Testimonials
“Service learning provides opportunities for us to stay connected within our communities throughout our physical therapy education. Through service opportunities, we are able to explore our own interests as well as unfamiliar areas perhaps outside of our comfort zone. Personally, service learning allows me to build clinical skills and networks and offers subtle reminders of why I joined the PT fam. And if an opportunity doesn’t exist, create one!”
Brandon Nguyen, DPT, Class of 2019
“I wanted to participate in this service-learning opportunity (Vietnamese Health Clinic) because I wanted to get out in the community again and get hands-on experience with MSK conditions. We saw mostly low back pain with a few knees/shoulders. My biggest takeaway is how beneficial health fairs like this would be to people from different cultures and how more rural places would also benefit from these types of community involvement. I truly enjoyed working with these patients and with my CI for the day. I would highly recommend this experience to my classmates because it was very good hands-on experience and there is free food and fun people!” Amy, DPT2
“I wanted to participate in this clinic because I thought I could be helpful to a population of people who may not be receiving consistent healthcare. We are providing a service that is needful, it is fulfilling work, and it allows us to practice our skills/clinical reasoning. We also got to meet other healthcare students, student volunteers, and were provided a delicious lunch!” Emily, DPT1
“I think I realized how the skills we’ve learned in just 1 year of PT school can make such a big difference in people’s lives so easily. Giving someone the perfect stretch for their muscle tightness or getting in with some manual therapy can really make them feel so much better. Definitely would recommend, it was really rewarding to put what we learned to work and help people. The clients were so appreciative of what we did at the clinic, and of the HEP’s they got to take home with them. Also got to work with a licensed PT who gave great advice and taught us a lot too. It was definitely one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in PT school so far. I’d be really interested if there are any similar events coming up in the near future!” Peter, DPT1
“I decided to do this volunteer opportunity because I wanted to dive into the program and immerse myself with experiences. I also believed that with the height of the COVID pandemic,it would allow me to have more in-person hands-on experience. I had known a few previous students that had done the experience that highly suggested it. It helped give me a new perspective on patients with SCI and learn about the very important patient population. It also helped bring together alot of concepts from class and it was exciting to begin to apply what I was learning with real life scenarios. Finally, the team that I worked with was awesome!They were all kind, flexible, and made my experience very enjoyable and educational!” Jelena, DPT1