May 2011

It is official.  I have graduated.  Doctor of Physical Therapy.  The last month has certainly been a blur.  After returning to Denver, we had 2 ½ weeks to wrap things up.  First off, our research group was meeting daily to get our presentation ready and finalize our paper (we plan on submitting it to a professional journal sometime later this summer).  “Research Night” is where each research group presents a 15 minute powerpoint about their project.  It was meant to be highly professional, so. . . . you can say it was pretty bland.  However, it was a great experience to see everyone’s hard work.  After each group presented, 5 minutes was allotted for questioning (primarily from faculty, of course).  After sweating bullets for a bit and trying to answer as slowly as possible to run your time out J, you were done.  2 ½ years into 20 minutes.  Not bad.

The other time-consumer was getting our “capstone presentations” ready.  This project was to be a culminating presentation of how we have matured and changed while being in graduate school at Regis University.  It took a lot more time than I expected, in part due to trying to find school documents/assignments and adding them to the presentation as examples of this growth.  It was a very rewarding experience to be able to see how much we have grown over the last 3 years and is something unique to Regis University.

Those presentations done, and after a “sad lecture by the financial aid department about how loan repayment occurs” (aka the 25 year plan), we finally graduated.  Friday night was just for the DPT program.  It was a really nice ceremony; we were all hooded by our faculty advisors.  Awards were given out for outstanding service-person, research night reward, and outstanding clinical student.  It was fun to be together.  Spencer, of course, was all dressed up and enjoyed the ceremony . . . . for the most part.

Here's before the hooding ceremony Friday evening. Spencer thought my graduation outfit looked funny.

Here we are after the hooding. This was as much Ashley and Spencer's accomplishment as it was mine.

Our research group received the "Outstanding Research Award." Our topic was: Student Analysis of Practice--Acute Care and Vital Sign Monitoring.

Saturday morning, all the graduate programs had their ceremony outside.  Although we were thankful it was bright and sunny, I regretted not having my sun glasses for the occasion.  Regardless, another memory to add to the experiences at Regis University.

All 54 of us after the hooding. It's crazy to think that I won't ever see some of them again. 3 years of being in classes and labs for hours on end brings a group really close.

Now, I’m back in my home-town of Price, UT.  I accepted a job in Colorado Springs, CO.  I start next Thursday, which means we have to pack up everything sometime this weekend and get everything out there.  We found a home to rent the other day, so now I’m just hanging out with family and trying to motivate myself to study for the national boards; I’ll be taking them on June 6^th.  Before then, though, we’ve got my birthday this week (I turn 27), Ashley’s birthday next week (she turns 28), and Spencer’s birthday right before I take the test (he turns 4, and we plan on getting him a bird and a tramp; he deserves it for all the things he has had to go through the last 3 years).  Another adventure begins.

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April 2011

Good morning.  Here I am, on the last day of my last internship inPortland,OR.  I’m organizing all the finishing touches of the paperwork, and lucky me, I notice on my schedule my last patient will be a new evaluation.  Then, tonight will be spent packing a small U-haul trailer in preparation to head back toDenver. 

Although graduation isn’t until May 6^th, we need to get back together in our research groups to get everything ready before presenting on “Research Night” in 2 weeks to the faculty, all 3 DPT classes, and people from the community.  We also have to present our “capstones,” which is short for a collection/culmination of our work at Regis that demonstrates to our faculty advisors that we have embraced the Regis mission of service learning, that we have grown in our leadership skills, and that we are appropriate to be called graduates of Regis University.

In addition to all this fun school stuff, I’ve spoken with classmates and many have been interviewing for jobs left and right.  Many have focused on jobs that offer residency programs.  They are fairly new but are popping up all over the country.  They are similar to medical residencies where one would get specialized training (pediatrics, manual therapy, women’s health, etc) as well as some class-work to refine one’s skills.  I’ve gotten 2 job offers up in Washington but I’m still waiting to hear from my the clinic where I did my 3^rd internship in my home-town.  I should know by next week where we will be living.  Who knows.

Other than that, I’m just trying to brace myself for the long trip back through Utah and eventually into Denver.  Spencer has his portable DVD player on his lap and Daisy May right by his side, so that helps.  We even got him a new movie, Tangled, so he can watch that as much as he wants since he has his earphones.  When you hear from me again, I will be graduated, know where I’ll be working, and preparing to take the national boards. 

On our last weekend in Portland, we went to Cannon Beach. . . . .and there was actually some sun. We were able to walk out and feel the cold water. Spencer loved it.

The fate of a 3 year old boy's dog. She didn't seem to mind, though.

It has been quite an experience up here in the NorthWest. Although it was always cloudy and frequently raining, we had a blast up here. This next month is going to be very interesting, from graduating to deciding on a job. Who knows where we'll be.

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March 2011

Another month has come and gone.  Yes, it is still raining here in Portland.  No, I have not yet hit clinical depression. . . . yet :).  With my Clinical Instructor having her baby last week, I’m sort of bouncing between 2 therapists.  It has been nice in the sense of I have been given full responsibility of the patients we were seeing together, and starting this week, I am at a full case load with as little supervision as is legally possible (depending on the insurance).  It has been great so far.  One more month of clinical internship before heading back to Denver for final wrap-up and graduation on May 6^th-7^th. 

Being so close to the coast, we decided to take a short trip down Highway 101. All I can say is that the Oregon coast is amazing. It was great.

I just had to include this picture. His smile is perfect. He loved throwing rocks into the roaring ocean. How can a little boy's smile look so angelic and devilish at the same time? It's called being three years old.

While at school, I have been asking on several occasions about the strengths of Regis.  Now that we are out on clinicals and are using the “stuff” we have learned, I asked a few classmates to share their thoughts on the specific site they are at:  pediatric, neurological, and manual therapy.                      

Hannah

Here are Hannah’s thoughts about the “pediatric” side of physical therapy and our education at Regis.  She is currently on internship at Children’s Hospital in Denver, CO:

Coming into Regis, I had a strong inclination that I wanted to someday work in pediatric physical therapy. Before attending Miami University for undergrad, I spent some time volunteering at The Children’s Hospital of Cincinnati in their inpatient and outpatient physical therapy department. But I decided to keep an open mind to the many other areas of PT I would be exposed to and not keep myself in the kiddie corner if any other interest developed.

After surviving the first year of PT school, we got into the Neuro Management series, where an entire way of thinking about impairments and how to figure out their components was introduced to our class. I remember thinking how futile it seemed to break down every skill into these little bitty pieces and find ways to address whatever was going wrong. I think we all thought they were just out to give us loads of busy work and weren’t actually convinced we were learning anything all that beneficial. I suppose you could say that I “saw the light” after my second clinical affiliation, when I realized how nice it was to have the ability to dissect movement and perform a good task analysis of a patient’s gait, sit to stand, rolling pattern, and overall posture. I remember giving a case study presentation about a pediatric patient I worked with during my second rotation, and being asked whether I felt prepared to work with her through our curriculum thus far. And before I could even think about it, my knee jerk reaction was an affirmative. Though I had not taken Neuro Managment II or my pediatric elective yet, I felt as though I had a strong foundation in how to THINK about treating this population. Kids can be very complicated and not necessarily tell you or their parents everything that is going on or holding them back, which is where the invaluable tool of refined observation comes into play to guide your interventions and treatment strategies.

So here I am, about to graduate, and on my last affiliation at a satellite clinic of The Children’s Hospital of Denver. Yes, I learn an immense amount weekly, and am challenged by my clinical instructors to take the foundational knowledge provided by Regis to the next level with every treatment session. Yes, I still struggle to identify ALL that is going on with many of my patients, especially the children who have severe cerebral palsy and are compensated and recompensated 20 times over. And yes, I wear colorful socks everyday and attempt to avoid spit up and little sneezes at all costs. But what can I say…I think I like it!

Through it all, I believe the kiddo-oriented classmates and I have been generally very satisfied with the way in which the DPT faculty prepared us. We received a good foundation from the beginning of normal development, observing both videos and real life babies and children in lab. It was terrific to have equipment vendors and guest lecturers from various organizations come in to speak about content that a simple power-point cannot accurately convey. I know it was sometimes a bother to those who weren’t extremely interested in peds, but I enjoyed having a little bit of pediatric content in every class. If I hadn’t, there would be no way to absorb it all in one short elective course. Heidi (one of our professors) did a great job with the elective course, bringing in excellent guest lecturers, setting up worth while field trips, and bringing tons of little ones into our class to work on handling techniques and administering standardized assessments.

The only area in which I felt slightly uncomfortable with regard to Regis’ pediatric curriculum was related to specific intervention strategies to target impairments, with a pediatric flair! Which is understandable, given the limited number of toys, balls, and other kid friendly equipment available to the department, and the fact that every clinic is diverse, and these things are easily learned on the job once you know what you want to accomplish during a session. This flows into the lack of actual handling practice we received, which also comes with experience and specialized courses, which will take years for me to develop.

So if you enjoy swings, hide and seek, and tickle fights like I do, Regis is a great place for you to be. The faculty draws upon their vast clinical knowledge and passion for the field to really teach what is most useful to the new pediatric therapist grad. They present the most current/available research to empower their students to impact the lives of children and their families.

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions!

Hannah Nawaz
Regis DPT 2011
nawaz344@regis.edu

Krystle and her dog, Packer

Now, here are Krystle’s thoughts on the “neurological” side of physical therapy at Regis.  She is currently at Craig Hospital in Denver, CO, where they specialize in spinal cord injuries and other neurological conditions:

When making the decision of whether or not to attend Regis University for physical therapy, one of my main deterrents was that I did not know the strength or weakness of the neurological section of the curriculum. Regis is well known for having a strong orthopedic component. The staff at Regis has done a great job at consolidating the tremendous amount of information needed to learn regarding complex neurological diseases or injuries.  I would comfortably say that the curriculum exposes you to common impairments related to common neurological diseases.

With that said, as a soon-to-be graduate, if I saw that I had a patient with Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, Cerebral Palsy on my schedule, I wouldn’t be apprehensive about treating them. Reluctance in evaluation and treatment would be because of lack of interaction with patients of neurologic symptoms. One of the weaknesses of Regis neurological section is that you do not get a lot of information on intervention on patients with neurological impairments. Regis University does have a great clinical education team that can place you in clinical rotations that are more specific to your area of interest so that you are able to capture the information that you would like to during your time as a student. If you have a specific interest in spinal cord injuries (SCI) or traumatic brain injuries (TBI), I would highly recommend attending Regis. They have developed a relationship with Craig Hospital which is a model system for SCI and TBI.  Besides Colorado University, Regis is the only school to have a continuous relationship with Craig Hospital. New graduates that have interned at Craig have also accepted positions as PT staff. Other rotations that have been available include TEAR hospital in Texas.

There are benefits and drawbacks to each physical therapy program. As a soon-to-be graduate I feel comfortable with additional training that I am receiving in my rotations to treat a specific population such as spinal cord injuries after attending Regis University.

Dave at CSM (Combined Sections Meeting) in New Orleans.

Now, as most of you may have heard, Regis prides itself in the “manual” side of physical therapy.  I asked a classmate, Dave, to give his thoughts on the subject since this last rotation has been spent in a manual-based clinic.  Thanks, Dave.  Here is what he had to say:

Prior to coming to Regis University, I was aware of its strong reputation for being a leading school in manual therapy education.  The Musculoskeletal Management series of classes at Regis have always been my personal favorite and I feel they are the most applicable to those who plan on practicing in an outpatient setting.  The manual skills that I have learned at Regis have given me a great basic skill set with which to branch from and expand upon in my clinical rotations.  I think that there is room for improvement in the area of an applicable evaluation process that could be taught in each of these classes.  Basic evaluation techniques are taught but more could be done to teach efficiency, relevance of findings, and problem solving in an orthopedic setting.  More focus could be given to test-re-test process and the use of comparable signs to show progress or effectiveness of interventions.  That being said, the argument could be made that these skills should be refined and mastered in a clinical setting.  An important strength of the program is that procedure and technique with mobilization and manipulation are paramount. 

After completion of the Musculoskeletal Management series, in my opinion, I felt comfortable with my basic skill set to the point that I would be able to perform all the basic treatments including mobilization and manipulation and diagnostic testing to evaluate and rule in or out a musculoskeletal condition.  Another strength of the program is that knowledgeable and experienced staff are utilized in the lab to assure that students feel comfortable with these techniques and not only answer questions, but provide alternative methods for those who may need them.  Given the experiences that I have had at Regis both in the classroom and the clinic, I am confident that Regis provides some the best manual skill education available.

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February 2011

The first month of this last clinical internship has come and gone.  From day 1, I was put to use.  It has been a little more difficult at my site because all documentation is done on the computer, so I’m trying to get used to all the ins and outs of the system; it’s getting quicker and quicker.  The neat thing about this internship is that my clinical instructor is certified in balance and vestibular disorders, so I’m learning a lot about this aspect of physical therapy.

Since school is slowly winding down, different things are on my mind in anticipation of graduation.  Our research “final” version project is due this week (it’s always fun trying to coordinate doing edits and changes over the internet), I am trying (note the trying) to work on my capstone project (it is all done online), I’m studying for the national boards examination off and on, and I’m starting to look for a job.  So, although I don’t have any homework to do, I am kept fairly busy. . . . and of course, being in Portland, we’re exploring and getting to the know the area.  It’s a great area, but I’m sorry, it’s not Denver. 🙂

Here, Spencer and I are dancing to the "YMCA" song at a Valentine's Dance.

About 25 miles outside of Portland, the Multnomah Falls was an amazing place. It was beautiful there.

The forests and trees here are really neat, so green and mossy. It is a lot different than Denver, that's for sure. I really miss the Rocky Mountains.

On to an unrelated topic:  When giving tours on campus, I have been asked by students who are planning on going straight from undergraduate to graduate school about how it is, so I asked a classmate who did just that her thoughts.  Here is Courtney, age 24, from one of the Hawaii islands (she has told me which one it is a million times, but I can’t remember which one right now).  Thanks Court.

What is it like for students who go straight from undergrad to graduate school?

The transition to Regis was not terribly difficult given that I came from Gonzaga, another Jesuit school. Going to Regis was basically like a continuation of my undergraduate studies – the class sizes, work ethic, and focus on service learning are very similar. Although my transition wasn’t difficult, I know others who have said that they absolutely needed some time to take a break before starting PT school. A friend of mine who did take some time off said that she enjoyed it because she had the opportunity to gain more experience and make some money. I thought it would be really difficult to get back into the “school mind set” if I gave myself too much time off. Actually it was really nice to move on to the next step and get started on my career fairly early. I agree that someone who is ready to go to grad school right away needs to be extremely motivated and committed to this career path. Others may need time to sort things out before making such an important decision. Ultimately this decision is completely based on personal preference.

What are the pros and cons? 

Pros – Going straight from undergraduate to graduate school was not difficult. I felt mentally and psychologically prepared for the academic challenges ahead.

Cons – I needed to face my fears full force. I didn’t have time to look back, and I didn’t allow myself to get caught up in “feeling drained.” I had to keep myself occupied with my studies and found healthy ways to relieve my stress. Although these aren’t really “cons,” I did start to feel burnt out in the first year and was glad I had the support of my family and friends to keep me going.

How did it make graduate school easier or harder for you? 

Again the transition seemed very simple. I knew that if I had taken some time off and gone home, I might have fought with myself about going back to school. But, I’m really glad I spent time volunteering in a variety of PT settings during undergrad to know that this was the field I truly wanted to get into. If not, I may have taken some time off to do just that. I strongly suggest volunteering or working at PT clinics to be sure that PT school is the right step for you. You don’t want to jump into something purely because the opportunity presents itself. I can honestly say that this was one of, if not the most important decisions of my life. I don’t mean that to sound cliché, and I certainly don’t want to be scaring anyone, but it is a huge commitment.

Any suggestions as to know if I’m burned out or if I should plug on through?

No matter what, there will always be times when you are feeling burnt out. I dealt with it by having a strict routine: sleeping at least 6-8 hours a night and working out to blow off some steam. As far as knowing when you’re burnt out, don’t worry, your family and friends will let you know!    

How were you able to get ready for graduate school with such little “rest” in between?

“Such little rest” isn’t fair to say about my transition. I made a little trip to Europe for 6 weeks which left me well rested and ready for PT school. I definitely suggest taking some time to prepare yourself for this next step, be it a couple weeks or a couple years.

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January 2011

Happy 2011:  The year I graduate!!!!  The Christmas season has come and gone.  It was really nice being down in our home town for my internship so that both sets of grandparents were in the area for Spencer. . . and yes, Santa was very good to him this year.  The only bummer is that this year I was not on winter break.  I had to be at work every day that my clinical instructor was there, so besides getting off work Christmas Eve on Friday and New Year’s Eve the following Friday, I was reminiscing previous winter breaks while treating patients.

Another internship is over with, and one more to go.  It was a great experience and I learned a lot.  It was nice to be able to become a little more independent with the patients I saw and use the stuff I had learned.  On my last day, as tradition (I found out), I got thrown into the pool.  It was no use putting up a fight, so I had just enough time to slip off my shoes before being tossed into the water.

Right now, we’re in the middle of packing to head up to Portland, OR for my last rotation at a hospital.  We’ve got an apartment set up, a u-haul trailer to pick up tomorrow, and fingers crossed that it will be good weather.  With a 3 year old, we’ll see how far we get each day.  We plan on about 3 days to get up there; I’ll let you know next time how it went.  Just 12 more weeks of internships, then back to Denver to wrap things up and graduate.  Just about there. 

With graduation coming soon, I have sort of started studying for the national boards.  I got a few study guide books to read through and get myself ready.  Just to see where I was, I took a practice test last week.  It consisted of 200 questions and you had 4 hours to complete it.  I did it in about 2 hours, rushing it here and there, and pulled a 58%.  Obviously I have some work to do.  But where would the fun be if I didn’t have something else to study? 

Christmas was a lot of fun this year. I made this kitchen/check-out stand for him, and it even came with a cash register. He's at the age where he loves to play pretend games and adventures. He sure makes life fun.

Here's the extent of our New Year's Eve Party. We played some games and had some fun with Spencer until about 9:30. After he was asleep, we stayed up until only 11:00. New Year's Eve is just not as exciting as it used to be, I guess.

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December 2010

 This 3^rd rotation is just about over.  I’ve been here 9 weeks with just 3 more to go.  It has felt more like a job than anything; I have my own patient case load; I do all the documentation and initial evaluations; for the most part, I stay pretty busy at the clinic.  Now if only we could get paid for it.  🙂

The nice thing about being on these internships is that there is a lot less “school” work. . . . but still we have little assignments here and there to turn in.  For example, our project for this internship is to choose some sort of outcome tool, use it on at least 5 people, then write a paper about the outcome tool and the interventions used on patients.  Not terribly exciting, but hey, it could be worse.

Other than that, speaking of school related, I try to find time each day to study out of the massive book for the national boards exam.  Note the word “try.”  The rest of the time is spent getting ready for the Christmas holiday. 

Here we are at Hogle Zoo in SLC, UT. I liked this one a little more than Denver Zoo's light show. There were more lights here. Check out the sweet glasses Spencer wore to make all the lights look like snowflakes. Cool? Absolutely. Worth the $2? Debateable (depends on who you ask).

Since we are in my home town, Spencer is going to have a blast with grandparents in the area.  For the last 2 years at this time, I was finishing up exams and heading home over the Rocky Mountains for the holidays.  It’s nice already being here.  However, I miss seeing classmates every day.  After having spent the majority of the last 2 years together (I’m pretty sure I spent more time with them than my own family), I miss their company.  Luckily I have a dog that entertains me by chasing the cows in the back field until they get sick of it and stampede at her; I’ve never seen her run so fast.  Plus I have a little 3 ½ year old boy who is getting smarter and smarter each day; he’s becoming quite the negotiator with everything we do. 

Out getting the Christmas tree

Got it. The dogs loved being out in the mountains. 3 years ago, while tree hunting, Daisy saw a deer and took off after it. Lucky for me, she stood on a cactus and came limping back 15 minutes later.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

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November 2010

Life is good.  Clinical is going great.  I have my own patients.  I do my own evaluations.  A lot less observation of my CI.  As a matter of fact, I hear more of “That sounds good to me” versus what I would hear a lot more during the 1^st 2 clinical experiences of “Now let’s talk about your thought process of why you want to do that.” 

I am in the middle of my 3^rd rotation (these last 2 rotations are 12 weeks each) fulfilling my “rural-out of state” requirement.  My schedule is as follows: 

M, W, F:  in the main clinic by the hospital in which most patients have orthopedic problems.  However, I see a patient with a wound several times a week (I have actually had the chance to change dressings and debride wounds; it’s actually pretty interesting).  The clinic has a pool, so I do a lot of instructing patients in pool therapy as well.  I occasionally go over to the hospital to do an inpatient/acute evaluation with one of the PTs in the clinic.

T, R morning:  school pediatrics.  I see lots of kids with cerebral palsy and autism.  It is lots of fun but lots of paperwork.  In the afternoon, I accompany my clinical instructor in home health PT.

So, as you can see, I’m doing a bit of everything, and I really like it like that.  It hasn’t gotten monotonous yet, that’s for sure.  I’ve spoken with a few classmates over the last few weeks and I hear that they are really enjoying their experiences as well.  It’s nice to know that we are almost done.  Now, if only we could get paid a little for these rotations.  J

We're staying at my In-laws home for this clinical. With several fields around their home, a friend's horse came to stay for a few weeks. Spencer rode it about every single day. He sure loved it. Nothing like living out of the city.

At the "Trunk O' Treat" in our neighborhood, Spencer wore a home-made costume of Robin Hood (from the Disney show) while I sported Michael Myers from the movie "Halloween." Needless to say, our car won "Scariest Trunk." Award.

Even Daisy and my In-law's dog Toby got in the Halloween spirit. As you can see, Daisy wasn't really excited being a bee.

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October 2010

The “school” part of the semester is officially over.  Electives were great.  The big “Business Management” presentation went alright; our final paper ended up being over 100 pages long (including appendices, of course).  Now, we all start our next clinical on Monday.  I’ll be out in Utah at a rural setting for the next 12 weeks, doing outpatient, inpatient, a little bit of school and even some home health physical therapy.  We’ll see how all that goes.

Here is my research group and faculty advisor, Wendy. We're trying to get our paper done, which includes re-running a bunch of stats and writing conclusions based on our findings. . . . So, we decided to treat ourselves to dinner to celebrate our work together.

I have mentioned this in previous blogs, but I want to take a side-track and re-emphasize the numerous amounts of service opportunities here at Regis outside of school.  I asked two classmates, Ryan and Rob, to share their thoughts on the activities that they do.  Ryan has been part of helping with the athletics department at Arrupe High School down the street from Regis, whereas Rob was the Fun Run Committee chair for our class and helped head up the Regis 5K/10K Fun Run (sponsored by the PT school) the last few years. 

Here are Ryan’s thoughts:

“Although it has been roughly 7 years since I played my last high school basketball game, I still remember how much I loved it and its importance in my life at the time. There were a lot of things that had to happen to make those experiences possible. The most notable piece of this puzzle was the proper management of the bilateral patellar tendonitis that I battled throughout my entire senior season. Fortunately, before the season had begun, an orthopaedic surgeon’s PA taught me some basic management tips to get through the season. While at times I still had to play through some discomfort, I know that I wouldn’t have played at all without his help. I understand the frustration of playing hurt, and living somewhat hurt for that matter. If I had not had affordable access to healthcare, I may not have had the pleasure of knocking my rival high school out of post-season contention or earning academic all state honors that season. The burning question I have is why didn’t anyone mention physical therapy?

Participating under the guidance of Dr. Keirns along with several classmates at Arrupe Jesuit High School has allowed me to help those that are in my old shoes. It is worth noting that these students face other financial challenges. Many of the recipients of this service do not have the basic insurance that I grew up with. Furthermore, 70% of Arrupe’s students qualify for the federal free/reduced lunch program. This opportunity has also been enriching on a cultural level as Arrupe has a Latino population approaching 90%. While I did grow up with an appreciation for Latinos and their culture, that was not the motivating force behind my involvement, but rather an added bonus. This has proven to be an exciting way for me to give back to this community as opposed to the ESL classes I used to run. One thing that has held constant is that the men and women from every team at Arrupe have been courteous and grateful of our services. Needless to say, the interaction with the student athletes has been a bright spot.

The athletes are in a fun part of their lives right now with great futures ahead. As Arrupe is a small school, many of the athletes play multiple sports. Our group of volunteers has observed the athletes’ transition from fall to winter to spring sports. As a result, Regis students have been able to build rapport with the athletes. However, transitioning between sports without an off-season can exacerbate minor and nagging injuries. For this reason, access to healthcare is even more important for these athletes. Furthermore, in providing this service, the athletes may also benefit from having help to prevent minor injuries from developing into longer lasting injuries that could have negative effects later in life. As a matter of fact, athletes have approached us with injuries that they have been nursing for years. With our help, the athletes will be able to prevent some injuries from occurring and will also have better outcomes with any injuries that they do sustain or have already dealt with for a long time.

Many of the students in our DPT program chose to pursue physical therapy as a result of sustaining sports injuries. Who better to inspire the athletes of Arrupe to be better athletes and more importantly better students?  I believe that with our continued involvement, we may inspire these athletes to not only strive for higher education, but perhaps for medical careers as well. All in all, it is certainly a privilege to participate in this service learning opportunity. I enjoy providing the services to the students and know that I am making a positive impact in their lives. Conversely, the athletes have made an impact in my life, and not just from the standpoint of providing an enriching experience. Being able to practice the skills I have learned in class has helped me to become a better developing physical therapist. This added practice is a great supplement to seeing Dr. Keirns in action. His exemplary demonstrations and prodding questions are integral to points of emphasis during teaching moments. While Dr. Keirns is a great mentor to the students, there is also something to be said for the mentoring opportunities among the different classes of students. It is great to see a mentorship hierarchy developed in which I may mentor the younger classes and they in turn can mentor the classes below them and of course, the athletes. This provides all participants with an excellent role to play in a mentorship team. Furthermore, younger classes will see from the advanced students just how they may develop in the future. Younger classes may even become motivated to become even better than their student mentors. 

Overall, this is a great opportunity to be involved with. It is an excellent opportunity to foster personal development as a PT as well as a supporter of social justice. I am excited to see what our new incoming students will do to promote this service learning opportunity even further. “          -Ryan McNeil

Here is what Rob had to say about his experiences with the Fun Run:

Here, a bunch of classmates after the Regis Fun Run. After the race, there was a barbeque and live music. All the proceeds went to a local retirement center.

“I believe the Regis Fun Run is a true representation of social justice combined with physical therapy outreach into the community.  We are addressing an issue where many elderly individuals don’t have the means to support themselves in assisted living facilities.  As in many years past, we supported the Argyle Foundation, a local assisted living facility where these social justice issues are prevalent.  The Fun Run profits go to these individuals to buy medication, room and board, or other equipment they might need.  In addition, it is a great promotion for physical activity, and stresses the importance of exercise on a regular basis.  We incorporate this message of healthy living to all participants in the race. 

This year I had the honor of serving as the Fun Run Race Chair.  It was an opportunity I had to develop leadership skills, learn the “ins and outs” of a community race, and got to support members of our society through the Argyle Foundation.  There were a several challenges in determining the best method of organizing volunteers, what equipment was needed and where, and communicating with the city to put on the event.  It was very rewarding on Sept. 25^th when all of the runners, walkers, and individuals with disabilities lined up side by side to participate in the run.  We even had the blessing to observe an individual with a long term disability take her first steps in many years across our finish line.  This is what the Regis Fun Run represents.”                 -Rob

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September 2010

Well, the semester is under way and the thoughts of the comprehensive exam are now far from my mind.  However, for those curious, it went well. . . well, well enough to pass the test.  As I mentioned before, this is an exam that covers everything we have learned in the program, from anatomy to physiology to musculoskeletal to neuro-motor to statistics. . . . .  you get the idea.  It was a 4 hour test split up into two 2 hour exams.  You have to get a 77% to pass.

The famous Red Rocks. In the background, they were getting ready for a Rush concert that night. We went there to "work out," aka I hang out with Spencer while Ashley runs and jumps and does stuff on the stairs. Great place to wear out a 3 year old.

I take the time to mention this because all programs have different types of exams.  For example, I heard that in one school, they have a different exam each day for 3 or 4 days.  I’m not saying ours is better or worse; it is what it is.  I’ll bet some schools don’t even have a big comprehensive exam.  Although it was a stress at the time, it was actually nice to be able to review everything before going out on our last 2 clinical rotations.

I’ve seen a few 1^st year DPT students on their way to the Anatomy lab and I think, “Wow, a lot has happened since we were in their shoes.”  And this semester is going to fly by with our electives and getting paperwork done in preparation for graduation next spring.  Speaking of electives, I’ve been hearing great things from classmates about their different electives.  Mine, Pediatrics and Orthotics, have been great and I’ve been learning a lot.  Others, such as Geriatrics, Women’s Health, Advanced Manual Therapy, Health Care Technology, and World Health have been great as well.

For Labor Day, we biked up the Clear Creek Trail into Golden and got our feet wet in the river. Although the water was very cold, I met up with some classmates who were having a barbeque and preparing to go tubing down the river. A little too chilly for me.

With all this, we also have been meeting with our research groups, trying to get in gear for Research Night next spring during the week before graduation.  Actually, now that I think about it, several groups have to get ready before that because they will be presenting at a Physical Therapy conference called “Combined Sections Meeting” in New Orleans in February.

Our research groups have been together since our first summer semester.  We are put into groups with a research advisor.  Several groups work with patients (my group is the only one who’s focus is on an outcome tool); we all collect data, and then of course comes the statistics.  For those interested, here are the topics of the research groups:

1)  The effects of exercise on cardiovascular endurance in community dwelling older adults

2)  The effects of exercise on strength in community dwelling older adults

3) The effects of exercise on balance in community dwelling older adults

4)  The effects of exercise on gait parameters in community dwelling older adults

5)  The effects of exercise on psychosocial/fear avoidance measures in community dwelling older adults

6)  The effects of exercise on co-contraction at the ankle in community dwelling older adults

7)  The effects of massed practice of platform perturbations on independent sitting of infants (they are comparing a child with cerebral palsy versus a typically developing child)

8)  The creation and utilization of an acute care outcome tool to demonstrate progress through physiological changes (such as heart rate, blood pressure) and physical therapy interventions

As you can see, the first 6 projects are very similar.  They collaborated together to assess different aspects of physical function.  Each year, the faculty provides different research project topics.  Although it has been a lot of work, it has been a great learning experience.  Over and out.

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July 2010

Just a few weeks left in this clinical.  As part of the requirements, all of us are required to give an in-service to the faculty/staff at the facilities we are working at.  My presentation is supposed to be about 45 minutes on the topic of fibromyalgia and the implications for Physical Therapy. . . . Doesn’t it sound riveting?

Here Spencer poses on a warm Sunday afternoon watering my soon-to-be 7 foot sunflowers. Grown from seed, too.

Life has been crazy since my last entry.  My birthday was the 18^th of May, Ashley’s the 29^th, and Spencer’s the 4^th of June.  Lots of presents and lots of cake.  It was fun, but it’s nice to finally be off the withdrawal effects of sugar.

Spencer was really excited about me opening my presents. He himself picked out the hat on my head and the remote control truck in one of the boxes. I'm pretty sure he had himself in mind when he picked that one out.

A few months ago, I mentioned how Jeff and Katie went to Mexico for a service learning opportunity.  While eating my Lucky Charms a few weeks ago, it occurred to me that I really didn’t give them or their trip justice.  To make some sort of amends, I asked Jeff to write about his experiences in Mexico.  If I am not mistaken, the following entry is the reflection he shared with the school during their presentation about their trip.  Thanks Jeff.

This trip means many things to different people. Even with our presentation today, the growth and connections we have made pales in comparison to anything we can tell you – or show you. However, I think we have shown you a little of why we went, whom we met and how we changed and, perhaps, how we want to continue changing.

Good ole' Jeff

I think a lot of us have heard that the destination in a journey isn’t as important as the journey itself. This is because the questions we ask ourselves in an attempt to understand why we are on it, whom we will take and meet, and how we will travel it defines the experience and, on a personal level, defines who we are. So let’s start asking these questions:

Why?  Why Mexico and why Nueva Rosita- what did we hope to achieve?

To bridge the gap between cultural communities.

Continue a long standing relationship with the people of Nueva Rosita.

To become more actively involved as people within a global community.

These reasons represent a long standing relationship that we have become part of through our involvement with this program. It also emphasizes that the act of developing social awareness and immersing ourselves in service is just one component of why this trip was so powerful .  The other, I have come to believe, is that the reason we decided to go on this trip wasn’t to just provide a service and to create bonds – it was to expose and embrace common bonds. Through this we were enabled to pursue different, deeper aspects of relationships and come to understand the true nature of what a global family is. This trip to Mexico is about creating relationships and jointly working towards empowering one another and planting the seeds that drive change.

That’s what I think at least – but as I told all of you, that to truly understand what this trip means is to ask a much deeper question from each of us. It’s not the trip that means so much – it’s the people we met and connected with. So, what do the people of Nueva Rosita mean to us?

One of the most outstanding experiences I had in Mexico was the morning we left. I might stretch the truth to say that none of us could have ever thought that we could have ever developed a deep relationship with anyone in Nueva Rosita in a week’s time – especially considering some of student’s limited Spanish speaking skills – myself included.  However, what I saw and felt shocked me.

We met that morning at the Chapel. The sun had just barely risen over the horizon and there was a cool breeze. I had been awake since 3am in part because I was anxious and in part because all of the roosters in the ejido seemed to congregate outside of my window and I shared a room with two very boisterous sleepers. Perhaps it was because I was delirious from lack of sleep, but my mind was sharp and dulled at the same time. I was intensely focused, but every-time I tried to grab at a thought or feeling it seemed to escape me. As we sat there waiting for the pharmacy students to arrive, each of us stood next to our respective family – and while we stood there I couldn’t tell if we stood close for protection against the cold or because we were seeking a deeper comfort. When someone spoke, it was discrete and muffled, almost secretive. Some part of me thought that the somber mood was appropriate because it reflected our pending departure. In each of us, the quiet magnified the raging thoughts and feelings that dominated our minds and hearts. I saw it in the down-cast eyes and the shuffling feet – a nervous energy grounded in an unwillingness to accept what we couldn’t. When it came time to leave, we did so with heavy hearts. We dwindled into the vans and left – faces were plastered to the windows and with tears in their eyes. If there was any experience that shattered my own expectations for this trip – that was it. I was left – lost and overwhelmed.

I have participated in immersion programs in the past because I wanted to be part of something good, something greater than myself. What I have consistently battled with is a fear that there is possibility that what I do would make no difference or that the differences I do make are inconsequential. So, I think – in the end – I needed a tangible experience to establish my individual role in a global community and to find an answer as to how I can continue my service personally while finding a deeper connection with those I serve. I found it on this trip – and a lot more.

I think that the ‘why’s we ask ourselves’ are grounded in attempt to qualify our choices – to give them meaning. For me, the ‘why’ was because I wanted to be a leader and I wanted to be able to set a standard. I wanted to promote social justice and live my life in dedication to others. I wanted to be able to live in accordance with my own values. These are still my own goals and I think they were emphasized during this trip. However, I can’t help to go back to the day of our departure – and I came to recognize that it wasn’t my goals that were important – my own ‘why’s’ weren’t important. If this trip was about ‘bridging the gap’ of culture, stereotype and established beliefs –  this couldn’t have been done without stepping outside of myself and perceiving the world through someone else’s eyes and dreams, opening myself to someone else’s life. This is what this trip has offered me, all of us – perspective.

I have read that those we serve and those we serve with change us – and by enacting change in the lives of others we can find the potential to change ourselves. I think this is true, but I would add that the act of changing others requires a foundational connection. Why we decided to go on this trip, the goals and expectations we set, our experiences were all based on a connection to an ejido that has been a part of this community for many years. Through our participation in this journey we haven’t just continued a tradition we have become a part of THEIR community as well. Through it all, I think the best way we can share our experiences, to express ‘why’ this trip was so important, and what it all means is to understand our pursuit of deep, thoughtful relationships that stand the test of cultural differences, distance, language, and stereotype – in other words, to understand why it was so important to us, is to understand our own perspective of what a family and interconnection is; and one of the greatest lessons I have learned, is that there are others out there who will embrace us with open arms – as a family.

As my final thought: In an effort to continue this journey in our lives – we will continue to question, we will continue to challenge ourselves and we will push others to do the same, while never forgetting our family in Mexico and recognizing our role as members of a greater global community.

Here’s a blurb from Katie and her experiences in Mexico:

“Every year Regis spends Spring Break sending a few students to Mexico for a service learning immersion trip.  I have been lucky and have been able to go 2 years in a row.  The group is usually a mix of Physical Therapy, Nursing, Pharmacy, and undergraduate students that work on a long time project of the small ranching community’s Community Center and making home visits to families in the community trying to address any appropriate medical needs.  As health care students we put on Health fairs for the kids and adults in the community and visit health care facilities in the larger nearby city. As a first year I loved getting to know a few 2nd year students, seeing what they knew that I had yet to learn.  As a 2nd year student, home care visits were clinical opportunities to evaluate and treat patients with faculty members giving one on one feedback.  I loved that in Mexico I was able to get to know my classmates and professors in a different way and on a more personal level.  My lack of Spanish vocabulary was a huge anxiety factor for me…I was anxious going, but I learned early in the trip and more the 2nd year around that you can communicate quite a bit with body language, a pocket dictionary, and a pathetic attempt at pronunciation.  I found my Spanish skills only got me to the level of a three year old.  I loved the people in Mexico so much.  I learned to try new things, and laugh at my progress.  I came to love the family I lived with.  I felt so connected even in a strange place and was able to grow professionally, socially, emotionally and spiritually.  My experiences in Mexico were some of my favorite moments at Regis.”

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