Name: Rachel

Year: Senior

Major/Minor: African American Studies/Psychology

CFS Concentration: Field Studies in Public Health

I remember walking into Novacare for my first interview and being incredibly nervous. My supervisor Josh was super friendly though and put me at ease. Immediately I was offered the internship and I made it clear that before anything else, I wanted to gain confidence in my internship experience. I had already worked as an Athletic Training Aide for both the Women’s Basketball and Football teams. I had gone through all the motions, I had picked up some skills; but I was so unsure of myself sometimes. Now on week nine I am incredibly proud to say that I have gained so much confidence. Every week I email Josh with two questions and two goals and each week I learn more and more and he becomes comfortable with me doing more. I am now imputing treatments and exercises into his patient notes. I lead patients through exercises and have been able to see how a patient is guided through therapy after an ACL tear – something that I have always wanted to do.

In my internship I have learned the importance of paying attention to detail. The people that walk through the door all have a story, and it is those small details: be they a previous injury, a hereditary bodily dysfunction, or the way that they bend their knee when squatting that can tell you so much about what is really going on with them. I have decided that instead of going to Medical School, I would like to go to Physical Therapy School. The environment there is much more conducive to my personality. I get to consistently see the same patients for a long period of time and I am able to be in an intimate environment where I work closely with them and see their progress from week to week. I have been so inspired during my time at Novacare and have been able to apply the things that I’ve learned to help my dance teammates when their muscles are sore or when something does not feel right and they do not know what to do.

I have dreams of being a physical therapist for a dance team one day; and possibly even working at Novacare as a Doctor of Physical Therapy. I am so elated that I got to have this experience and I know that it will open many doors for me to have others.