Internship

1. L A U R A W I L L I A M S
Interning at ATI Physical
Therapy and Hand Center

2. Introduction
This semester I was an intern at ATI Physical Therapy
and Hand Center in Anderson. I interned in the hand
therapy department with Sam Mattox, an occupational
therapist and certified hand therapist. As an intern I
had roles and duties that I was responsible for while I
was in the clinic. I also completed several projects in
my time as an intern. I enjoyed my time spent at ATI
and learned a lot from interning in this therapy
setting.

3. ATI Physical Therapy and Hand Center
ATI is a large corporate network of therapy clinics across
the country that strives to deliver quality service and
support with a local focus. Their mission and values are as
follows.
 Mission: To exceed customer expectations by providing
the highest quality of care in a friendly and encouraging
environment.
 Values
 Teamwork
 Communication
 Quality of Care
 Friendly Factor

4. ATI Hand Therapy
This is the room at the clinic
where all of the hand therapy
took place. There was a long
table where patients would sit
to do hand and wrist exercises,
a shoulder table, pulleys, and a
fluidotherapy machine. This is
where I spent the first half of
my internship because in
March ATI moved to a new
facility.

5. ATI Hand Therapy
This is the new hand therapy area of the facility that ATI moved into. This
is where I spent the second half of my internship. This site had better
storage, more space, and made aspects of hand therapy more convenient,
such as having the hydocollator close by.

6. My Roles and Duties at ATI
As an intern at ATI my roles and duties included:
 Greeting patients and bringing them back from the waiting area
 Helping with the set up and break down of appointments
 Preparing hot packs and cold packs for patients
 Cleaning areas after patient use
 Helping patients use the Fluidotherapy machine
 Making copies for patients and scanning documents into patient
files
 Doing other various tasks as needed to help the clinic run
smoothly

7. Preparing Hot Packs
This photo shows me getting a hot pack
out of the hydrocollator. The
hydrocollator is filled with hot water
that heats the hot packs. The hot packs
are then put into a hot pack over,
shown on the counter, before being
used by the patient.

8. Cleaning Areas After Patient Use
Since one of my responsibilities was to
clean areas after patient use, I would
often clean the table as shown in the
photo. The table was most often used by
patients with shoulder injuries. After the
patients were finished using the table, I
would clean it with disinfectant spray and
change the pillow case.

9. Fluidotherpay
This photo shows me
helping a patient use the
Fluidotherapy machine.
This machine is filled
with a sand-like material,
and when it is turned on a
fan heats the material and
blows it around the inside
of the machine. Patients
place there hand inside
the machine and the heat
helps range of motion and
grip exercises easier and
more tolerable.

10. Projects
As an intern at ATI, I completed several projects.
These projects included:
 A home exercise program project
 A case study
 Organization of hand therapy materials

11. Home Exercise Plan Project
This photo gives an
example of the home
exercise program
project that I
completed. The image
shown on the computer
screen is one of the
many the digital copies
that I created. These
digital copies were
based on the hard
copies like the one on
the table.

12. Home Exercise Plan Project
This photo also shows me working on
the home exercise plan. I also used
the computer for many other tasks
while at my internship, such as
helping patients schedule visits,
looking up information on patients’
diagnoses, and writing my case study.

13. Case Study Project
Another project that I completed while at ATI was a
case study. I chose to do my case study on a patient
with a sagittal band repair. I was able to observe this
patient from his first evaluation visit to his last visit at
the clinic. I got to see him progress through therapy
and improve each week. I also got to know this patient
well and was happy for him when he made
improvements and when he was able to be discharged.

14. Organization Project
Another project I worked on throughout the semester
was organizing the hand therapy materials. I organized
splinting materials at the old facility to make the move
to the new facility easier. I also organized
prefabricated splints and sorted them by joint. After
the move to the new facility I helped organize all of the
materials in the new space. This included reorganizing
the splint materials to fit the new space and helping
my preceptor make the most of the storage that was
available.

15. Conclusion
I thoroughly enjoyed my time as an intern at ATI
Physical Therapy and Hand Center. I learned so much
about hand therapy, occupational therapy, and how a
therapy clinic operates through my roles and duties
and the projects that I completed. I feel that this
experience has prepared me for a future in
occupational therapy and has encouraged me to
continue to pursue graduate degree in occupational
therapy.