Internship Provides Valuable Experience and Perspective

Kate Bonham’s summer internship not only helped her gain valuable experience for a future career, but also gave her a perspective on the impact of the sacrifices made by veterans of the United States Armed Forces. The South Carolina junior equestrian student-athlete worked at the Wm. Jennings Bryan Dorn V.A. Medical Center in Columbia. 

“A lot of them had chronic pain which they had endured for years and never had anything done about it,” Bonham said. “It’s harder to treat those patients because your body will do things to protect that pain, and that can affect other parts of their body.

“A lot of times when you get them from the waiting room, they’re very respectful but quiet at first. Then you realize it’s because of all the pain and what they’ve been through. It’s cool to see them when they leave, and they’re feeling better. They’re shaking your hand, smiling and saying thank you. It’s pretty cool to see what just listening and helping can do. They were kind and always asking me what I was doing in school.”

Bonham is studying public health with a minor in business. She had interned with a veterinarian last summer near her home in California and found this opportunity at the V.A. hospital through her participation in South Carolina’s Beyond Sports Professional Development and Summer Internship Program.

“Beyond Sports connected me with the V.A. hospital because I wanted to stay here this summer,” Bonham said. “I’m not sure if I want to stay out east or go back home to California when I graduate.  I want to make connections on both coasts.

“I’m very interested in exercise and nutrition. I thought physical therapy or athletic training or something else that is involved in exercise as well as health care is where I want to be. I just want to do something where I can help people in some way. Exercise and healthy eating are my passions.”

“I thought I wanted to do something in a hospital, and this reaffirmed that.”
– Kate  Bonham

While she isn’t certified to be hands-on with the patients, she was still able to learn a lot through shadowing the professionals doing physical therapy techniques.

“I worked with Dr. Matthew Anderson, an orthopedic specialist. I would print out exercise routines or homework for the patients and demonstrated how to do some of those things,” Bonham said. “The V.A. has a whole health initiative that involved nutrition, tai chi yoga, pain management mindfulness, and a lot of different classes for the veterans.

“I also contacted a lot of community partners to see about interest in using space and equipment for an exercise program that can go along with that whole health program.”

Bonham assisted in Dr. Anderson’s research on the correlation between health, exercise, and mental health by reviewing dozens of articles on the subject. She also observed a lot of treatments including a technique known as dry needling, which uses acupuncture needles and STEM (electrical stimulation) as well as some operations.

“He let me observe two hip replacement surgeries, which was really cool,” Bonham said. “I was in the operating room for a couple of hours.”

Bonham was able to work with veterans who had served in recent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as veterans who had served in the Vietnam war.

“It was interesting to see a wide range of patients,” Bonham said. “I was there for nine weeks. I was able to see some of the patients through the start and finish of their therapy for certain conditions. They can get 50 to 100 new patients within a couple of days. There is a high demand for therapy.

“It’s hard to see people (suffering) like that, especially for those who have been suffering chronic pain for a long time because you don’t always see progress right away. Physical therapy is a lot of the patient doing the work, and you want to help them as much as you can. It’s really up to them, though. You have to help them help themselves. That can be hard.  I have a lot of respect for their mindset because you may have some idea of what they went through, but you really can’t fully understand it.”

A lot of patients also worked at the V.A., and she was impressed by how many of them wanted to give back to help their fellow veterans.

“Just learning more about what I want to do was the best part of the experience,” Bonham said. “I have a lot of interest in this.  I thought I wanted to do something in a hospital, and this reaffirmed that.”