Toucan Abroad

Toucan Abroad is the perfect mix of education and adventure. Throughout the time that I spent in Costa Rica I practiced at three different Physical Therapy Clinics, each one with its own specialization. Each clinic offers a variety of hands-on practice with both manual therapy and equipment. There is opportunity to work in all areas of Physical Therapy ranging from geriatric, athletic, pediatric, special needs, and more. After a full week of shadowing, there is still time to see what else the beautiful Costa Rica has to offer. We traveled to both the Caribbean coast and the Pacific coast for our weekend excursions. Both of these were phenomenal experiences leaving unforgettable memories. Overall, I can not thank Toucan Abroad enough for the opportunity to learn so much about Physical Therapy with unmatched hands-on practice, experience the beauty of this country, and for the life-long friendships that were made along the way!

This experience was amazing from the clinical hours to the weekends trips!!The therapist’s were so welcoming and taught me so many different therapy techniques. My most memorable moments during clinic was at Salud Vital was working out in the pool that was given by Juliana (physical therapist).From the interactions with patients made me realize the specialty I want to pursue in my future pt career which is geriatric's. My favorite parts of the trip were the weekend trips!!! All of the memories we created from doing Karaoke, surfing with the locals, riding jet-skis, and going on the Catamaran boat!!! I highly recommend coming on this trip, I learned a lot about myself and what I want in my pt career.

When I first signed up for Toucan Abroad, I thought it would be mostly physical therapy shadowing with a few activities scattered here and there. After going on the trip, I can confirm it was much more than that. Almost every day of those 3 weeks I was in Puerto Vallarta felt action packed and had met its full potential. I was constantly having fun and experiencing new things. A lot of the things I experienced were not listed on the trips original itinerary and instead came as pleasant surprises. These included things such as surfing, going on a yacht, clubbing, visiting private beaches, and going to amazing restaurants.

One of the best things I liked about the program was the amount of freedom you got. Outside of your shadowing hours, students are free to choose whatever they’d like to do and get to be creative with their choices. You are treated as a responsible adult and I like that.

The shadowing is great as you get a chance to work in a raw environment, and are treated as if you’re just another worker. You get to bounce between 3 clinics each week and can choose what specialties you want to observe. I found the experience to invaluable, as I learned a lot and made multiple relationships with the therapists. I even got to use one as a reference when applying to PTA school.

As I’m writing this, I’ve been home for only a few days but I still find myself missing the trip, the friends I made, and the things I got to do. I HIGHLY recommend this program to anyone who is interested in the physical therapy profession. I think Phil and everyone else at Toucan Abroad has done a great job putting this together and I can’t wait to watch it grow and reach more people.

If you are even thinking about applying, do it!!! This was truly the best experience ever and I have grown and learned so much from it! You gain lifelong friends through this program and couldn’t be more thankful for everything this program showed me!! The clinical hour experience was amazing and I learned so many new techniques and how to use different equipment which was great! The environment is beautiful and could never get over our views we had every day!! Definitely recommend this program and you will not regret it!!

I cannot recommend this program enough!! If you have the time and money to do it, you should. The physical therapy in Mexico was much more hands on and interactive than in the US, and it helped me learn so much. This is a great opportunity if you’re wanting to improve your Spanish skills or learn some Spanish as well. This was the best experience of my life and there was a great balance of learning and fun! It truly goes by so fast and you become close with everyone so quickly, it doesn’t even feel like you’re away from home.