91探花

For those who aren’t familiar with the field of exercise science the academic program may seem narrow, solely training students for careers in the sports field or working with athletes on the sidelines. For those who are familiar, however, the breadth of experience and the variety of prospective careers associated with a degree in exercise science are wide reaching.

Exercise Science majors are required to complete a professional internship ahead of their graduation. These internships are often the first time students gain professional experience in their field of choice, giving them extremely valuable insights into their potential careers following graduation, but they are also opportunities for students to experience the field’s breadth.

Senior Sarah Jones is spending her summer working at a cardiopulmonary rehabilitation clinic in Boone where she helps treat patients who have experienced heart attack, COPD, or other cardiac conditions. Junior Ryan Avery’s summer has been spent at an outpost of the national health services provider Hanger Clinic where he works with certified prosthetist orthotists (CPO) to create prosthetic and orthotic devices. Senior Austin Beaird has been shadowing physical therapists as they treat athletes at a large sports complex close to his hometown.

Each student’s role is unique and focuses on different aspects of the exercise science field, however all of them have drawn from their experience and knowledge in the Exercise Science program here at Lees-91探花.

Jones was originally interested in pursuing a degree in nursing, but once the program was no longer offered by the school, she knew she wanted to stay regardless. She was still interested in healthcare and working with patients. Once she learned more about the nuances of the Exercise Science program, she knew it would be a good fit.

“I didn’t know that there was a side of exercise science that dealt more with a clinical setting, I always thought that exercise science was like strength and conditioning or coaching; exercise related. This is more like hands-on work with patients, which is what drew me to nursing. I like the relationship aspect with individuals,” Jones said.

She has had the opportunity to explore this patient-facing aspect of exercise science during her internship this summer, monitoring patients and collecting their vitals as they receive rehabilitation care for their cardiac muscle.

“What they’re doing is coming in, and essentially just exercising to build up more strength, endurance, resistance, all of those different aspects of their overall health,” Jones said. “I help with the check-in and check-on process. They come in, I get their vitals—so taking their [blood oxygen readings], blood pressure, and weight—and then giving them their exercise prescription. Throughout the duration of the class, which is about an hour and 15 minutes, I’m checking on them and seeing what their rated perceived exertion is, which is a scale of zero to 10.”

While also working at a clinic, Avery’s experience has been quite different. His eventual career goal is to become a CPO, and he has spent the summer working alongside professionals, shadowing their interactions with patients, working with the devices, and even filling molds, an early step in creating prostheses.

Like Jones, Avery was previously unfamiliar with the field of prosthetics and orthotics. When he began researching opportunities for his internship, he wanted to find something unique that combined the knowledge he gained in the classroom with work that was hands on.

“The field of prosthetics and orthotics is extremely experience based, so any experience I can get, as early as I can, will definitely give me a leg up. Also, on the patient side of things, it’s important to understand what people have gone through because that’s a big part of it as well,” Avery said. “A lot of patients who need prosthetic or orthotic devices, this isn’t their only appointment. They’re constantly dealing with physical therapists, all sorts of different doctors and practitioners to resolve different issues as well. That definitely requires a lot of empathy, and that’s not something I would have thought of before doing this internship.”

Beaird’s summer internship experience represents yet another major aspect of the exercise science field: physical therapy. The sports complex where he has spent his summer internship features turf fields, baseball and volleyball fields, a weight room, and more. The complex also features a sports medicine clinic where the athletes who use the facility can receive care from physical therapy and sports medicine professionals on staff.

While Beaird knew he was interested in pursuing a career in physical therapy, he said this experience has given him much more insight into what it takes to work at a clinic, juggle patients, and get everything done behind the scenes.

“I’ve learned so much just watching the physical therapists who work there. I’ve learned a lot more hands-on stuff, and I can actually use the stuff I learned at Lees-91探花 in a hands-on way that is actually applicable to the job itself,” Beaird said. “I definitely want to get into the realm of physical therapy, so being at this place has given me a lot of insight on not just sports medicine, but the behind-the-scenes stuff like the forms and the charts and the notes. I really have an idea of what the whole job is and not just the part that is glamorized.”

Jones, Avery, and Beaird all said that their time in the Exercise Science program has given them tools to succeed in these internships. They listed courses such as Exercise Testing and Prescription, Descriptive Biomechanics, and Anatomy and Physiology as particularly useful when tackling their professional responsibilities in the real world.

While each of these students has different goals and interests, Exercise Science has helped them build a strong foundation of knowledge and experience that will help them be successful in their next steps. Jones plans to attend nursing school while Avery aims to earn his master’s degree in prosthetics and orthotics and Beaird has his sights set on continuing his education to become a physical therapist.  

“Exercise science is not just strength and conditioning, it is and can be a super niche specialty,” Jones said.