Summer Internship - Women’s Sports Medicine Center
At Teachers College, Columbia University, I had the fortunate opportunity to create and deliver a sports nutrition workshop to female collegiate athletes at Manhattan College in New York (see here)
I was very inspired by the experience, which led me to interning at the Women’s Sports Medicine Center at the Hospital for Special Surgery this past summer. The WSMC is a multidisciplinary center for active populations comprised of a team of clinicians including physicians, nutritionists, exercise physiologists, physical therapists, and sports psychologists. The WSMC provides collaborative care for athletes (while mostly serving females, males are also welcome), of all ages and abilities, from recreational to the elite. The care of exercise-related injuries may involve one or more of the following disciplines: primary sports medicine (outpatient consultations), orthopedic surgery, physical therapy, nutritional services, sport performance services, and sports psychology.
The internship was an 8-week immersive experience where I (and two other interns) were fortunate to rotate with and shadow members of the sports medicine team. Each day, I observed a different practitioner, varying from inpatient to outpatient settings in the Women’s Sports Medicine Center, the main hospital, or one their other city locations. In this time, I learned an abundance of new terms, medications, procedures, treatment protocols, rehabilitative techniques. I really liked following patients through a trajectory of care – from the time of diagnosis to surgery to rehabilitation to performance. This multidisciplinary care approach helped solidify the knowledge that I had acquired because I was seeing it implemented in different ways.
Although studying to become a registered dietitian, I found it valuable to explore diverse skillsets from all disciplines. In a hospital setting, there is a lot of crosstalk and collaboration among different specialties, all providing a unique contribution to patient care. I now understand the whole picture of patients’ needs and care, and how nutrition fits in.
Some highlights of my experience was checking out HSS’ How You Move Lab, observing orthopedic surgeries, listening to profressional development lectures, giving presentations, and attending WNBA and New York Mets games.
In the words of one of the doctors: “I do not just want you to be strong women in healthcare but I want you to be empowered women in life.” This internship—through the people I met, the care I observed, the talks that I heard and participated in-has brought sincerity to this statement. After this experience I feel that I have personal agency to bring my visions to fruition and a team of incredible sports medicine professionals to support me along the way – in whatever I do, sports medicine related or not. My life has wholeheartedly changed because of this experience – I have formed some of the most genuine relationships, cultivated a better understanding of myself, and have been inspired to pursue my passions with optimism, grit, and confidence. I consider myself forever a part of the HSS community and I look forward to staying in touch with everyone I was fortunate to meet.
Not only has this internship inspired my passion for working in the field of sports medicine and women’s health, but it has provided me new perspectives about how medicine, rehabilitation, performance, and nutrition is practiced in the real world!
