Yash knew that he wanted to pursue something related to physical therapy, so he went online and searched for internships near him. Inner Circle Physical Therapy appeared, so he applied and was later called for an interview. For Yash, a typical day in his internship involved checking the patient list, finding their file, and putting it in the main room. He would set up electrical stimulation and give patients heat or ice, whatever they preferred. While the patients were getting electrical stimulation, he would help patients with their exercises. Yash would also make sure that towels were washed, dried, and folded, and that the machines were working properly.

Yash took an anatomy course, but was not able to put the concepts of how the body works into real life. Going into his internship, he had knowledge of the different muscles and tissues, and it was helpful for him to be able to put this to use. After his internship, he realized that physical therapy is what he wants to pursue. It was the first time Yash worked in physical therapy. Previous exposure he got was from volunteering in a hospital, which was not hands-on with physical therapy.

To Yash, teamwork was the most important skill to have. There were usually 3 physical therapists working, and there were 8 patients every hour. The patients spent 15 minutes with the physical therapist, 15 minutes doing exercises, and the remainder of their time getting electrical stimulation. Yash had to set people up for electrical stimulation and time it for when the physical therapist would be done with the patient. He noted, “We worked good as a team and it ran smoothly.” He also got to understand how the physical therapy at Inner Circle Physical Therapy is different than other physical therapies. He has observed traditional physical therapy and noted that they do not stretch out their patients or use electrical stimulation unless it is asked for. Where Yash interned, everyone got electrical stimulation unless they had a reason that they could not, such as cancer.

Before his internship, Yash knew that he wanted to pursue physical therapy, but was never able to get experience inside a clinic/practice. The most challenging part of Yash’s experience was learning everything. He had 3 days to learn everything since the clinic needed help right away. The physical therapists would also quiz him on the different exercises. He noted that there were about 100 exercises. The coolest part of Yash’s experience was interacting with the patients. Everyone was a little scared to do physical therapy, they wanted to get better and knew it would take some time. Everyone working had a smile and worked their hardest to make people better. It was rewarding that Yash could help with their journeys. 

Yash went to India this summer!

Written by Alexa Alessandrini ’24