CRS strengthens students’ academic experience through global internship
The College of Rehabilitation Sciences has sent a total of 11 students from the Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Pathology departments to Thailand, India and USA for their Global Internship Experience for the month of November 2019. The Global International Experience provides an avenue to enrich not only the students’ academic and clinical experience but also enhances their cultural competencies through immersion activities, and in some instances, actual participation in cultural and sports activities together with the students of the universities they visit.
Physical Therapy Interns at Saint Louis College, Thailand
Five physical therapy (PT) students from the College of Rehabilitation Sciences, namely, Andrea Joyce Ansong, Rosali Marie Dizon, Matthew Mondelo, Nina Jessica Pasno, and Gabriel Jose Reyes, accompanied by Assoc. Prof. Donald S. Lipardo, PhD, completed a month-long Global Internship Experience (GIE) Program at Saint Louis College (SLC), Bangkok, Thailand. The group was welcomed by Prof. Chitr Sitthiamorn, (President), Sr. Margarita Kitcharoen, SPC (Vice-President), Assoc. Prof. Dr. Oraphun Lueboonthavatchai (Vice-President for Academics), Associate Deans of Physical Therapy, faculty lecturers and staff of SLC.
The students, who are currently in their fifth and final year of BSPT education, had a fruitful immersion into the practice of physical therapy in Thailand and its rich culture from November 3 to 30, 2019. The highlights of their experience included participation in lecture-workshops on kinesiotaping, Schroth exercise for scoliosis, lymphatic drainage therapy, and Thai massage; involvement in community-based rehabilitation for two weekends in Suphun Buri province; clinical practice in the Central Chest Institute of Thailand, Rajavithi Hospital, Bamrasnaradura Infectious Disease Institute; manipulation of high frequency therapy machines at the SLC PT Clinic. They felt that they were very blessed to be participants in welcoming Pope Francis when His Holiness visited the Saint Louis Hospital as part of his Apostolic Visit to Thailand.
As a part of the GIE program, Assoc. Prof. Lipardo, who was designated as an exchange faculty, delivered two lectures to the SLP PT students and faculty members. The first lecture, titled “Filipino Perspective of Care for Older Adults,” was about the current state of the geriatric population in the Philippines and the actions that must be taken to maintain their health and prevent fall incidence as the country transitions to become an ageing population like Thailand. In the second lecture, titled “Fall prevention and risk reduction with combined physical and cognitive training (PACT) in older adults with mild cognitive impairment,“ he shared the findings of his PhD research mainly on the effectiveness of integrating cognitive training to physical exercise in reducing the risk of falling among older persons with mild cognitive impairment.
Physical Therapy interns at Nitte University, India
Two Physical Therapy (PT) Interns, namely, Anthony Laigo and Van Darrell Dela Cruz accompanied by Asst. Prof. Donald G. Manlapaz, Ph.D., were at Nitte University in Mangalore, India beginning November 11, 2019 for a one-month Global Internship Experience (GIE).
The CRS team was welcomed by Honorable Vice Chancellor Dr. Satheesh Kumar Bhanadary, Pro Vice Chancellor Dr. M S Moodithaya, Registrar Dr. Alka Kulkarni and School of Physiotherapy Principal Dr. Dhanesh Kumar.
The one-month clinical experience involved actual patient care and evaluation through different areas of PT. The Nitte University is one of the international affiliations that offers actual exposure to postnatal care PT, brain surgery and joint arthroscopy. To further, the Nitte also established Obstetrics and Women’s Health which are the emerging areas in the field.
Manlapaz also shared his teaching and research expertise among the postgraduate and undergraduate students of Nitte Institute of Physiotherapy in Deralakatte, Mangaluru India.
Occupational Therapy, Speech- Language Pathology Interns at Seton Hall University, USA
Two Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) interns – Erika Danielle Nuñez and Samantha Megan Chan, and two Occupational Therapy (OT) interns – Kenneth Porlucas and Princess Madarang, accompanied by College of Rehabilitation Sciences Department of Speech Language Pathology faculty member Ms. Beatrice Aque, were in New Jersey from October 31 to November 26, 2019 for the Global Internship Experience (GIE) program in partnership with Seton Hall University (SHU), USA.
The GIE arranged with SHU allowed the interns to observe practices of SLP and OT professionals in different hospitals and clinic sites. The SLP interns were placed in a private school catering to differently-abled students from preschool age to 21 years old. The OT interns were given opportunities to observe OT sessions for pediatric, adult, and geriatric clients in different settings – schools, a therapy center, and a rehabilitation hospital.
The students also participated in a number of activities in the SHU Interprofessional Health Sciences Campus. They attended the Interprofessional Education event on November 4, 2019 wherein they collaborated with university students from different health allied programs to identify and enrich their understanding of the importance of interprofessional collaboration. Aside from this, they were also given a campus tour which left them at awe with the new campus building’s facilities.
The SLP students attended audiology and aural rehabilitation, diagnostics and clinical principles and neuroscience classes in the university. Meanwhile, the OT students also attended therapeutic communication, evaluation for TBI, neuroscience, health belief, anatomy, process and intervention, and adult intervention for CVA classes.
