The Final Countdown

With one week left in my internship and this amazing city, I've been quite busy. From walking the Brooklyn Bridge, enjoying drinks on a rooftop, eating more food than my stomach probably liked, and watching the fabulous performance of Les Miserables on Broadway, it's been such a great week. For anyone visiting the city soon, don't miss the Smorgasburg food festival in Brooklyn! The Staten Island Ferry also provides great views of downtown. 

This week, I'll be enjoying my last few moments in New York. Visiting Fordham, sipping on chocolate martinis, and humming along to Phantom of the Opera are already on the list. 

But now, on to the pictures!

Gina

Time Flies in the City

Happy Tuesday!

Another week is in the bag. How is time going by so fast!?

The last week was filled with so many fun memories, including another fabulous beach weekend and two movies in Bryant Park.

Since I'm already over halfway done with my internship, I feel like I owe it to all of you to explain how my program works and what a typical day is like for me. I'm an occupational therapy intern through NYU's Health Career Opportunity Program (HCOP for short). There are about fifty other college students from across the country in the program, spread throughout different NYUMC departments (such as OT, speech pathology, and nursing to name a few).  For four weeks, each student observes in a specific setting to really get a feel for what that part of the field is like. 

I'm with the hand occupational therapists at an outpatient NYU clinic. People come in needing therapy for all kinds of injuries, from sprained bones to post-surgical procedures. I've seen how to evaluate a new patient and decide a treatment plan for regular ones. Even though I've only been observing for two weeks, I've already seen multiple patients make significant improvement! After a few hours observing, all the program participants attend lectures and discussions facilitated by healthcare professionals in the fields students are observing. 

I have learned so much, and continue to learn more every day. I'd recommend this program to anyone who's interested in a career in healthcare, but is unsure exactly what field to enter.

Hope your weekend was as relaxing as mine!

Gina

A Place to Call Home

It's only been a week, but I've easily assimilated to the New York City lifestyle. I grocery shop multiple times a week, take the subway and buses, plus live in a studio apartment. 

On orientation day for my NYU Medical Center internship, I met my occupational therapy supervisor who I'll be observing for the next few weeks. She and all the other therapists who deal with hands and upper extremities were so welcoming and continue to teach me new things daily about different patients and their unique cases. Also, I was granted a lab coat to wear around all day; keep in mind though, it is an odd brown/beige color (picture soon to come).

On Tuesday, I practiced making a splint (the thing you wear after a cast) on my supervisor. It was probably one of the coolest things to get to do, and on my second day no less! Afterwards, I enjoyed a taco dinner with my best friend from high school who's also living in the city.

With the first five days of work over, it was off to the beach for me! 

Can you imagine spending a getaway weekend any other way?

With some time to kill this afternoon, I explored Dylan's Candy Bar and Roosevelt Island with a friend from Creighton. Despite the heat emanating from the concrete jungle, the views were worth it.

So with one week in the books, time to continue the learning experience both in the OT office and on the streets of the city!

Gina