ahead in the beginning of PT school, including anatomy, physiology, exercise physiology, and physics. Fortunately, I am required to take all of those courses anyways for my major! It makes me excited to know that I will use some of the things I am learning in my classes now in PT school and in my PT career! Dana also gave me general advice about the GRE exam, GPA, choosing a school, interviewing, etc.

All of Dana’s advice and information was not only helpful and interesting to learn about, but it also made me so excited to apply to PT school in just a little over a year. She gave me insights on how to be successful in my current preparation for PT school and in my future preparation for my career as a PT.