The Monday Memo
January 28, 2013 PITT DPT STUDENTS
CSM 2013: San Diego
The past week was inspirational, motivational, educational,.. and the list goes on. There are few ways to truly capture the excitement of collaborating with students, faculty, and alumni from around the country, but we’re going to try. You will find below several guest entries from first year students that attended CSM. Enjoy!
CSM reminded me that I’m exactly where I’m meant to be. At school I focus so much on specifics and on studying for the next test that I can forget the big picture. After a week of incredible lectures in fields I had no idea I was interested in, and networking with physical therapists from across the country (in gorgeous sunny 75 degree weather), I remembered why this is my passion.
I may have missed 4 hours of neuroanatomy lecture, but I learned about degenerative cerebellar disease and its effects (blurry or mis-proportioned representation of the body). The cerebellum compensates for the cerebral hemispheres when there is a lesion, so we must investigate if that compensation occurs inversely, when it’s the cerebellum that is lesioned.
While there, I learned that my patient with lateral epicondylitis may benefit from thoracic or cervical manipulation. I learned that interest and enthusiasm in anything is contagious. But most importantly, I learned that Pitt has an incomparable community. We are learning the latest and best information in our classes by the people who are the best in their field. We basically have CSM all year round.
From the moment that I stepped into National Student Conclave in Washington D. C in November of 2012, I knew that conferences were going to be a big part of my graduate and professional career. Combined Sections Meeting 2013 affirmed my beliefs. Coming from such a prestigious physical therapy program, we are expected to uphold high standards. I must say that from my experience, my fellow Pitt students surpass those standards astronomically. I don’t think I have ever been prouder to say that I am from the University of Pittsburgh.
Everything that I had a chance to partake in had some connection to Pitt. Our faculty is at the top of their game. They provide us with the most current and most applicable evidence. Even though we’ve been told one hundred times before that they are preparing us to be at the top of our generation, it’s encouraging to hear it from people outside of the University of Pittsburgh. Our faculty represented our program better than we could have ever imagined. From meetings to lectures to platforms, they were there either presenting the information or gathering it to bring it back to our classrooms.
In addition to the faculty, our Pitt classmates continuously showed exemplary performance in everything that they did. Matt DeBole, Director of the Student Assembly Board of Directors, was working around the clock to unite the students in any way that he could, making every student realize the impact that they can have on the future of our profession. Eric Lehman was recognized as the Outstanding Orthopedic Student of the Year. Watching him accept the award was reason enough to attend the conference. A group of second year students developed and launched what is going to be a stellar fundraiser for the Foundation for Physical Therapy. AND the Pitt students that attended accounted for 15% of the volunteers that helped the APTA in keeping the conference running as smoothly as possible.
Now that I’m down off of my soapbox, I really must say that if you ever have the opportunity to attend any conference, don’t hesitate. I guarantee that it will be one of the most rewarding experiences that you have in your career.
As a first-year student attending CSM, I had no idea what to expect. I was given advice by several older students and staff members that it was worth it, so I trusted their judgement. I am certainly glad I did.
My favorite part about CSM was the wide array of topics present. As a first year student, this allowed me to explore parts of PT that I was unfamiliar with or that I simply wanted to learn more about. The first presentation I attended was on a recently developed robotic prosthesis, the Deygo. This product was so new that it hadn’t yet been released for commercial use. This is just one example of how going to CSM gives you the ability to learn about the newest developments in PT.
Attending CSM also fostered my increasing interest in the field of pediatric PT. I was able to learn more about early intervention, an area which I knew little about. Additionally, the neurology and oncology sections of the APTA put on a presentation covering pediatric brain tumors that was extremely informative. My favorite pediatric lectures covered the topics of postural control and the prediction of cerebral palsy in young infants.
Since I could probably talk about my CSM experience until the next CSM rolls around (Las Vegas, anyone?), I will summarize the last couple paragraphs… Go to CSM- it is worth it!
Thank you to my fellow students who gave us some insight into the student perspective of CSM. The past week was fantastic, and I can only encourage more of my class and the classes to follow to participate fully in these professional events!
Check the Calendar for Class Schedules and Events
Social Media Updates
- #DPTstudent – WEDNESDAYS , 9-10pm EST! Check out #DPTstudent page for details!
- Unite Physical Therapy Students – If you haven’t yet, please check out the “Doctor of Physical Therapy Students” Facebook page. More than 4,200 students have already joined!
- Our own page! Pitt Physical Therapy, thanks to the Social Media Team, has create an official PittPT Facebook page!
- #SolvePT (meets on Tuesdays Twitter from 9-10pm EST)
- Log ‘N Blog – Our PITT PT team is up and ready for new members! Please join and ask friends and family to join as well!
