I had the good fortune to be able to have 3 experiences with outpatient ortho during my clinical internships. The first experience was at an independent outpatient clinic, and provided me the opportunity to get my feet wet and practice all of the skills we had been learning in school. This was a chance to bring all that I learned to life, and I found it extremely helpful in cementing everything I had learned. We saw many patients s/p rotator cuff repairs, ACL repairs, biceps tenodesis, ORIF of a trimalleolar fracture, as well as lumbar spine pain, adhesive capsulitis, and other pain-related conditions.
My third clinical internship (my second was in a acute inpatient) was at a hospital-based outpatient clinic. It was interesting to see how this experience compared to an independent outpatient clinic. We served many of the hospital’s own employees, as it was a convenient way for them to participate in PT while on their hospital campus. My clinical instructor at this internship specialized in McKenzie, so it was very educational to be able to treat so many spine cases. We also saw a range of conditions involving the shoulder, spine, and knee, similar to my first internship.
My final internship was supposed to be at a SNF, but that was cancelled as it was during the first summer of Covid. I was placed in another private outpatient clinic. I was grateful for any opportunity to be placed, since it was such a challenging time worldwide. This was also an opportunity for me to fully prepare myself to treat independently soon. At this internship I was able to perform evaluations, formulate treatment plans, and manage notes in an entry-level capacity. With my CI’s supervision, I treated it as if I were already working independently, and thanks to this internship, I feel very capable of working in an outpatient setting.
All of these internships were so helpful in teaching me real-world skills and how to approach various challenging situations. I am so grateful for them, and more importantly, I look forward to using the skills they taught me to be the best PT I can be and provide the very best patient care.
