Reflection of my Internship

1. Final Internship Experience
Review of goals and objectives
All of the goals and objectives I have set for my internship were met upon the finalization of
my internship. My preceptor helped with writing my goals and objectives and directed me the
rest of my time there in a way that I was able to meet what we had come up with plus more.
My assessing goal focused on me being able to prepare a chart for patients that would
contribute to them regaining strength and mobility in areas that are weakened. I was able to work
with my preceptor with new patients on what activities to start patients out with their first day
and when to gradually add exercises and treatments as the patient felt comfortable. My planning
goal was for me to have a routine down for getting important task done in a timely manner
without being told what needs to be done every time. I established a routine where I would start
the laundry as soon as I came in in the morning, then check rooms to see which of them needed
to be cleaned, refill all containers and bottles if they needed to be filled, and check the trash. The
main thing that I couldn’t establish a routine with was placement of patients when they first came
in because my preceptor or the other therapist would frequently switch up the order they would
treat patients.
My experience has really helped me be able to reach my third goal of being able to list at
least 3 injuries and ways to improve them based off of what I have learned from my preceptor.
She let me work with patients and write charts for their folder with the help of previous charts
she filled out on the patients. Being at this internship has greatly helped me realize this is the
career I would like to pursue and that I would enjoy this field. My overall goal is to do Sports
Therapy with a major league baseball team, but I have realized that even if I choose to not
specialize I will still have a career I will be extremely satisfied with.
Project: Accomplishment of experience, skills needed, and strength, weakness, and
things to be done differently
One of the assignments I was able to do every day is setup rooms for patients to receive
treatment and releasing them from the treatment machines when they are done. I feel that I dealt
with the experience pretty well. There were times when I had to setup multiple rooms one after
the other and release patients all while having a quick turnaround to clean those rooms and set
them up for the next patient. My preceptor was a big help with getting this done when we have
extremely busy days and I needed a hand. When it was time to release a patient from the
machine, there could to be multiple other timers going off to get other people out as well. I

2. generally would go around and cut them all off and then go in the order they went off to unhook
them all and then go back to clean the room.
Organizing, multitasking, communication, and time management are the top 4 skills that
were needed this assignment. Things could get very hectic fast because we serve a lot of elderly
patients that need assistance with most things we have them to do. Providing the most efficient
care for each patient was very important while making sure each person is being taken care of
properly. Many of times I would stick my head in rooms and let them know I would be a few
minutes to release them because there are a few people waiting before them. I did this to let them
know that we didn’t forget about them and would be there soon.
Strengths: Always willing to work or do what my preceptor ask me to do, taking initiative to do
things when they aren’t asked to be done, and communicating with patients to make sure they are
comfortable and have what they need
Weaknesses: I love to talk so I sometimes take longer than I should to get patients out of rooms
or to get them set up for treatment.
Do differently: Change the time to arrive at my internship to 9A.M. or 10A.M. instead of 8A.M.
because I had the option to and so days I struggled to get there at that time.
Assessment of contribution to internship site
Some contributions I have made to the internship is showing a positive and welcoming
attitude, making our patients feel comfortable, assisting with task that were not usually done by
the therapist, and coming in early in the mornings to help out as much as possible during the
busy hours instead of waiting until the afternoon to come to cut down the workload that would
be put on both therapist while their other assistant was out.
Changed or reinforced career goals
As I stated before, my experience has reinforced my career goal. For my educational goals, it
has both changed and reinforced these goals. I say this because I could have went to a technical
college for 2 years to do what I was doing the entire time in addition to being able to actually
treat patients. The reason my educational goals would not change is because I am on the track to
become a Licensed Physical Therapist instead of a Physical Therapy Assistant, which are not
able to do evaluations on patients and are paid much less. I could definitely see myself as a
professional in this field if Sports Therapy did not work out. I prefer to work specifically with
sports teams so that I can travel with my line of work, but if that plan does not work then I know
I can always have a career at a work site.

3. Related academic work to internship experience
Overview of Healthcare Systems: This course taught me about the different programs the
healthcare systems offer and how these programs work together to help patients get better.
Public and Environmental Health: This course identified major issues that contribute to the well-
being of the public and ways in which we can improve the public’s health and safety.
Health Science Internship Preparation Seminar: This course taught me how to work with people
in a professional setting, make sure patients understand clearly what they are to do so they
receive the most out of their treatment plan, and write professional documents for potential
employers.
Lifespan Developmental Psychology: This course has taught me how the body changes over a
lifetime and how these changes affect the physical body as well as mentally.
Human Anatomy and Physiology 1 and 2: This course is another one that taught me about the
development of the human body and how overtime bones, joints, and organs of the body sustain
wear and tear causing the body to malfunction and ach.
Health Literacy training importance
There were many instances where I was able to utilize what I have learned from the health
literacy training. Most of the patients we worked with were elderly and had trouble hearing and
understanding what we were saying therefore we had to cater our treatments to their
understanding. We had patients repeat what we asked them to do at home during the week before
they came to therapy and explained to them meanings of the exercises we wanted them to do
because they were written in medical terminology on the forms.