A few days ago, I drove eleven hours across a couple of states from Iowa to Colorado, excited to begin a summer full of adventures, learning, and new experiences. Back in April, I was presented with the opportunity to intern at a physical therapy clinic called Fyzical Therapy and Balance Centers in Westminster, Colorado. It offered a chance to get observation hours that will help me when I apply to physical therapy schools, along with giving me valuable experience in what will be my future career. Colorado (more specifically Boulder, about twenty-five minutes from my internship site), is also known for its large running community, and as a cross country and track and field athlete, I was very drawn to being near that. On top of this, I have never been to Colorado before, as my family and I are Iowa natives, so it would also give me the chance to explore a new place. Ultimately, it was an offer I couldn’t pass up, and now I’ve been here in Colorado for about one week.
Me and my roommate Ava Claussen-Tubbs, fellow Cornell student and track teammate, with the view from the house we are staying at for the summer on our first day in Boulder
If I had any doubts or fears about being here for the summer before, this past week was quick to make them disappear. During my first day at Fyzical, I was definitely a little nervous. Fyzical has multiple clinic locations, and I had accidentally driven to the wrong one. By the time I had made it to the right clinic location, I was about fifteen minutes late. Despite this mishap, everyone that I had met was very welcoming and understanding. At the clinic, there is a physical therapist (PT) named Tiana, a physical therapist assistant (PTA) named Brandon, a front desk/rehabilitation technician named Raelynn, and a rehabilitation technician named Manny. They were quick to show me around and gave me some time to see the flow of the clinic and how appointments worked.
I was also able to learn a little bit more details about what Fyzical does and the kinds of patients they treat. Fyzical treats all kinds of health issues, but they specialize in balance/vestibular therapy and pelvic health. Patients that deal with problems like balance, vertigo, unsteadiness with walking, etc. will typically go through rehabilitation focused on working multiple different systems including the somatosensory, vestibular, and vision systems in the body. Patients that come for pelvic health problems typically deal with issues with bladder control, bowel control, and other pelvic pain conditions.
Part of the inside of Fyzical Therapy and Balance Centers; Me on my first day at Fyzical Therapy and Balance Centers
Throughout this past week, I’ve gotten to talk to a few patients and help the rehabilitation technicians walk them through exercises, observe the PT and PTA during their appointments with patients, help with cleaning and general upkeep of the clinic, and learn about things like scheduling and insurance in the clinic. I was also able to speak with both Tiana and Brandon, the PT and PTA, about their schooling experiences, how they had gotten into the positions they are in today, and other aspects about their fields.
One big part that I learned about this week was just how important it is to know how to talk to
patients. While having the knowledge about anatomy and physiology is vital to being a good physical therapist, being able to communicate effectively with the patient was just as important. Both Tiana and Brandon talked to me about how they want to connect with their patients and make them feel as comfortable as possible. They said that, for some of their patients, going to their physical therapy appointment was one of the only times that they really got to talk to people during their week, so they wanted to make sure their time in the clinic was as positive as possible. However, Tiana and Brandon emphasized the fact that they only have a small window of time to help treat them, so it is important to find a balance between friendly conversation and keeping their patient on track, which can sometimes be much harder than it seems. Learning to bring the conversations back to their rehabilitation tasks and treatment was a key part of being successful at the job, and getting to watch how both of them navigated this during their appointments was very interesting and insightful.
I also got to talk to Brandon a little more about being a physical therapy assistant. This was a field that I had heard of, but didn’t know much about. He can actually do a lot of the same things a physical therapist can do, minus a few things. They go to school for a little less time and can’t do certain treatments, but otherwise, they have the same education and can do almost the same treatments. It was really interesting to hear about and see how these two fields interact, as I hadn’t heard much about what being a physical therapy assistant means.
The main floor of the Fyzical clinic, where patients can do their rehab exercises
All in all, this first week has been a very enlightening experience. I’ve already learned a lot about how a physical therapy clinic operates and what it really means to be a physical therapist. Getting to actually meet, speak, and work with patients, even in small quantities, has already been extremely rewarding and enriching. Getting to speak with not just physical therapists, but also the people who work with them and help the clinic run, has already helped me learn more than I would have ever thought. I’ve left the clinic the past few days feeling even more confident that this is the career path I want to go on, and I am excited to keep learning and growing more over the next couple of months.