Provo, UT; Y Be Fit - Jocelyn

For my internship I worked at Y Be Fit as a health coach.  Y Be Fit can be found on the BYU campus in the Richards Building just kitty corner from the information desk.
At Y Be Fit I had the opportunity to participate in a wide range of activities.  I got to meet with clients on a weekly basis to help them on the path to health and wellness, perform body composition tests, various fitness tests (including a treadmill test to estimate VO2 max), as well as interpret blood work results for each client.  I had the opportunity to discuss all of the test results with each client at the beginning of their journey with Y Be Fit and again at the end so they could see the progress they made.
I also had the opportunity to learn more about coaching psychology, incorporate different styles of learning into my daily work, and work with other brilliant interns who all brought different ideas and perspectives to the table that provided many insights and tools that helped everyone learn and grow as a health coach.

Murray, UT; Intermountain Healthcare Cardiac & Pulmonary Rehabilitation Center - Keith

Being pre-med, I was a little hesitant at first to apply for a pre-PT internship, but even so I found that the center is certainly unique and provided an experience that gave me skills that will definitely benefit me and translate to useful life skills no matter what your professional goal. The staff there are simply incredible individuals and they really put a lot of effort into making the center a friendly environment for the benefit of all those who pass through.
Jay Grove is the internship mentor and is very use to training and having interns in the center. He showed me how to do things once and then left me to be pro-active and motivate myself to work. This internship involves a LOT of interaction with people, mainly patients. One of the most valuable skills I gained from this experience is learning how to project confidence in such a way that the patients (many of them two or three times my senior) could be comfortable with me taking their vitals and trust me to know what I was doing. I would definitely recommend this internship to anyone considering going into a health-related field. Internships give you hands-on experience you can't get anywhere else. I had my doubts as to whether or not I would get accepted for the internship because it wasn't geared towards my career goal, but I got it and you can too! Give it a try.

Lehi, UT; Orrick Mendenhall Professional Physical Therapy - Jason

To me, an internship is an experience that should shape the way you think and bring you closer to realizing your future career path.  It is about discovering who you are and what you want to become.  It is about gaining experiences that either push you towards that particular career path or away from it.  Fortunately for me, I found that my internship at Orrock-Mendenhall Professional Physical Therapy met and exceeded all of my expectations.  Through this intern opportunity, I have gained knowledge and experience in the practice of physical therapy that will benefit me for the rest of my life.
While at my internship, I was able to see all the aspects of a physical therapist day to day activities.  I started out just observing and helping with cleaning.  The more I learned, the more hands on experience and responsibility I was given.  I was able to participate in most all of the activities that the other assistants conducted, interacting with patients and providing services.  I loved being able to feel like I was helping someone improve their health, even if it was in a small way.  My co-workers were great, the overall experience was great, and the lessons and skills I learned were priceless.  I feel that I now have a much better idea of what I want to do with my life, and I would highly recommend pursuing an internship through BYU Life Sciences.

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  

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.  

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.

Idaho Falls, ID -Chase LfSci 199R Summer Experience

I spent the last six weeks participating in the lifescience 199 class by interning for one of my local physical therapists. The experience was very rewarding, despite all of the new learning techniques there are these days, there is still nothing better than hands on experience. Especially for people like me who are still mulling over career decisions, the opportunity to get in an actual clinic and watch therapists do day to day work is extremely helpful in making decisions about the future. A lot can be learned in a classroom setting but there comes a time where the real life experience is extremely vital. this class provides an opportunity to do some real experiencing and receive credit for it. it is and excellent program and definitely worth the time.

For more information visit  http://www.ellisphysicaltherapy.com/.

Debre Zeit, Ethiopia: Engage Now Africa Internship -Logan

I completed an internship with a nongovernmental organization called Engage Now Africa. The internship was based in Debre Zeit, Ethiopia. Debre Zeit is located about an hour south of the capital of Ethiopia. My duties in the internship included gathering data concerning the humanitarian projects completed in the villages, volunteering and shadowing at the local hospital, and teaching English at a local school. It was a very engaging and interesting internship that helped me develop understanding of foreign health care and aid.

            My wife and I arrived in Ethiopia and were trained by Diana Bingham who is the country director of Engage Now Africa (ENA) in Ethiopia. We were introduced to the local staff and situated into our housing. After a day of training, Diana left to go back to America and we went to work. It was difficult to get started at first due to the Ethiopian staff. We immediately learned that the Ethiopian culture is very laid back in meeting deadlines. We would often plan our day full of activities and only accomplish a handful due to Ethiopian culture. ENA has built schools, sanitary wells, and health posts throughout the villages surrounding Debre Zeit. It was our job to travel to these projects and collect data, testimonials, and pictures that could be utilized to produce results for the donors of ENA. We were able to travel to a lot of projects and collect a lot of data and pictures. It was great to see all the good that has been done due to ENA’s efforts. There were many villages that had gone without a school until ENA came and built the school. After the school was built it was handed over to the government, which would then higher teachers to run the school. Thousands of children are now able to attend school thanks to ENA. Wells were also dug by ENA, which has helped decrease the amount of disease due to unclean water. ENA drills for water and then sets up a pump and caps the well to prevent contamination. ENA also has set up health posts throughout the villages, which brings medical help to the people. Villagers can travel to these health posts and receive basic healthcare that would normally cause death without care.

            My wife and I were also able to teach English at a local school in Debre Zeit. The national language in Ethiopia is Amharic. The villagers rarely speak English but they need to know English in order to be employed in Ethiopia. We were able to teach English at a school. The children were more than willing to learn the language to get ahead in life. We did a lot of exercises and played a lot of English learning games. By the end of the internship the children were able to carry out a basic conversation with someone on the street. Hopefully this spark of learning will motivate them to continue to learn the language and get ahead in life.

            I am a premedical student, so I wanted to get some insight on the health care system in Ethiopia. I was able to arrange with the Debre Zeit hospital a shadowing and volunteering opportunity. Every day I would spend a few hours in the hospital shadowing different doctors. I saw a lot of typhoid, HIV, and malaria. There were also a lot of car accidents, fighting injuries, and abuse. I saw a lot of cases that I would not be able to see in America. I was also able to clean parts of the hospital and make lots of gauze. The doctors are educated and employed by the government. The government pays the doctors very little to work at the hospitals. To make more money the doctors usually work at a private practice and spend little time at the hospital. Due to this issue, the nurses see most of the patients at the hospital. I feel the health care system can be improved in Ethiopia by training the doctors, donating new equipment, and helping reform government health care services.

            This internship helped me get a better perspective of the world. I enjoyed meeting different types of people along the way and learning from their strengths. I learned that there is much good that can be done throughout the world. There are basic needs that every human should have met and I feel like there are many people not getting the necessities. 

If you are interested in Engage Now Africa, here is the link: http://www.engagenowafrica.org/