I have recently just been able to accomplish one of the most exciting things about being an ISM student - going on my first mentor visit! Last week, I had the pleasure of visiting my mentor Rachel at her working place, The Carrell Clinic at the Star. It was a wonderful, eye opening experience and I am so excited to continue the visits and learn even more.
Rachel and I decided the visit should be on Wednesday during the time period of ISM, because as fate would have it, her appointment during that time frame was with a guy named Brian who was six weeks post operation and the day of my visit was also the first day he was able to bear any weight on his leg. Brian and I both suffered a complete ACL tear and got the reconstruction surgery, but he and I differed because his injury also included a complete meniscus tear as well. This means his recovery has been, and will continue to be, much longer and harder for him. Brian was very sweet, hard working, and dedicated to his recovery and I sincerely hope I have patients like him one day. After Brian and I were introduced, Rachel sent him to the bike to warm up before his session with some cardio. While he biked, Rachel and I went over the homework she had assigned me over the break. I took notes over four articles she sent me about ACL tears, how they affect females more, and injury prevention. She then answered my questions about the homework and we were able to narrow down my general questions to injury prevention and the difference between strength and power. Rachel assigned me more homework over this material, and from this I learned about the FIFA 11+ warm up which decreases injury risk by 30% in athletes over the age of 13. I also learned about how strength is, in simple terms, the ability to resist or control heavy weight and how power is strength but quickly and multiple times.
However, my biggest takeaway from this visit wasn’t the information I gathered or even the research I conducted after. It was how, from talking with Brian, observing his session, reflecting back to my own experiences in his position, and of course consulting with Rachel, I made the (almost absolute) decision to center my final product around the ACL return to play process. I care about this subject a lot, because it has affected myself as well as a lot of people I care about in more ways that I can count. I want to create something with plenty of available, easily accessible, and helpful information to be able to help people like Brian who have questions, concerns, or even fears about what their recovery is going to look like. I have yet to decide exactly what I am going to create for my final product in order to accomplish this, but I am leaning towards creating some kind of visual representation. My original idea was a website, but I am now unsure about that. I will discuss the presentation of my final product further with Rachel when I see her at our next mentor visit, but I am almost fully confident in what I want my final product to be about. I left my first mentor visit feeling very content. I have enjoyed my time in ISM studying physical therapy, and this visit solidified that this is a career path that I want to pursue.
With my first ever mentor visit being such a success, I have little doubt that I will continue to have amazing experiences in the clinic under Rachel’s guidance. I love what I am learning about and I am passionate about finding a way to help, and I am ecstatic to have this opportunity. I am looking forward to another great experience.