Beyond Sports Internship Provides Direction for Equestrian's Scott
South Carolina equestrian senior Jordan Scott knew she was interested in the medical field, and a summer internship with a former Gamecock helped set her up for her next step in pursuing a career as a physician’s assistant. Through her participation in South Carolina’s Beyond Sports Professional Development and Summer Internship Program, Scott worked under former Gamecock diver Chay Malvasio (2011-2013), who is a physician’s assistant at Palmetto Health USC Orthopedics.
“I started out shadowing her to see what she does,” Scott said. “Early on, I’d bring patients back and shadow her to watch what she does, clean rooms and flip the rooms over. Later I was able to do more as I got used to being there. I could take out stitches and staples if they just had surgery or cut a cast off. I had the chance to do a lot more than I thought I would.
“I’d also run a normal intake on patients to find out what medications they are taking and get that into the database. It was good to get familiar with that because that can be hard to understand. So, that was another good experience.”
Scott is studying exercise science and plans on attending Physician’s Assistant (P.A.) School after she earns her undergraduate degree.
“It can get really fast-paced, and that’s something I’m kind of used to because of being in athletics.”
– Jordan Scott
“I always knew I wanted to do something in health care,” Scott said. “I was always interested in the sciences. A physician’s assistant can do anything that a doctor can do, but they just have to be working under a doctor. They can prescribe medications and see their own patients. Some days she also works with the doctors that she works under, which are (Team Physician) Dr. (Jeff) Guy and (Medical Director/Orthopedic Surgeon) Dr. (Chris) Mazoue.
“For P.A. school, you need a lot of hours with direct patient care to get in, which can be really hard to get as a student-athlete. It’s hard to get a job during the school year because you basically have a job between classes and your sport. With this, I earned a little shy of 300 hours. The schools I’m applying to require around 300 hours, so that’s a really good start.”
While she enjoyed some of the hands on experiences and interactions with patients, Scott also got an education of what to look for in MRIs and X-rays.
“In one case there was a bone spur in a shoulder that was four inches long, and I couldn’t believe it wasn’t causing more pain than it was,” Scott said.
While her duties weren’t always glamorous, there wasn’t anything that discouraged her from knowing she was on the right path.
“I’m really glad I had the chance to work with her since she graduated from South Carolina and was on the swimming and diving team,” Scott said. “It was great because I really saw everything that she does. I was debating on whether to go into cardio, orthopedics, pediatrics or emergency, but after this, I think I’d really love to work in the orthopedic field.
“It can get really fast-paced, and that’s something I’m kind of used to because of being in athletics. I absolutely loved it. I want to go to P.A. school and get an orthopedic job.”
As a result of her internship, Scott recognized parallels between her background with horses and her future career.
“Growing up, I used to give beginner horse lessons, and I loved seeing the improvement,” Scott said. “You get a beginner rider, and the first time they’re on the horse, they’re scared. Then you move to seeing improvement where they feel comfortable walking, trotting, canter and running. Here at (Palmetto Health USC Orthopedics), someone will come in who can barely walk. Then they help fix them, and they can walk into the office just fine. Seeing the improvement is what brings you back to it. You build a relationship with the patients.
“It was a really good experience. I’m really thankful to the Beyond Sports program for getting it for me. I feel more prepared for P.A. school. The experience is definitely helping me get to where I want to be.”
