The Department of Physical Therapy at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in Suwanee hosted a free limb loss community event under the leadership of Dr. Carol A. Miller.
The event attracted close to 100 individuals including individuals with limb loss and their supporters, speakers from a wide variety of health professions, and exhibitors who shared information with the attendees and provided funding for lunch and future events. Dr. Miller calls the event “a major success” and thanked the many volunteers who made it possible, including students.
Student Jacob Kostelec (DPT ’23) describes the experience, “Being able to integrate the hand-on skills we have learned under Dr. Miller’s instruction with individuals in the limb loss community was an invaluable learning experience that I will cherish and reflect on well into my future clinical experiences. I hope to see future students of physical therapy receive a similar opportunity, as it bridges the gap between classroom didactics and real-world practice for patients with limb loss.”
Miller notes that the day was designed to empower individuals living with limb loss and their families to move beyond amputation and learn how to return to living their highest level of ability and quality of life. She said that the primary goal of the sessions was to provide an open and supportive environment where individuals could learn, build confidence with physical activity and movement, share experiences, ask questions, and become actively engaged with others in the limb loss community.
The event was timely. Dr. Miller explains: “Even with telehealth options, the pandemic made it more difficult for people with limb loss to access the care and resources they need to help promote the highest quality of life.”
Sessions included exercise mobility clinics, in which third year doctor of physical therapy students assisted, adaptive sports including hiking, cycling and golf, managing phantom limb pain and neuropathy, and care for the caregivers.
According to Miller, the eight-hour course was designed to enhance knowledge of prosthetic design and to discover a broad scope of exercises to promote optimal gait function for adults living with lower limb amputation. The speakers presented current and clinically useful approaches to rehabilitation management using a holistic philosophy for optimizing health and wellness.
During the session, specific intervention strategies that focused on reducing fall risk, improving balance and prosthetic gait were taught using patient models and through hands-on interactions.
Burrus adds: “With events like this, your institution helps connect individuals—while connecting them with products, services, and healthcare professionals. Facilitating ties within the limb loss/limb difference community gives many resources they might otherwise never acquire while empowering them to make informed decisions about their wellness and improve their mobility.”
GGC broadcasting internship program paying off
Georgia Gwinnett College students are getting real-time broadcast experience through the Grizzly Digital Network, in an internship program. Instructor Matt Mahony (standing) overseas students Deborah Akins, Darion Malone, Cole Dysart (standing) and Ashley Miles.
An innovative internship program at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC) is allowing students to gain real-world experience in sports broadcasting. It takes an army platoon-sized team of skilled professionals to produce a sports broadcast, all working in tandem to tell the story of a game in real time. It’s an exciting way to make a living, but it’s a challenging world to break into without experience.
Matt Mahony, the broadcast and video coordinator for GGC Athletics’ sports network, Grizzly Digital Network (GDN), recognized the catch-22 students majoring in GGC’s cinema and media arts production (CMAP) program found themselves in upon graduation. They had a degree in hand, but with no hands-on experience to bulk up their resumes. In 2019, he realized he had the perfect solution for that.
“We have broadcast GGC Athletics for the 10 years we have existed,” says Mahony. “The first couple of years, we were pulling fans and parents out of the stands to help run the scoreboard and stuff, because we weren’t established. We officially began the GDN Internship program, thanks to the CMAP program, in summer session 2019.”
Mahony says the internship is all about creating opportunity in an extremely competitive job field, not just “punching a ticket” to graduate.
“I happened to play college baseball. My scholarship paid for my degree, so when I graduated I had a degree and dirty cleats. That was it. I applied for every job on the NCAA website and never got a phone call because I had zero experience.”
The internship accepts six to 10 students each semester, training them for a short two weeks in operating camera, graphic, audio and other equipment before putting them right into the driver’s seat producing live broadcasts for GGC’s six sports teams: men’s and women’s soccer, men’s and women’s tennis, and men’s baseball and softball. The games are broadcast live on the GGC Athletics official website. Students must learn the ropes of live broadcasting quickly, but Mahony says the results have been outstanding.
“We run a multicamera shoot, so if there are two, three or four cameras, students are running that equipment,” he says. “Then, we have a student who runs graphics, one who runs the scoreboard in the lower third of the screen, a director who orchestrates the live feed, and this year, we’re going to truly implement instant replay for the first time. All of it is run by student interns. It’s truly remarkable.”
The increased production value of the broadcasts has paid off in viewership too. Mahony says GGC game broadcasts received more than 54,900 views last year, with an influx of viewers from California for softball games, baseball views doubling, and people tuning in from as far away as Israel.
“My favorite part of the internship was learning in real time and the confidence that Matt had in us to be able to do such a thing,” says 2021 GGC graduate Andrew Hawkins, who earned a CMAP degree with a focus in design and production. “I wanted hands-on experience with production equipment and the chance to produce something with professional quality to put on my resume.”
Mahony adds that a bonus is that the internship results have benefited not only the students who participate, but also the audience who watches.
“These students have elevated our production to the award-winning quality it is today — over 150 events annually, multiple camera angles, live graphics, replay capabilities, plus commentary. It’s been great for everyone on both sides of the screen.”
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