Provo, UT; SOS Physical Therapy- Andrew

Before working at SOS Physical Therapy, I’d never been in a physical therapist’s office.  During my college career, I’ve changed my major and career path a few times.  Physical therapy is a relatively recent career choice, which means I haven’t had the opportunity to do any job shadowing.  Having never needed physical therapy personally, I’d never been in a physical therapist’s office until I started working at SOS Physical Therapy.

My time at SOS Physical Therapy has helped me better understand physical therapy.  I’ve seen things that strengthen my desire to become a physical therapist and other things that make me wonder if I want to pursue such a career.  It’s helped me see that there are different kinds of physical therapy.  Working at SOS Physical Therapy has proved to be a valuable, eye-opening experience.

For more information about SOS Physical therapy visit  http://www.sosphysicaltherapy.com/index.html  

Germany; Max Planck Institute- Chas

I interned at the Max Planck Institute last summer because I wanted an awesome experience that I could put on my resume, and I wanted to travel outside the country at least once in my life.  An internship at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology will help any student's future opportunities by  (1) helping interns learn biotechnology basics, and (2) providing an experience that looks great on a resume.

Molecular technologies are changing our world.  Gene therapy has cured many patients of SCID, AIDS...etc.  Bacteria is used to create plastics, biofuels, and KO plants.  Transgenic mice help with the discovery of the genetic basis of many diseases; viruses are used to deliver genes to crops that increase yield and decrease needed water; artificial bladders, windpipes, and veins have been seeded with patients own stem cells, and have saved several patients from deadly cancers; childhood leukemia is now curable; genetic testing saves thousands of women's lives... etc.  This internship allowed me to gain one-on-one instruction from post docs, and I learned basic skills that are used on a large scale today to produce pharmaceuticals, vaccines, vectors, and biofuels, and perform academic research.  Getting hands on exposure to these fields is challenging, and the opportunity of this internship is one in several thousand.

The Max Planck preforms research on a nicotine plant indigenous to Utah.  Since the institute is in Germany, BYU has made a deal with the Max Planck Institute.  BYU gives the institute some land, and in exchange, the Max Planck takes several interns each summer.  This is a prestigious institute that doesn't have any other arrangements with schools like BYU does.  This is a one in several thousand opportunity because we are one of the few schools with an agreement like this.  It has helped me make the next step of working in a lab with post docs, and I have not even graduated yet.  This experience is  more intriguing to graduate schools than an internship in Provo.  The Max Planck Institute is more prestigious than the Y and is recognized by the whole world as a top notch experience.

This internship will give you the skills that all new biotechnology is based off.  If you are interested in earning a PhD in some biology related field, or wish to pursue a career in industry as I do, this internship will help you get into a good graduate program.

Questions: feel free to email chassyndergaard@gmail.com

For More information visit http://www.ice.mpg.de/ext/ 

Provo Ut; Intermountain Healthcare Cardio Rehabilitation- Kaitlin "100 Day Heart Challenge"

For the last 100 days, I have had the opportunity of working with the 100-day heart challenge participants here at the hospital in Provo.  At the beginning of the program, I was given three participants for whom I would devise work-out routines, and essentially, oversee their physical fitness during the course of the challenge.  With my three participants this summer, I have seen struggles, disappoints, failures, heart aches, successes, and joys.  I have watched as they have motivated themselves to work through pain and trials to change their lives for the better.

I will admit, at the onset, I was skeptical.  I did not really know if 100 days could make a significant difference in the lives of these individuals.  How wrong I was!  And the benefits run deeper than I ever could have imagined.  They are physical, emotional, and spiritual.  Not only have these people learned to sweat and enjoy it (both physically as well as through emotional and spiritual trials as well) but I have gained so much from my experience with them.  Not only have I learned that I actually could love personal training (who knew?), but I've seen the examples of these individuals, and have learned greatly from their life wisdom.  Each has been a blessing to me in my life as I struggle through the many decisions I am facing.

Soon, these contestants will have their final weigh in, and one of them will be declared a winner, but to me they are all winners because of the decision they made to change their lives for the better.  At this time, our paths will part, but I know that I will forever be changed by the decision I made to do an internship this summer. 

Lugazi, Africa; HELP-International- Jessica Stone "I Love the Broken Ones"

I started my internship and trip to Africa with HELP-International thinking that I would be helping many people and teaching them the information they would need to fight their poverty.  However, that was not the case.  I have been taught more by the people than they have been taught by me.

Carrying rocks from the mountain to build Seya School

I’ll be honest; living in Lugazi was no piece of cake.  We lived in Africa, and we lived like Africans.  A lot of Ugandans have nothing, but at the same time, have everything.  They don’t need cars, fancy houses, or a lot of income to be happy.  They are thankful for everything that they have, even though it is not much.

This summer has been full of amazing experiences and beautiful people that I will never forget.  I was the project lead for two projects in Lugazi, Uganda: The Children with Disabilities Project, and the Eye and Dental Camp Project.  Being the project lead for these projects I learned so much and came to love so many people.

I grew to love the Children with Disabilities project.  At the beginning of the summer our goal was to construct different devices for the children that would fit their needs.  This was a good idea, but during the summer we realized that this wasn’t exactly making the project sustainable.  We kept asking ourselves, “How are we going to keep this program sustainable?  How will it continue through the rest of the year while HELP is out of the country?  And how can we make it so next year will be able to pick up this project and run with it right from the first week?”

We made a therapeutic chair for this boy, Sam.

That is when we decided to switch our focus from the children to the parents.  We were still working on helping the children individually, but we decided to focus on the parents about their child’s disability.  No matter how much we help the children this summer; if the parents don’t know about their child’s disability and if they don’t know what they can do to improve their life, what is the use of just helping the child?  We need to educate the parents!  Once the parents are educated, hopefully they will have the desire to help their child on their own without help from HELP volunteers in the future.  We were hoping that by educating the parents, it will make it so they will continue to help their child while we are gone.  Then next year, volunteers can work on helping more families, present the information to the parents, and soon start a support group within the community for all the parents who have a child with disabilities.

After presenting the information to Joel's parents on Cerebral Palsy

After presenting the information to Noel's mother about Down syndrome.

I have come to love these children so much.  I know this is why I came to Uganda – to help these children experience more joy in their lives despite having a disability.  I have made a life decision while being here.  I am still planning on majoring in Exercise Science so I can be a Physical Therapist, but I am going to specialize in working with children with disabilities as a Physical Therapist.   I have found my passion as I have worked alongside Moses (a local Physical Therapist who works with children with disabilities) and as I have gotten to know and love these children over the past couple of months.

Partnering with Moses, we were able to get Daphine a prosthetic hand,

which she now is learning to use to help her with various jobs, like cutting potatoes.

Being able to do the Eye and Dental Campaigns have been a great experience as well.

Extracting teeth at the Dental Camp.

The Eye camp we held in Mbale was very neat.  Those people had gone years without being able to see.  Whether it was from cataracts, presbyopia, or whatever may be wrong.  It was amazing to see their gratitude.  It was like instant rewards.  Their smiles are definitely genuine.  I could ask for no greater a reward.

This man had cataracts in both eyes.

These two ladies both received glasses and were very grateful for them!

Cataract surgeries were performed at this eye camp

I left Uganda August 8th.  I wish I could have all the time in the world to stay there and help those people.  There is so much that can be done!  Uganda will always have a special place in my heart.  The friends who I have made will always be dear friends.  I will never forget them.  I love them so much.  They have nothing, yet have so much.  It has been a very humbling and great experience.  I will miss this wonderful and beautiful place so much and I hope I will be able to return one day.

Here is a movie I made for my Children with Disabilities Project.  Hope you enjoy it. :)

I have come to love these children so much. I hope through this video that you can come to know and love them as I have.

If you want to read more about what I did in Uganda, visit my blog: http://myadventureinlugazi.blogspot.com/
or for information about the internship visit http://help-international.org/

Bethesda, MD: TBI Research At USUHS -Joseph

Snap-frozen mouse brain being sectioned
in a Cryostat at 40µm.

Mouse being exposed to a moderate
 dose of HIFU.

This summer I worked in a lab of military medical school in Maryland just north of DC called Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS). I helped explore the impact of low and moderate non-penetrating blast induced Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) after exposure to stress (restraint) in mice. It was wonderful exposure to lab life and how research works.  It also was quite difficult and I felt like my learning curve the entire summer was quite steep. I would highly recommend it though to those interested in getting a PhD in neuroscience or other sciences.
 For more information visit: http://www.usuhs.mil/

Bountiful/Layton, UT: OMS of Utah -Allyson Andersen. "My Summer In'Tooth'ship"

Many find the sound of a drill digging into bone unsettling but I find it fascinating! One of the most common procedures of the oral surgeon I worked for are implants. Now to start an implant, an incision is made in the gums with what is called a 15-blade. Next, the doctor uses a peritoneal to pull apart the gums from the bone of our ramus if we are dealing with the lower jaw. Once the flap of gums are reflected back, the doctor takes a drill with about an inch drill bit on the end to start the hole for the implant to be placed in. While the surgical assistant suctions the blood seeping from the gums, the oral surgeon continues to dive into the bone until the drill bits are up the size and depth sufficient for the implant. Bone from the patient is put back around the implant to increase bone growth along with other bone fragments from human and cow origins. Now that the implant is screwed into place, we can close the flap of gums with a suture. After we have finished driving the curved suture needle through the gums to re-attach them to heal, we finish by injecting "PRP," also known as platelet rich plasma to make the tissue heal faster. My plan for this summer was to intern for a dentist, Dr. Healy, as well as an oral surgeon, Dr. Liston, in order to widen my view into the medical field. I learned more about myself from this internship and had an amazing time doing it.

Heading into my summer internship, my plan was to become a dental hygienist. Some of the factors that made my view change are the role of a dental hygienist, variety, and human anatomy involved in oral surgery. The first day I went in to my job, I was with Dr. Healy and his staff. I shadowed the dental hygienist first because of my interest in this field. After watching the hygienist clean tooth after tooth, I realized this was not something I would love to do. They have the same routine every day. I do not think it would take long for me to become bored of this schedule. My first day at the oral surgeon's office was far more exciting! I love the variety involved in oral surgery. What I mean by this is there are some surgeries like wisdom teeth removal and implants that are most common; although I have learned from working in oral surgery that you never know what case is going to come through the door next. The variety in the office consisted of: removing third molars, extracting teeth, taking tissue and object biopsies, implants, sinus clearing, nose reshaping, suture removal, and different people. Lastly, my favorite class on BYU campus has been human anatomy, which I have been able to apply to oral surgery on a daily basis. I now want to be a surgical assistant because I simply love being there and doing the tasks that come with the job description.

I had a fabulous time at my internship and if you're on the fence about doing one, hop on over and try it! Not only did I learn what I wanted to do, but I learned what I do not want to do. If I had not taken this opportunity I would have made a big mistake in becoming a dental hygienist. There is no better way to see if the occupation you have chosen is the right one for you, then to go out and participate in the work.

For more information of OMS of Utah visit http://www.omsofutah.com/index.asp

Ghana, Africa. BYU Fieldstudies -Natalie. "Life Changing"

The only words I can sum my internship in Wiamoase, Ghana, West Africa are exactly those: life changing. Located in the South of the Western sub-Saharan region, Ghana has a population of 23.4 million. When I stepped off the plane I never could have guessed what the next three months had in store for me. I lived in a very small village where electricity came and went just like the waves of extreme heat. I didn’t have high expectations for my living situation so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw where I was living (mainly because we had a working toilet!). Wiamoase is about two miles long on the main road with not much to look at. With a future in the medical setting I knew I wanted to start off my internship in the clinic. Working with BYU Field Studies and their faculty I finally had my research narrowed down. I chose to research why parents bring their children to a clinic. About 1-½ miles away from where I stayed was the Salvation Army Health Center. Open 24 hours a day the clinic is mainly there for outpatient procedures. I started my days off in the O.P.D.(Out Patient Department) helping the nurses take temperature, blood pressure, pulse, and weight. I interviewed staff members about the clinic and how it operated. I sat and observed the clinic for a few weeks before actually interviewing any parents about why they chose the clinic as their primary health care. I quickly learned that most of the town does in fact prefer the clinic. As the weeks went on I began interviewing parents by asking a series of questions in a semi-structure interview process. I learned more from these people than I thought. Since I was working with BYU field studies I took a course that helped prepare for the research. The professors helped with every step of the way providing support whenever necessary. I grew as a person emotionally, physically, and mentally as a result of going on my internship to Ghana. I will never forget the experience I had and the things I learned.  

Provo, UT: Central Utah Surgical Clinic -Cory Pettit

This summer I had an internship at the Central Utah Surgical Clinic working under Dr. Nelson, an orthopedic surgeon.  It was a great experience, as I got to see all parts of the surgical process.  I would begin by doing clinical visits with him, where we saw people before and after their surgeries.  For those coming in pre-surgery, Dr. Nelson would use subjective assessments of pain and mobility, as well as medical imaging to determine a course of treatment.  What most struck me about these meetings was how friendly and personable Dr. Nelson was with everyone.  He greeted each patient as if they were long time friends,  and after the consultation he would usually spend about 5 to 10 minutes talking about some common interest they shared, whether it was sports, fishing, or even a mutual acquaintance.  It always seemed they had something in common.

After the consultations, the next step was the surgeries themselves.  I was fortunate enough to be able to actually be in the operating room during the procedures, and got a close-up view of what was going on.  Dr. Nelson would explain to me what was the steps in the operation, and would help me understand and see the anatomy in the area he was operating on.  What most surprised me about the surgeries was how intensive they were.  Many called for power tools such as a power drill and a bone saw.  It reminded me of a carpenter's shop, where instead of working with wood, they were shaping bone.

The last step in the process was to visit the patients a few weeks after their operation.  He would check up on them to make sure there had been no complications, and that everything was healing correctly. Although they were sometimes still in pain, almost all of the patients saw improvement and were very grateful for Dr. Nelson.  Being an intern with him was a great experience, and helped solidify my desire to go into orthopedics.

For more information visit  http://www.centralutahclinic.com/departments/surgery-center.

Charlottesville, Virginia: University of Virgina -Spencer

This summer, I spent seven weeks in Charlottesville, Virginia working in a biochemistry and molecular genetics lab focusing on cancer research.  It was a fantastic learning experience.  I consider myself very fortunate to have had this opportunity.  I lived with family in the area and it was because of their connections that I had this opportunity to work in a very successful lab at the University of Virginia.

What I enjoyed most about the internship was learning how to actually do things that I had learned about in school.  It's one thing to learn about Northern Blotting, it's another to harvest your own cells, prepare the samples, run a gel, and develop your very own blots.  That is what I liked most.  The experience further cemented processes I have learned about but it also made it much more interesting to me.  I am way more interested in Molecular Biology now than I was when I took the class, for example.

In the lab, I worked with a post doc who helped me considerably.  He was working on studying TIP60, and indirect cancer suppressant.  I worked side by side with him and conducted my own experiments regarding a similar protein--a cousin to TIP60--called hMOF.  I found it very beneficial to run my own hypothesis and my own experiments.  I was able to watch a mentor conduct similar experiments, and then I was able to apply it to my own work.

Another benefit for me was simply being able to observe people work.  I am currently trying to really discover what I want to do in life, and I think that can be a very hard decision.  It was invaluable to me to watch first-hand what researchers actually do--what their daily routine is like.  I was able to talk to PhD students and medical school students.  I talked a lot with my supervisor and the lab manager regarding careers.  This interaction was probably the most valuable of the whole experience.

In short, my experience was fantastic and helped me in multiple ways.

For more information visit  http://www.medicine.virginia.edu/education/phd/gpo/srip/home-page.

San Diego, California: Research in Surgical Neurophisiology at UC San Diego Medical Center - Collin

Data collection for one of our projects

My summer was spent at the multiple UCSD hospitals doing research in the field of Surgical Neurophysiology.  Much of my time was spent in the operating room viewing neurosurgery and taking data for a research paper.  I got to see the upside of research and see the amazing topics being looked into and papers being written up with success.  I also saw the downside of research when data came back informing us that one of our projects was wrong and that our giant data collection trip to the Sierras and the entire project was scrapped.  My plan is to be a doctor and I want to continue doing research.  It was an incredible experience where I was able to see the role of research in the medical field

Data that comes in from all the head electrodes

For more information visit http://health.ucsd.edu/locations/pages/thornton.aspx.