This will be the last post of my blog! I'll reflect on my mentorship as a whole...
1. What impact did this experience have on my personal growth?
As a person, I 've grown a lot this year because of the experiences I've had at my mentorship. One of the ways I've been able to learn so much about life and grow as a person is being around 4 different adults in different stages of life. One married, divorced and remarried with five kids, another married with four kids, another married with one and another on the way, and one single. Being around these four adults who have had so many different experiences in life, and have openly shared their problems and successes in life has allowed me to learn from their mistakes, and their victories. I hope to follow in all of their footsteps in different aspects, and I'm so thankful I have been able to spend the year learning from all of them.
2. What was my greatest accomplishment?
I think my greatest accomplishment this year was at the end of my mentorship. I was standing around waiting for my mentor to give me something to do, when I noticed one of the patients e-stem machines had finished. My mentor was busy with two other patients, and the woman was about to call to him to take her off the machine so she could go home, when I automatically walked over to take her off. Of course I've done stuff like this before when my mentor asked me, or even just because he was busy. However, I've never simply had the automatic response to help a patient with an e-stem machine. I've always debated in my head, "Would it be awkward to take those sticky pads off that persons bare skin on their lower back?" Although this time, their was no hesitation in my mind that things might be awkward, and to me, that showed that I'd really accepted and gotten used to sometimes "awkward" things that doctors have to deal with. I think that was a pretty big accomplishment for me.
3. What did you find most challenging about the mentorship?
The hardest thing for me at my mentorship was the process of learning how to do new tasks. I never wanted to let anyone down, or hurt the business in anyway, so I was always extremely cautious when learning new tasks. While it is good to be cautious about these things, I was almost too hesitant sometimes. I think that gradually learning more and more new stuff, and getting to know my mentor more helped me overcome my "fear" of learning how to do new things.
4. What did you discover about yourself?
I learned that I don't need to be embarrassed to ask questions. The whole beginning of the year, I was scared of sounding stupid when I asked how to do something. However, I realized that they can't expect me to simply know how to start an e-stem machine, so I started asking more questions, and in the process I learned so much.
5. What influence will this experience have on your future academic and career choices?
I think that having completed this internship with a physical therapy company, I've made many future "connections" and I've gained a lot of knowledge. If I ever want to become a PT or am applying to PT school, I can use my mentor or another PT there as a reference. They have not only given me life lessons and knowledge about PT, they've also allowed me to gain experience and "connections" for the future.
6. What did you learn from people you admire in the organization?
One of the other PTs at my mentorship is a woman who is in her late 20s, and she is still single. Although she wants to get married and have kids, she is waiting patiently on the Lords plan for her. She is a huge role model for me, and if I ever find myself, or a friend in the same situation later, I will be able to look back on wise decisions she's made and try to follow in her footsteps.
