Delaney Ferris
Department of Kinesiology Senior majoring in Kinesiology and Health Sciences
Hey everyone! My name is Delaney Ferris, and I’m from Watson, Louisiana. I am a senior at Louisiana Tech University majoring in Kinesiology and Health Sciences with plans to become a physical therapist. This summer I had the opportunity to do my internship with Susan Kinney, PT, in Boston, Massachusetts, at the Boston Ballet Summer Dance Program!
I met Susan thanks to an assignment in Mrs. Deal’s Foundations of Kinesiology course. We were assigned to interview a role model or mentor in our desired future profession. I have always been interested in becoming a physical therapist for dancers, so I asked my friend Kaylie Wood, who attended Boston Conservatory, if she could put me in contact with their physical therapist, whom she raved about. She gave me Susan’s number, and I reached out to her. Susan was thrilled to do an interview, and it went even better than I could have imagined. We planned to Facetime for one hour, but we ended up talking for almost two hours! We stayed in touch after, and she even sent pictures home with Kaylie to show me.
Then, on a whim in January, I asked Susan if I could do an internship with her in the summer. She had previously mentioned that she would love to have me do a clinical rotation with her once I was in PT school, so I thought that there was no harm in asking if I could do my undergrad internship first. She immediately said yes, gave me the dates, asked about living arrangements, and asked what contract she needed to sign. I was in shock by her response. I hadn’t expected her to say yes so quickly, but I knew I was going to do it. We got everything prepared, and several months later, I was off to live in the city.
In Boston, I met with Susan and the other physical therapist, Libby Taylor, to set up the temporary clinic at Boston Ballet. Susan’s company is Artist Rehabilitation Therapy Services, LLC. She is currently contracted to provide on-site physical therapy clinics at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee, Boston Arts Academy, and the Boston Ballet School Summer Dance Program. Her permanent clinic resides at Boston Conservatory, and she sets up a temporary clinic for the summer at Boston Ballet. The first week of the internship consisted of giving lectures to the students at Boston Conservatory’s Musical Theater Dance Intensive and Boston Ballet Summer Dance Program. We taught them about different signs of injuries to look for and how to care for their bodies during these long, intense programs. I got to demonstrate all the exercises and stretches so I enjoyed assisting with the lectures.
For the rest of the internship, we treated the students at Boston Ballet. We were treating dancers from all over the US and the country, including the UK, Ireland, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Japan, etc., which was incredible. The clinic was very fast-paced. Each PT had one patient every 30 minutes, so they had to evaluate, diagnose, and treat within that time while working around their dance schedule. While the PTs worked hands-on with the patient, I kept the flow of the clinic, set patients up on heat, and plugged others into ice buckets. I also observed a majority of the time and acted as the scribe for Mrs. Sue during evaluations. This helped me learn all about the ways to treat different acute and overuse injuries that are specific to dancers and ways to document them.
In addition to regular appointments, we also handled walk-ins and emergencies. There were several times when a teacher carried a student in, or we had to run to a studio to respond to an injury. It was hectic at times, but so enjoyable. The work environment was always professional, but we always had fun, laughed, or chatted with patients and each other. I also got to work with and learn from athletic trainers Mikaela Shelby and Amanda Donahue. Mikaela filled in for Mrs. Sue or Libby on multiple occasions, and I traveled to the Newton studio a few times to learn from Amanda. It was amazing to learn how different people treated dancers.
Outside of the internship, I lived with Kaylie and explored the city. I watched many Red Sox games, strolled endless summer markets, and visited many historic sites. I may have gotten Mrs. Sue’s car towed and left with a permanent scar, but I made lifelong friends and memories. This summer was the best experience I could have had, and I hope that other students will get to experience this.
The Exponential Factor 