Matt Mitchell is a third year Doctor of Physical Therapy Student at Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Virginia. He is currently completing a 2 month clinical rotation at Danville Orthopedic & Athletic Rehab under the instruction of Eric Lackey, MPT. He is also spending time at our sister company, Center for Pediatric Therapies.
Matt previously completed two clinical rotations at White Oak Manor in Rock Hill, South Carolina and BenchMark Physical Therapy in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Prior to pursuing a career in physical therapy, Matt volunteered at Blacksburg Physical Therapy. He holds a bachelors degree in Exercise, Sport, and Health Education from Radford University in Radford, Virginia. While a student at Radford, Matt was the assistant soccer coach at Blacksburg High School, and also volunteered at the Special Olympics. Matt is a native of Blacksburg, Virginia.
Q: Why are you pursuing a career in physical therapy?
A: This is a profession that has always been close to me. I have been through physical
therapy treatments several times and just really thought a lot of all the people that
helped me recover. I like the interaction I can have with people every day, there is
never a dull moment in this profession, and I get help people improve their health.
Q: What role does the clinical rotation play in your physical therapy education?
A: Clinical rotations are very important to my education. It is an opportunity to interact with real patients, get hands on experience, learn different approaches to treatments, put our knowledge to work, practice manual skills, and allows me to be more comfortable in a real world situation.
Q: What were you looking for in a clinical instructor and clinical site?
A: I am in my third rotation right now and I think what I am looking for is an instructor that will give me some space to try my own strategies and approaches to treatments but at the same time I want to operate in accordance to how that clinic is run. I think it is important to be independent but also know when you make mistakes and the instructor helping you learn from those mistakes.
Q: What are your goals for your clinical rotation at Danville Orthopedic & Athletic Rehab?
A: My goals are to be independent with simple (one diagnosis) evaluations and treatment sessions; be cued less than 50% of the time during complex (multiple diagnoses) evaluations and treatment session; and learn different approaches to treatments. I also want to gain more knowledge of billing for patients that have Medicare and to gain more knowledge of health insurance policies and reimbursement in general.
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