CALDWELL 1906 Fairview Ave., Ste. 410 Caldwell, ID 83605 208-454-9839 NAMPA - SOUTHSIDE 3151 E. Greenhurst Rd. Nampa, ID 83686 208-465-9418 THE ASCENT NAMPA - MIDLAND 130 S. Midland Blvd. Nampa, ID 83686 208-461-5057
FEBRUARY 2019
CREATING A LEARNING ENVIRONMENT HOW WE ENCOURAGE THE NEXT GENERATION OF PTS
At our clinics, you might see some new faces shadowing our physical therapists. They are our student interns. They come to us from schools in Caldwell, Phoenix, Omaha, and even Florida to learn from our team at Altitude PT. We see it as part of our job to train the next generation of physical therapists. We started this program at Altitude PT because we wanted to give back and support education in our field. If you’re going to be a good PT, you need to do an internship along with classes. In addition, teaching the students keeps us sharp and up to date with recent research being taught in school. When we’re continually teaching, we’re continually learning, and that makes us a better practice. Over the course of the year, a few students will intern with us each quarter. We work with students in physical therapist programs and physical therapist assistant programs. In order to complete a physical therapy program, students must have at least one inpatient clinical
experience and one outpatient experience, and our program fulfills the outpatient requirement. “WE SEE IT AS PART OF OUR JOB TO TRAIN THE NEXT GENERATION We work with these students in all phases of learning, which requires some flexibility. Sometimes it’s their first clinical phase, which requires a lot of supervision on our part. Other students come to us during their last affiliation. They’re chomping at the bit and ready to roll into their practice, so we can loosen up the reins a bit. The interns are here for variable amounts of time depending on their program and OF PHYSICAL THERAPISTS. ”
specialty. Some are here for as little as six weeks, and others are here for 12–16 weeks.
A lot of our patients enjoy being part of this learning environment. As we teach, we have conversations with our students, and our patients gain insight into their conditions and how to treat them. It provides education for everyone. It’s always exciting to meet our interns. Each one is unique and has their own personality, motivations, and dreams. But they all have one thing in common: They’re passionate and eager to learn about physical therapy. Their passion makes it a joy to share our knowledge and skills with them. Next time you visit us, feel free to say hello to our interns. They may not know it off the bat, but they sure are lucky to be interning at a practice with such incredible patients. –Sean Weatherston
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