My time in Wisconsin this summer working with St. Clare Health Mission and shadowing at Gundersen Health System gave me the opportunity to work in a multifaceted role. Shadowing at Gundersen one day every week in various Physical Therapy departments allowed me to immerse myself in the many roles a Physical Therapist may specialize in as well as the variety of patients that can be seen. This unique shadowing opportunity gave way for a lot of opportunity for questions so I may not just be shadowing but also getting hands on exposure in select patient sessions while being able to ask Physical Therapist any questions I had after a
patient session.
Meanwhile, St. Clare Health Mission worked in giving me the confidence to interact with patients on a meaningful level while functioning in a multifaceted role around the clinic. Working as a receptionist and social worker during clinic hours every Tuesday and Thursday allowed me to have one on one interaction with patients, and a predominant spanish
speaking patient base gave me the opportunity to use my spanish native tongue to effectively communicate with patients. Every Wednesday and Friday respectfully consisted of days I truly enjoyed as we would visit ares within the community dominant with individuals with no housing and accompanied with RN’s, Medical Doctors and Residents to provide any form of first aid individuals needed. Fridays consisted of a very similar team but would visit rural communities and farms to provide similar first aid. While I myself did not administer any aid that was left to the Doctors and Residents, I still helped in providing requested medication and communicating with patients any needs they needed.
As a Biology Major looking to apply for various Physical Therapy programs in the future, both my time shadowing at Gundersen and helping at St. Clare refined my ability to coherently understand situations on the fly and adapt as necessary in order
to meet patient needs along with many medical information I took away from many questions I asked throughout my internship. None of this would have been possible without alumni and Gundersen Health System CEO Dr. Scott Rathgaber along with his wife, who were kind enough to host me in their home throughout the entire duration of my internship and provide an amazing experience with them. St. Clare Director Jason Larsen and GHI Program Coordinator Jill Rogers were two key individuals who I give great thanks to as well for introducing this opportunity to me and taking me on board with the rest of the team to work at St. Clare. To any future students interested in continuing the amazing work in La Crosse, Wisconsin. This internship provides so much for you and gives you state of the art experience and exposure to learn from, but requires high demands that you must be ready to work diligently for in order to meet patients standards, only then will you see the fruition of all the work you put into this internship.
