Last time I left you, I was having to review shoulder biomechanics because I didn’t remember that stuff from last fall. Since then, I’ve been having a blast in the clinic where I’ve been placed for my first rotation. My clinical instructor (CI for short) was actually one of the first Regis DPT grads, and the way he practices just screams, “Product of the Regis program!” He cites current best evidence by author, is McKenzie certified, is board certified as an Orthopaedic Clincial Specialist, and is serving his second term on the Board of Directors of the Oregon Physical Therapy Association. If you’re not aware, just to be an OCS is a pretty big deal. He’s a great teacher as well, and I’m slowly but surely learning how to think like a doctor of physical therapy. Much to my surprise and joy, I go home after each day at the clinic thinking I’m going to have the best job in the world one day. Every patient case is like a grand mystery, and we PT’s get to solve the case. Kinda like in the TV show “House,” except I’m not certain that a televised drama starring physical therapists would ever survive a pilot season!
In addition to my time in the clinic, I’ve been having fun exploring Oregon. I was quite leery about the Pacific Northwest before I came out here, but it’s quickly warming on me. Several of my classmates are in the same area, so we’ve gotten to hang out quite a bit. We talk about what we’re learning in clinic, interesting cases we’ve seen, challenges, surprises…We also sit around sharing hilarious stories of how we’ve fumbled around with incorrect technique, drawn blanks when quizzed on things we should already know, and continually do our best to fake it ’til we make it. I’m pretty sure we provide a lot of comedic entertainment for our CI’s!
Here’s a glimpse into some of our adventures in Portland, Cannon Beach, and Salem:
Apparently, Portland is known for the Wilamette River and its many bridges. In fact, the drawbridges are still used today. This ferry is named “Wilamette Queen” and can be rented for leisure trips. Isn’t it neat? Like right out of a Mark Twain book.
Wilamette Queen
Tess and I perused the Portland Saturday Market, a quintessential Portland must-see. Vendors fill several city blocks with arts and crafts for sale. We went intending to find gifts for friends, but ended up picking out skirts and dresses for ourselves!
Saturday Market, with a trashcan drummer in the foreground
We also took a drive down Hwy 101 to Cannon Beach, and the day was miraculously warm! Tess had lived there for a summer, so it was fun to have her show me around the quaint town. It was like a looking through a window into the life and times of Tess! She shared stories of Cannon Beach’s famous contests, where people would bring in truckloads of tools to create sand castles.
The Oregon Coast
Tess and I in front of Haystack Rock, made famous in the movie, "The Goonies."
Kate and I met up with some of her friends for an afternoon in Portland. Kate’s friends are hospital nurses, and we had a neat discussion about the working relationship between nurses and PT’s in inpatient settings. It seems that a lot of nurses don’t know what physical therapists actually do and how much knowledge a PT has about the human body. Similarly, PT’s don’t always understand the roles of the nursing staff. Since Regis houses a nursing school, pharmacy school, and PT school, the schools’ faculty and students are currently working on an inter-professional coalition so that more interaction will begin to take place between the three programs. I think that as we are able to better understand the strengths and focuses of each field, we’ll all be able to serve our patients better when we have our own patients.
After chatting indoors, we took a stroll down 23rd St., another Portland must-do. This street is home to boutiques of clothing, shoes, and fancy desserts, including the mojito mint crunch white chocolate starfish we got to sample in a chocolate shop.
Kate and I with our chocolate samples - yum!
I met Jen in Salem on Labor Day, and we walked through downtown before dinner at a Thai place. Salem, though the capitol, has no sky scrapers. The city was also pretty dead, which I’ll attribute to the fact that it was a national holiday. However, we were unabashed tourists so it’s probably best that a lot of people weren’t out and about to see us drive in circles looking for the capitol building!
Jen posing in front of Oregon's state capitol building.
Yep, clinical rotations are an incredible experience, not only for what we’re learning in the clinic but also as an opportunity to experience the joy of life without the burden of upcoming exams or practicals or assignment due dates. It’s a chance to get out in the world and remember just what our patients will be yearning to return to- fun and fellowship and freedom! Take care and enjoy life until I write you again! – M
Regis University Doctor of Physical Therapy Blog 