Week 12.9.13

For my Honors Mentorship blog this week I will be reflecting on the following two topics and how they relate to my internship.

Building your Network:
     Over the past few months at my internship, I've not only gotten to know my mentor well, but I've also gotten to know the other physical therapists that work there. I've asked them about what colleges they went to and what majors they got which will help me decide what I want to do later in life. If I do end up becoming a physical therapist, having interned for my mentors will help me make connections. They are all well known throughout the community, and if I come back after college I would probably be able to get recommendation letters from them, helping me find a job. Another way this internship has helped me build my network is through the other interns. There are three other girls interning at my work and they are all seniors, meaning they'll be going to college next year. It will be great to be able to ask them questions next year, and listen to what they have to say about going into this field of work as a freshmen in college. They will be great friends to have these next few years.

Time:
     At my mentorship my time at the beginning of the year was not as structured as it is now, due to volleyball. I was only able to stay an hour each day because I had to get beck to practice everyday, and not to mention days when I had games and wasn't able to go at all! Missing all those hours was very frustrating because I physically, could not get the hours I needed to. However, since volleyball ended, I have been able to get a somewhat regular routine going, allowing me more time working at my internship and making me more effective while I am there. In more recent weeks, I have been going on Mondays for 3 hours and Tuesdays and Wednesdays for 2 and a half hours each. On these days when I stay longer, I am able to be more productive, and I help my mentor get work done more quickly. I have also been able to make up the hours I lost due to volleyball. Now over the Christmas break, I plan to get a week-two weeks worth of hours (8-16 hours) in advance, since tennis season is about to start. Tennis starts on Jan. 13th, so I plan to get the hours now, which means I hopefully won't have to make any up after tennis season. Working over the break won't just help me, but it will also help my mentor since the other interns won't be there to work. 

Week 12.2.13

My essential question:
How will I compare and contrast different types of strokes in order to understand and create a situation regarding a rehabilitation plan for a hypothetical stroke patient?

     I came up with this specific essential question because I've found that I'm very interested in neurology and physical therapy together. Strokes are perfect for this area of interest because they deal with the brain, and as a physical therapist I would help the patient heal from the brain injury. What helped me decide on this topic was the research I did for my annotated bibliography, which was where I found articles on stroke patients. I'm very excited about this end-of-the-year project because I can't wait to learn more about the human brain and how strokes affect it. I have learned about the general areas of the brain through Human A&P and AP Psychology, but I can't wait to dive deeper into this topic. I think this question describes exactly what I need to do for my upcoming project. I will need to decide on a type of stroke that my hypothetical patient will have (compare and contrast stroke types), I will need to research and learn more about the specific stroke I decide on (understand), and I will need to come up with a plan on how to heal the patient (rehabilitation plan). My essential question will be a helpful guideline for me as I start this project.