PTA 2700 - Clinical Internship I
Reflection:
This internship was my second experience in the clinical setting. It was extremely different from my previous experience, and it took some time to learn what the roles of the PTA were in this clinic. It gave me new insight on how much a certain clinic or supervising PT can change the way a PTA does his/her job.
This internship was in an out-patient clinic, it allowed me to gain experience working with patients with orthopedic conditions, deconditioning, pre and post surgical patients, and many with neurological disorders. There were also some patient who were part of a wellness program and came to therapy to maintain their physical function.
One of the patients who started therapy the same week I started my internship had a very interesting diagnosis. He crushed his foot and ankle in an accident and had to have a transtibial amputation. I choose to do my homework case study on him, and the Physical Therapist treating him was very supportive in allowing me to work with him. I learned a lot about preventing contractors, preparing for prosthetic use, and strengthening and conditioning of a patient after many weeks of inactivity. I looked forward to working with him each week. His positive and motivated attitude helped him progress quickly with therapy, and I was allowed to do manual therapy with him and give him one on one time. It is experiences like this that reinforce my decision to go to school to become a Physical Therapist Assistant.
At this clinic taping was used often to help alleviate pain and assist in controlling alignment and posture. I have been fortunate to have learned some taping techniques during this internship, and am interested in learning more. Because of this, I found an article about how patellar taping effects brain activity and presented the information and my critique to the staff at the clinic. It was an interesting article showing altered response in areas of the brain involved in motor function, sensation, and coordination during knee movements with and without patellar taping. It showed that there is a proprioceptive response to taping, but had many limitations to how that effects the application of patellar taping in a clinical setting. I have inclosed the article and handout I used.
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