Congratulations on your first job as a physical therapist! I saw that you said it was the site of your third clinical and I was wondering if you don’t mind saying which clinic that is and why you chose it as a clinical setting. The reason I ask is because I want to get a head start on which clinical affiliations to choose. I am in the new york city area and so far I am not particular with a specific demographic or specialty. Were there settings that were desired more than others in your program?

There are thousands of clinics, and I recommend finding one that you think will fit you well rather than one that you happen to hear about. I am in outpatient ortho in upstate New York, and overall, ortho was probably the most popular at my school. However, there are also lots of ortho clinics so there was never a problem getting one. If anything, those who wanted to be in a pediatric or specific hospital setting may have had a harder time getting placed. However, each school sets up clinicals differently, and many don’t even let students choose their own. Your first step should be to talk to your school about whether they even let you choose and then seeing which clinics they have relationships with. Then, you should do research online to get a feel for the clinic, and try to visit if possible. Since clinicals can turn into jobs try to set them up at places you can imagine yourself working in the future.