I Lost My Heart in Arizona
Week One: I am LOVING my last clinical here in Mesa, Arizona. My coworkers are fabulous- except the lack of GB Packer supports here (this is a joke). I'm in an OP-Neuro setting, and so far I've seen two SCI patients, many CVAs, and a muscular dystrophy, and many additional pathologies I never could have imagined treating. It is really interesting to see patients in this setting.
Our department has a handful of PTs, OTs, and two speech therapists. On my third day we had a staff meeting and I got to see how beautifully the different clinicians interact and work together to make the department a better place. Although the staff teases each other, they respect each other immensely. They problem solve as a group and encourage each other to become better clinicians. They teach each other and most importantly, they thank each other and recognize when someone has helped another.
The thing I'm dealing with now is trying to decide where in the U.S. I'd like to end up. I never questioned leaving Milwaukee, but the staff here in Arizona is truly the greatest asset of this PT department. Not to sound naïve, but I feel like the world is my oyster and I need to find where my heart fits best. It has been a long journey going through PT school, and the real adventure doesn't even begin until I have my diploma.