second to last semester

What on earth AM I doing back in class after my clinicals, you wonder?  So glad you asked.  Our last two semesters are each comprised of one required class, two or three electives, and research.

The required class is Advanced Medical Screening.  In this class, we learn to differentiate between injuries and conditions that we can treat with Physical Therapy and those conditions and diseases for which we need to refer the patient back to their primary care provider.  For example, shoulder, back, or neck pain are three common symptoms that may indicate a problem which Physical Therapy cannot address, and this class is teaching us to screen for non-musculoskeletal problems.

The electives I got for this semester are Spanish for Physical Therapists and Yoga for the Physical Therapist.  I'm really enjoying both classes.  The Spanish class is taught immersion style, with a wide range of skill levels.  I really like the fact that the goal is not perfect Spanish grammar, pronunciation, or verb conjugations, but clarity.  With that as a goal, the higher level students are held to a higher standard and have sentences corrected while the lower level students are told their sentences are perfect even if every word is mispronounced, out of order, and misconjugated, as long as the meaning comes through clearly.  I'm struggling happily at the bottom of the higher level group.

Yoga for the Physical Therapist is a mostly relaxing class.  We are learning a lot about how we can apply yoga in our future practice by doing yoga.  We start our four hour class with an hour and a half yoga class, typically with a focus about which we will later talk.  We then proceed to break it down, practicing teaching it to each other, coming up with our own progressions, and learning how to adjust someone else in a yoga posture, as well as learning to modify postures for various impairments.

My research group is the one qualitative research option we had.  It was apparently one of the more popular options, so the five of us in the group all really wanted to be in it and listed it as our first choice out of our fourteen options.  We are preparing to read narratives written by PT students about experiences during their initial clinical experiences.  We plan to identify themes within each narrative and search for common themes between narratives, as well as identify the level of reflection reached by each writer in the narrative.  Research has already shown the value of critical reflection in professional development, as a requisite of growth from "novice" to "expert" practicioners, so our research is intended to assist in the integration of critical reflection in the form of written narratives into PT education.  At this point, we are writing our proposal, and expect to be fully immersed in analyzing narratives during our Christmas break.

Of course I have been enjoying myself outside of school as well.  This year I've been able to attend Graduate Christian Fellowship on campus at Emory, with Thursday night meetings and dinner the first Friday of each month.  I started attending Passion City Church and am attending one of their community groups every third Tuesday night.  Other Tuesday nights have been spent playing volleyball in Tucker - I was introduced to that by my friend Brian who I first met playing intramural volleyball at Emory, and later attended church with him.  I'm working at the on-campus climbing wall every Thursday evening for a couple of hours, as well as trying to make it to the wall at least two other evenings per week to climb.  I've also gotten a second job - a graduate assistantship helping out with admissions for the Doctor of Physical Therapy program.

Labor Day, I joined a group of friends for a hike at Pine Mountain in FD Roosevelt State Park.  Getting there was a bit of a fiasco as three cars ended up in three different places, but we eventually convened and did our hike.  The day also started out with pouring rain, making the drive that much more interesting.  However, it stopped raining before we got there and didn't rain a single drop while we were out hiking.

rachel, melissa, rachel, rachel's friend, sultan, keaton, chase, dan, sarah, and luke the dog

i have borrowed sarah's guitar again - i'm SO thankful for music!

On the second Monday of September, several of us went out to the Intramural fields after our medical screening class and played ultimate frisbee - it was hoped that this would become a weekly class sporting event but alas, it fizzled.

martin (the organizer), dan, pete, and me, all in our emory PT shirts

September 15 was Lazarus Health Day.  This event was an all-inclusive fair for the homeless, with medical screenings, glucose testing, HIV testing, medications, blood pressure, asthma screening, wound care, dental care, physical therapy, and many other facets.  Along with the medical care, there was a job search tent, resume writing assistance, clothing, a meal, a crafting and play area for children, a book tent, hygiene, and many other things.  My classmate Dan Chen and I joined a Georgia State third year PT student and one PT volunteering in the physical therapy tent, sharing space with two massage therapists and two chiropractors.

physical therapy tent at lazarus health day

On Friday afternoons starting at the end of September, I've been volunteering for Stride Ahead with my classmate Jodi at Little Creek Horse Farm in Decatur.  Stride Ahead offers therapeutic riding lessons for people with special needs - read more about it on their website.  We've really been enjoying being around the horses - getting them in and out of their stalls, helping get them ready to ride, and either leading the horse or "sidewalking" to help the rider maintain balance.  We've worked mostly with children, some with mental/ psychological/ behavioral issues, some with physical disabilities, some with a combination.

jodi as a sidewalker with two other volunteers sidewalking and leading sarah the horse

The same Friday afternoon that I first volunteered at Stride Ahead, I headed south to Calvin Center in Hampton, GA for an overnight retreat with Graduate Christian Fellowship.  It was a rejuvenating time in a beautiful place.

beautiful early morning lake view at calvin center