hiiii stell 🤩 how are you and ennoshita working as a PT and SLP (professionally and…well, privately)? what’s the dynamic? your favorite parts about it? gimme all the yume deets >:)
OH MY GOD. took me a while to answer this but YAYAYAYAYAYAY finally, we have: ennoshita chikara (22) physical therapist and stellar (22) speech-language pathologist!
commission drawn by holograpeach on ig
i went into a deep dive on which sendai universities have both physical therapy and speech-language pathology programs. i settled on tohoku bunka gakuen university. ngl i'm so jealous of their facilities and their uni-owned clinic...so cute :,)
both their PT and SLP programs are 4 years long and have internships, similar to my uni's programs. BUT in terms of my lore, i still follow my own uni's curriculum and structure!
also, ennoshita graduates on time (4 years) while i stay back for one semester (4.5 years), which is similar to my irl situation.
the reason we ended up going to the same university was because we did college searches together and talked about which careers would suit us! we applied to multiple colleges, but the one i listed up there was the goal.
fun fact, he confessed to me on HS graduation day and did the cliché giving-your-crush-your-second-button thing. i also ended up cutting the second button from my uniform blouse and giving it to him when we got home.
have i mentioned that we're neighbors? LOL we travel to school together (and have been doing so since grade school). this also means that our dates are easier due to proximity & our families being close!
so in uni, we shared some subjects for non-major/interdisciplinary courses (research in allied health professions, community practice, evidence-based practice). then during senior year/internship year, we had two similar rotations where we worked as co-interns.
*each numbered column represents a 2-month period! those split in half are equivalent to a month. some are 1 month straight, or 2 months with a midweek split between sites
for pediatric setting, chikara and i had chances to work on a similar client who had gross motor and speech difficulties.
in the community-based setting, we lived together with our other co-interns at the chosen community's dedicated residential space. a lot of what we did was disability profiling and needs assessment.
there is an asterisk on the hospital because that's where i decided to stop and take a break due to mental health. i also requested a change to "slower" settings and care centers, which worked!
after graduation, chikara has decided to pursue sports and hospital rehabilitation. meanwhile, i primarily work in pediatric practice.
i am still wondering if i open a pediatric center in the future with colleagues. chikara might be a PT consultant there too for complex cases involving motor skills, but i see him continuing to work primarily with adolescents and adults.
in general, we both have thoughts of teaching at our university as well. sometime in the future, perhaps, when we gain more experience and are able to sustain ourselves more independently. not sure if i'd do a full-time position, but mentorships and clinical supervision for sure!
although speech-language pathology and physical therapy are different areas, we have overlapping clients. truth be told, there are a lot of considerations for clients with physical conditions or disabilities that aren't always explicitly taught. gross and fine motor skills aren't part of our scope, so this is where having a PT as a partner comes in handy (at least for gross motor stuff lol)!
fun facts: so when we teach clients about movement, we often start with the proximal (body parts closest to our core/center) to distal (going outwards, furthest parts of our body such as our fingers). so, before we can demand precise movements from limbs, hands/feet, and even our mouth, we need to ensure our core is stable. otherwise, it's shaky foundations all around. ennoshita's great at helping me with clients that have prominent core difficulties, such as some people with cerebral palsy (CP). the better the core stability, the better the produced speech.
on the flip side, i give ennoshita lots of advice for clients with communication difficulties. this shows up in clients with down syndrome, CP, post-stroke, or post-traumatic brain injury. usually, i give him strategies like alternate forms of communication (pictures, writing, typing, facial expressions, gestures) if speaking alone doesn't suffice (i.e., his client has difficulty speaking and/or understanding the speech of others).
so yeah, lots of interdisciplinary collaboration going on! and even if we don't share patients, it's great to have another person to share ideas with. i find that constantly thinking alone makes me more doubtful of myself too aaaa!
now, for the more personal aspect, ennoshita and i are still pretty anxious people. a lot of people do put their trust in us and it can be pressuring when we aren't sure if we're doing everything right or not.
addressing patient needs is never a one-size fits all thing, so we are still left with the need to make clinical judgments in unique situations. we have protocols and general principles, but how they're applied and delivered differs.
beyond the work expectations, ennoshita and i generally take many of things to heart. we think a lot about what others say and do involving us. it takes a lot out of us to consistently show up when things get challenging, and we try very very hard to keep it together. it is a genuine blessing that we understand each other better than anyone else.
and so, ennoshita and i ensure that we both have ample time to be together and time to be ourselves. hobby and rest times are also recognized as a must, not a reward for work.
we've grown very perceptive of each other's behavioral cues. i know when ennoshita's being a little stubborn and hiding how he feels about a personal problem from everyone. i get it, because i'm like that too.
i learn how to give him enough space for independence, while also reminding him that i'm there and willing to help whenever. he does the same for me. we've also learned not to be too tolerant of each other's avoidance; patience is important, but we also need a little nudge forward via tough love. :)
