Hands-On, Heart-In: Life as a Longevity EP Intern
Hi everyone! I’m Ryan, one of Longevity’s newest interns. I’m a third year Exercise Physiology student at the University of Sydney, and I am three weeks into my time as an intern at the Edgecliff location.
Coming into the internship, I was a bit worried about my time, as I know working while being a full time uni student can be very tough to manage. What I liked about Longevity from the start was that I was not only allowed, but encouraged to build my own schedule based around my uni days and what I would find most comfortable. I was assured that my studies are still the priority, and if at any time my hours became something I couldn’t handle, to let them know and we would adjust as needed.
The other main thing that stood out to me about Longevity from the start was that I was a valued member of staff from day one. This isn’t one of those internships where you sit on your hands in the corner all day, maybe making a coffee run or two. From the very first client session, I felt like I was a part of the team. I was asked for my advice, I was given the opportunities to say my piece, and not only were the EPs offering me feedback when I asked for it, but they were also asking me for feedback on how they were running their sessions. The best way I could describe it is how I heard it explained to a client from one of our EPs – “This isn’t some silly student watching us with a clipboard. This is a capable person giving us an extra set of eyes – you’re getting two brains for the price of one.”
There was no slow start – week one went straight into it. After a chat with my supervisor Courtney, where we discussed some more about Longevity as a company, the gym that the Edgecliff location runs out of, and set some goals for myself for these coming weeks, I was straight into sitting in on client sessions, where I was encouraged to forget the exercise and just learn as much as possible about the person standing in front of me. This led to it being very easy to break down the walls of a “new person” intruding on a client’s session, and allowed them to feel comfortable with me almost immediately. I also sat in on my first Professional Development times, firstly with my team here at Edgecliff, then with the entire Longevity personnel. These sessions are to set aside some time to sit down as a team and do all sorts of things, from touching on personal goals, to sharing successes and challenges from the week, and finding any and all ways to support each other.
In week two, I went on my first home visit, which was something I didn’t even know Longevity did! It was really interesting to see a different space than the gym we usually operate in. My main focus for this week was to take that base level of conversational rapport that I’d built with clients, and slowly transition it to conversations more centered around themselves, their health journeys, their goals, and what they feel are the key things about their journey with Longevity.
In week three, I officially picked up the IPad and started running some of the client sessions. Now that I’m seeing clients for the second or third time, I have already built up some trust with them, so they feel confident in my ability to run them through a session. It’s been giving me some fantastic and much-needed hands-on clinical experience with a whole range of different kinds of people. I also ran an initial interview and developed a strategy for my supervisor Courtney, and I will begin running sessions on her next week. On top of that, I’ve started working on the new Longevity website, which will soon be the hub for anything student related! So placement students, get excited because all the information you could ever need is about to be in one place.
I guess to sum all of that up, my main takeaway from these three weeks is to spend as much time as possible as a sponge. In any and all situations, be open and willing to take in everything, from a nugget of wisdom from an EP, to a client telling you how their weekend was. That’s all for the first three weeks, stay tuned to see how week four goes!
Want to find out more about current job opportunities? Call us at Longevity Exercise Physiology Ascot Vale, Aspley, Broadbeach, Burwood, Casey, Castle Hill, Coburg, Deagon, Drummoyne, Edgecliff, Five Dock, Gladesville, Gungahlin, Kingsgrove, Liverpool, Macarthur Campbelltown, Macarthur Tindall, Marrickville, Neutral Bay, Penrith, Pymble, Pyrmont, Randwick, Rhodes, Rosebery, Springfield, Yamanto today on 1300 964 002 or apply now via Seek: https://www.seek.com.au/Longevity-Exercise-Physiology-jobs
Written by Ryan (intern)