Co-op Reflections

I Love Co-op!- A Diary Entry

Hi!

My name is Emily and I am a 3rd year in the 6-Year Doctorate of Physical Therapy program. Below is my way of sharing my first coop experience and how I fell in love with it and my major!

 

Dear Diary,

I think I’ve fallen in LOVE!! For the past 6 months, 5 days a week, 8 hours a day I’ve been occupied with Physical Therapy at Tufts Medical Center (TMC). I’ve never been with anyone like this before! And I can tell you three reasons why.

First off I’d just like to say how many dimensions PT at TMC has and although it may be a smaller hospital it definitely has a big heart:

Inpatient Acute Care:

  • Cardiopulmonary
  • Internal medicine
  • General medicine
  • Neurology
  • Orthopedics
  • Pediatrics
  • ICU’s
  • And so many more!

Outpatient Clinic:

  • Geriatrics
  • Orthopedics
  • Pediatric
  • Lymphedema Management
  • Vestibular
  • And also so much more!

And I got to explore all part of it in my 6 months, and even though it may seem like a long time, it really wasn’t. I also had the opportunity to watch an open heart surgery!! And I know what you’re probably thinking, why would a Physical Therapy Student be watching open heart surgery? Well, fun fact: Physical Therapy is a huge process of healing after such a traumatic surgery. And it’s just so cool!! To see a real, live heart beating and you get to see what really happens to someone’s body during those surgeries and can have a better understanding of the pain that a patient might be going through when you are working with them. PT at TMC has opened my eyes to so many different interests and subjects that I am eager to learn more about through my classes and independently.

Secondly, is the trust I felt with PT at TMC. Trust is something that is so important to me when it comes to relationships with anybody! PT at TMC trusted me with seeing their patients one on one, writing notes about treatment sessions, using my own clinical judgement from knowledge from the classroom and clinical experience, and giving me responsibilities that I worked on without a supervisor. My days were spent mostly running around helping all therapists, seeing patients, getting equipment and learning from all the brilliant therapists that I was surrounded by.

Thirdly, is the respect I was given at PT at TMC. PT at TMC respected me as a learner, an employee and a person. Probably the most important thing I felt while I was with them. From all of the therapists I felt like I was really part of a team. I wasn’t “just the coop”, I was an integral part of the Physical Therapy Department. From the rest of the hospital, I was respected as an employee that had a solid understanding of my duties as a coop and the foundations of the field I was in.

 

If this isn’t love, then I don’t know what is!!

I could go on for hours, but I’ll just end it here.

Love,

Emily Aoki