Volunteering in the physical therapy or personal training field is both rewarding and educational. You get to assist in helping people with their health so that they can feel better all while deepening one’s understanding of the careers.
Here at EA Therapeutic Health, we offer volunteering opportunities that are great for students who are considering one of these careers. Let’s take a look at how we can help people on their professional journeys.
Why Explore These Careers Through Volunteering?
Volunteering plays an important role on the path to becoming a physical therapist or personal trainer. The following is how it does just that:
- Hands-On Learning: Volunteering allows aspiring students to get direct exposure to these two fields. This is done through observing and assisting licensed therapists or certified personal trainers. They get to see patient interactions and what therapy techniques look like in practice.
- Connection Building: A volunteer position builds connections in the fields. This can lead to gaining more knowledge of the careers, getting job referrals and obtaining references.
- Overall Program Insight: In addition to learning about the therapeutic process, students will also learn about day-to-day operations. This can include seeing challenges, different types of cases, treatment plan creation, paperwork and more. Knowing these things can help volunteers to understand all parts of their prospective career.
- Learning and Developing Soft Skills: When a student volunteers, they get to also learn soft skills which are very important. These include: effective communication, time management, teamwork and more.
- Interest Confirmation: Students will get a sense of whether physical therapy or personal training is the right career for them.
Why Volunteer at EA?
EA Therapeutic Health is all about client-centered health and wellness. It is also our mission to make sure that people who need our services, are able to get them. To do this, we commit to making opportunities for everyone no matter their financial circumstances.
One of the ways that this is all made possible is through volunteering. When people from the community volunteer their time, they are helping contribute to our mission along with experiencing personal and professional growth.
There are four types of volunteering for people to choose from here at EA. Each type involves different tasks in various areas. Because of this, we believe that students who are interested in physical therapy or personal training careers should consider volunteering with us. Here are some specific reasons why:
- Impactful Work: When students volunteer with us, they will get to directly and indirectly impact the lives of our clients.
- Knowledgeable Staff: The staff here at EA have a wealth of knowledge in these career fields and are great to learn from.
- Diverse Opportunities: Whether it is shadowing a physical therapist or assisting with programming, there are some great opportunities that students can choose from. They can do what appeals to them and get the kind of experiences they want.
- Supporting Health Equity: By volunteering, students will be helping everyone be able to have access to our health programs and therapy sessions.
- Nonprofit Knowledge: When volunteering at EA, students will get to understand how nonprofit organizations work. This can be beneficial if they want to apply to a position at one when they finish their schooling or start one themselves at some point.
- Exposure to State-of-the-Art Equipment: At EA, we are proud to have an incredible facility filled with high-quality, rehabilitative equipment. When a student volunteers, they will see and learn the types of technologies that we use to help clients feel and live better.
Volunteering Effectively
When students volunteer at EA or any other place, there are some things that they should try to do to make sure that they are getting a great experience. The following are some tips:
- Be Reliable and Consistent: It is important for students to commit to their volunteer schedule so they can learn as much as possible. It also shows respect for staff and other volunteers.
- Effective and Respectful Communication: Good communication between students and staff builds rapports and positive environments.
- Actively Observe: It is important for a student to pay attention when volunteering so they don’t miss anything.
- Ask Questions: When volunteering, students should never hesitate to ask staff questions as that is part of the learning process.
- Take Time for Reflection: After each volunteering session, it is a good idea to do some reflection. This will further help one learn from their experiences and observations.
Get Involved!
Ready to make a difference while exploring a physical therapy or personal training career? Click here to learn more about our volunteer opportunities or to fill out an application. Join the EA community and be part of helping people live healthier lives.