Sports Medicine - Student learning physical therapy

“I didn’t even know really anything about it until I had to go through it,’’ Lauren recalls. “I just started researching it a little bit more and I was like okay, this is nice. I like this.”

An exercise science student at Samford University in Birmingham, Lauren plans to become a physical therapist. She knows she is fortunate to have the opportunity to learn alongside actual therapists doing their jobs.

“They let me do a lot of hands-on work like putting on stints, taking off stints, doing ice packs and helping them clean - which is fun,” she says.

Through shadowing, Lauren has been able to observe therapists working in Marshall Medical South as well as the physical therapy clinic. She has found both interesting.

“It was exciting and eye-opening,” she says.

Prior to her interest in physical therapy, Lauren wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. Her love for working with children remains and she really enjoyed helping with a very young patient at Marshall Sports & Rehab.

“I adored the little five-year-old girl we got to work with. We got to play with Play-Doh. I got to help stretch her out. She walked around the clinic and played on the slide. It was nice to see that.”

Marshall Medical is proud to have been involved with more than one step in Lauren’s career. As a junior at Marshall Christian Academy, she was a member of Marshall County Youth Leadership, of which Marshall Medical is longtime sponsor. As part of that program, Lauren toured Marshall South and was able to interact with doctors. That experience is what originally drew her to a medical career.

In the hospital, Lauren shadows Beth Wilkerson, who holds a doctorate in physical therapy. She appreciates Wilkerson answering her questions and letting her do hands-on instead of just watching.

“Beth lets everything be a teaching moment.”

Lauren has been surprised by the expanse of ailments treated by a physical therapist.

“They treat a wide span of different diseases and human dysfunction,” she says. “I thought it was just like knees, shoulders, ankles and then found out we can treat vertigo, we can treat hypermobility. It’s a little scary but it's exciting because you get to help people and that's what I want to do.”