The Non-Surgical Center of Texas recently welcomed its first international exchange student. Caroline Arnold, a phys
iotherapy major at the University of Salford in Manchester, UK, completed a month-long externship at the South Texas sports medicine specialty clinic in May.
Arnold has now completed her final elective, and expects to graduate with her second degree this summer (she already has a bachelor’s in sports rehabilitation). She said her time at the Non-Surgical Center of Texas has been eye-opening.
“We don’t use any taping, any ultrasound or any traction in the environments I’ve worked in. We have shorter appointments in the UK and a very different medical system, so I’ve been learning a lot about the medical system here while also getting experience to different adjuncts of therapy,” Arnold said. “People here are great with exercise therapy, so I have been learning a lot about that.”
NSCT Director of Physical Therapy Julie Barnett said she has long wanted to train a student from another country. The clinic has trained countless students from UT Health San Antonio and other schools, but never one from abroad.
“One of my personal and professional goals has been to play host to a foreign exchange student,” said Barnett, an assistant professor of physical therapy at UT Health San Antonio. “I was an international exchange student in Venezuela when I was studying physical therapy. My host family is still like second family to me. I know how rich an experience this can be for the student and the clinic.”
Arnold is looking forward to using what she has learned in her first job. She has been offered a job in a rotating post at a hospital in England with the National Health Service.
Good luck Caroline!
