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Ariane shares some highlights from her Co-op experience with F&L.

Highlights in and outside the clinic?

Inside the clinic

The amazing welcome I received from the Fukuji & Lum family truly highlighted my 6 month co-op experience. The environment created by the staff and patients was all-embracing.

I'm not sure why, but a time that stood out to me, that I still think about, was watching the first patient I saw getting discharged. Watching him express his gratitude -it was a pure and genuine appreciation for both PT and PTA - was such a beautiful thing to witness, and yes I did get emotional. It just proved to me what an incredible impact therapists can have in patients' lives. The coolest thing was that I saw this appreciation expressed by patients throughout the clinic. The respect they had for the HNL crew -being on time to appointments, the generous goodies brought to the clinic, willingness to try all sorts of approaches and interventions- was moving and left me with an even greater respect for the profession.

Outside of the clinic

I would say being able to be outdoors so much, immersed in the natural beauty of Hawaii with my peers was like nothing else.  Moving across the country with my other classmates, where none of us knew each other too well beforehand and experiencing this chapter of our lives together  was incredible. Through laughs and tears, those 6 months are something we will always share. Grateful for life long friendships formed.

Who had the most impact on you during your time here?

It’s hard to isolate just one person who had the most impact on me during my time at Fukuji & Lum. I got to work alongside the greatest people I could have imagined. However, there was one person in particular who really stood out, and that was Blayse, my supervisor at the Honolulu Clinic. One of the first things I was asked on day one of work was, what kind of a learner I was… and although this may not seem like the most pertinent question when first training a new employee, it was utilized in every sense of the word. I don't even know how, but managing a whole clinic, all the PTs, PTAs, and patients needs requires time and passion… not to mention also having to figure out how to fit a co-op into the mix while not disrupting the flow of the clinic.

Blayse does it all though, and I am forever grateful to have been able to learn and grow under him. Not to mention the rest of the honolulu family, who shared with me their passion and knowledge of the field. Their genuine care and love for their patients never went unnoticed. Being a part of this was a phenomenal experience.

 From this experience, what intentions will you have going forward with your career?

Full body approach!!! From my experience at Fukuji & Lum I continuously saw the importance of ‘zooming out’ and considering the body as a whole system, not just pieces. Our entire body works together to create a whole.

Going forward with my career I will also look for opportunities to take continuing education courses. Throughout my 6 months, the numerous courses I saw people taking, to learn new techniques, gain a better understanding of something and just broaden their ability to help patients, was inspiring.

Alice shares a few highlights from her 6-month experience working with us at F&L.

What was the one experience that you think was the highlight of the experience?

Two experiences outside of the clinic that were highlights of my time in Hawaii were skydiving, as well as learning to surf. I never thought I would actually skydive but as our landlord Wendy said when we arrived, “Never say no in Hawaii”. There is something about the islands that truly gave me a sense of adventure and I did not want to leave any place unexplored. I was tremendously pushed out of my comfort zone during these six months in so many ways and skydiving was the perfect example. Surfing was the activity that filled my void since retiring from competitive figure skating during the pandemic. I loved how I quickly saw my return on investment from practice to skill execution. The biggest difference between surfing and skating is that frozen water is predictable except for when it's slippery. But waves in the open ocean are the most unpredictable thing I have ever dealt with, plus you can track them on apps and think you know what you're getting into but you never truly know until you're in it. I feel like this is a very good metaphor for life and a lesson that I needed to learn outside of competitive sport.

One highlight from my experiences in the clinic was truly the people. It may sound cliche but the clinic really became my 'ohana. And I'm not a crier but I cried on my last day because I was just so emotional about how I truly found people who were as committed to learning throughout their career as I feel like I want to be. No matter what was going on they were there day in and day out to show up for you as a person as well as a therapist for their profession and career. I will never forget my time at Fukuji and Lum and I hope to be back at some point.

What was the most surprising thing that you did not expect to learn?

The most surprising thing that I learned that I did not expect to was how integral interpersonal skills are two physical therapy and the level of complexity that the human body can offer. Often in school interpersonal skills and psychosocial aspects of health can be viewed as fluff classes however I now view them very differently. All of the therapists are very knowledgeable and were always willing to share their perspective and answer questions regarding this.

If you had to choose one word about your experience, what word would you choose?

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