Tiffany Mineer
Manassa, Colorado
Exercise Science
Leadership
Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab Internship
The project I completed is actually different than the one I had originally submitted a proposal for, as well as a completely different track. I decided to change my project from organizing a youth soccer camp, to an internship at the Cedar City Hospital Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation facility.
Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehab is a program for those who have recently suffered a traumatic heart event, such as a heart attack or open heart surgery, or those who suffer from chronic pulmonary diseases such as COPD or emphysema. My specific responsibilities as an intern were to hook up the patients to an EKG monitor, take their blood pressure, as well as assisting with exercise modalities. I was also able to observe an open heart surgery!
The inspiration for my internship came from a class I was required to take for my major. During this class we had the opportunity to take a tour of the rehab facility and hear from one of the exercise physiologist/therapist that worked there. She explained to us how important it was to pay attention in our class and how it could greatly benefit us if we ever decided to choose that career path. She then told us that they would be accepting interns the following semester, so I jumped at the opportunity!
"Today I was able to explain to a patient on my own why our blood pressure goes down after exercise, and they actually understood!"
"Got to observe an open heart surgery today; my feet are killing me but it was amazing to be up close and see exactly what happens during a CABG (coronary artery bypass graft)!"
This internship definitely had its challenges, but luckily I was able to make it through. To start off, my husband accepted a new job in Idaho right after the semester started, which meant I was in charge of our (then) 18 month old son as well as our puppy until graduation. Some days were undeniably more difficult than others, but overall I felt that I was able to accomplish what I needed to get done. Another challenge of this internship was that I felt that my personality didn't mesh as well with my preceptors as I would've hoped, however we were still able to be professional and end on relatively good terms.
I feel that this project most benefitted the patients who were willing to let us help them and teach them! There were quite a few that saw major improvements in their quality of life and how they felt each day. I also think it helped our patients better understand how to take care of themselves, and hopefully prevent further cardiac events.
My internship has benefitted me in so many ways, and I will be forever grateful that I had the opportunity to work with some very intelligent and hard working people. I feel that it has helped me to understand better how to interact with patients of an older generation, as well as properly and more accurately take blood pressure. Overall I believe I now have the skills to be able to pursue a career in this field!
