Nick Gleason – Physical Therapy Internship

Hi, I am Nick Gleason, and I am a student intern at Pivot Physical Therapy in New Holland. I work alongside two very knowledgeable DPTs who have had a very good impact on my life and future career goals. I have learned a lot of little nuances while working there such as how to read charts, how they work with doctors, and how to deal with multiple patients daily. This has certainly helped me with gaining more understanding of my future career interest and the different possibilities with PT. By doing this internship, I really found joy and passion for helping people recover from hard injuries. But besides the injuries, something that makes me want to go back every time is the relationships built. Not only do you have a good relationship with your coworkers because you talk a lot with them, but you build a very strong bond with your patients. Knowing that certain people are coming on that day just makes you excited to be there because of what they bring and how much they appreciate you.

Some of the job duties I have at Pivot are cleaning, doing the laundry, putting away equipment, setting up equipment, and helping patients with their exercises. Every one of those tasks is very key to keeping everything organized and running smoothly. Another duty I have is to talk with patients so the PTs can do paperwork. Surprisingly enough the PTs say that is the biggest help because they can easily get distracted and lose their thought and the paperwork is important for keeping an updated profile on patients. Another very important task is keeping everything clean. Since a lot of people are using the tables and equipment, wiping them down is a major part of keeping germs from spreading. I, as the intern, am there to make the PT’s job easier for them to do. So, I can go from one thing to the next very fast. Whatever they need to be done I am there to make sure it is done.

My daily routine varies from how many patients there are, how much laundry we have, and how much cleaning I have left. But on most days, I fold the laundry and put dirty clothes into the washer. From there I will clean the equipment as need be and check on patients about how they are doing. Then after their exercises, they get either heat, ice, or stim. So, I get all that ready for the PT to put on the patient. Usually, we have about 15 minutes or so in between patients so in that time I will either vacuum, clean the mirrors/windows, empty the trash, or clean the bathrooms. I really do enjoy my time spent there from everything they have taught me. Even though doing the necessary things isn’t always fun. The culture at Pivot is so great and truly an amazing place.

Through my time so far at Pivot, I have grown as an individual and my understanding of the job has become a lot clearer. My overall experience has been fantastic, and I wouldn’t want to trade it for anything. The relationships I’ve built are ones that I will always remember through college and once I get my real job. I appreciate everything they have done for me and I am very thankful to be alongside them 3 days a week.