Yes, you read right. There are 11 days left in this fieldwork. I'm not quite sure how that happened- it's gone SO fast. Many things have happened in the last two weeks.
I did a home eval for my transverse myelitis patient, because she WENT HOME! She's using a walker, rollator, and a few other pieces of adaptive equipment. I was so excited when she left, but it's only been a week, and I already miss her like crazy! We gave her a gait belt that we all signed and wished her well. She started crying when we gave it to her, and I'm not going to lie- I got teary-eyed too...
I got to observe surgery on Tuesday; a total knee replacement, and a Birmingham Hip Resurfacing. It was amazing. On top being enthralled with what was going on in surgery, I was definitely impressed by the precautions that were taken for sterility, and the professionalism and respect towards the patients while they were under anesthesia.
Maybe this weekend I'll describe the surgeries in a little more detail. But it's been a busy week, and I'm exhausted.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Week of firsts
This has been a week of firsts for me.
-First time I had to use a sick day.
-My first double treatment (I treated two pt's at one time.)
-First time reporting on more than one pt at the team meeting
-First time transferring a person with a max assist of 3. (I was sweating like crazy, and my bicep was killing me!)
-First time I walked with my transverse myelitis patient (I video taped it too... but I don't want to post it on here due to HIPAA- even though I have her permission, and its only from the back)
I'm sure there are more. This is all I can think of for now.
What is not a first for me is all this snow. It can stop any time now... really....
-First time I had to use a sick day.
-My first double treatment (I treated two pt's at one time.)
-First time reporting on more than one pt at the team meeting
-First time transferring a person with a max assist of 3. (I was sweating like crazy, and my bicep was killing me!)
-First time I walked with my transverse myelitis patient (I video taped it too... but I don't want to post it on here due to HIPAA- even though I have her permission, and its only from the back)
I'm sure there are more. This is all I can think of for now.
What is not a first for me is all this snow. It can stop any time now... really....
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Branding, Buffalo's, and Wii.
What is it about my nose? I've now had two patients comment on it. The first, a few weeks ago, asked if I'd had a nose job. The second, yesterday, the sister of a patient said she loved how my nose curled up. Really? Thanks, I think... If I was going to compliment someone I don't think it would be on their nose. Just sayin'.
I've had a full caseload for the last week, and it's been good. Challenging but good. Luckily I've seen the same patients every day, so that makes it easier for me to treatment plan.
One of my patients is highly medicated for pain. I've realized this since I began working with her. Her stories are always outlandish and crazy. She has done just about everything. She was a nurse. She is a pilot. She has a "retreat room" that she rents out to people who come to Colorado. Oh, thats right, she came from Colorado to have surgery at the Clinic- because the doctors out there said she would be paralyzed. She told me today that she used to interview boyfriends of women she knew- to see whether or not they would be good together. "Of course" she had to "charge them five dollars." Oh, and she's never heard of chocolate covered popcorn- but she said that it must be better than mountain oysters. (If you don't know what they are- don't google it, they are testicles of some animal or something.)
This morning she told me she thought she was being over medicated, so she decided to cut back on her pain medication. She said "Every time I lay down I fall asleep, and I shouldn't be doing that, I'm not working." Needless to say this afternoon I went up to her room to see why she was late for therapy and she was curled in the fetal position in bed, in terrible pain. She decided that she still wanted to come down for therapy, but started talking non-sense when we were getting in her wheelchair.
"Are you my Beth? I'm going to take you back to Colorado with me and find you a cowboy. A good cowboy. You know, you'd be good at branding the animals."
"Me?" I said? "You think I'd be good at branding the animals!? I'm a vegetarian."
"Oh, well maybe not. You know, there are people in India starving."
Her sister interjects at this point and says- "She's heavily medicated right now..."
The patient starts in again. "You know, my church sent 8 water buffalos there."
"What about water buffalos?" I ask.
"My church sent 8 of them to India. You know, because there are people starving there."
Needless to say, we stayed sitting, and played Wii to work on her UE strength that session.
Oh, one other thing. Another patient I'm seeing right now made me laugh today. She is an 87 y.o. admitted for a CVA. Another therapist was helping me with her today, and he was explaining what he wanted her to do. She looked up at him- all 90 pounds of her- and with her big brown eyes and Italian accent siad, "say what?!" when he was finished explaining what to do. Never did I think I would hear a woman of her age say with such seriousness "say what?". It made my day.
I <3 my patients. I really do. They make everything worth while.
I've had a full caseload for the last week, and it's been good. Challenging but good. Luckily I've seen the same patients every day, so that makes it easier for me to treatment plan.
One of my patients is highly medicated for pain. I've realized this since I began working with her. Her stories are always outlandish and crazy. She has done just about everything. She was a nurse. She is a pilot. She has a "retreat room" that she rents out to people who come to Colorado. Oh, thats right, she came from Colorado to have surgery at the Clinic- because the doctors out there said she would be paralyzed. She told me today that she used to interview boyfriends of women she knew- to see whether or not they would be good together. "Of course" she had to "charge them five dollars." Oh, and she's never heard of chocolate covered popcorn- but she said that it must be better than mountain oysters. (If you don't know what they are- don't google it, they are testicles of some animal or something.)
This morning she told me she thought she was being over medicated, so she decided to cut back on her pain medication. She said "Every time I lay down I fall asleep, and I shouldn't be doing that, I'm not working." Needless to say this afternoon I went up to her room to see why she was late for therapy and she was curled in the fetal position in bed, in terrible pain. She decided that she still wanted to come down for therapy, but started talking non-sense when we were getting in her wheelchair.
"Are you my Beth? I'm going to take you back to Colorado with me and find you a cowboy. A good cowboy. You know, you'd be good at branding the animals."
"Me?" I said? "You think I'd be good at branding the animals!? I'm a vegetarian."
"Oh, well maybe not. You know, there are people in India starving."
Her sister interjects at this point and says- "She's heavily medicated right now..."
The patient starts in again. "You know, my church sent 8 water buffalos there."
"What about water buffalos?" I ask.
"My church sent 8 of them to India. You know, because there are people starving there."
Needless to say, we stayed sitting, and played Wii to work on her UE strength that session.
Oh, one other thing. Another patient I'm seeing right now made me laugh today. She is an 87 y.o. admitted for a CVA. Another therapist was helping me with her today, and he was explaining what he wanted her to do. She looked up at him- all 90 pounds of her- and with her big brown eyes and Italian accent siad, "say what?!" when he was finished explaining what to do. Never did I think I would hear a woman of her age say with such seriousness "say what?". It made my day.
I <3 my patients. I really do. They make everything worth while.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
It's our job...
There are so many misconceptions about occupational therapy; we help people find jobs; we only work with hands and upper extremities; we wipe butts all day. None of these are true. It is our job to make sure people, especially patients know this.
The patient I've been seeing with transverse myelitis was a perfect example of this. She was evaled 1/4, the day after I started my fieldwork. I'm about to enter my 7th week of fieldwork, meaning she has been a patient, receiving OT and PT for 7 weeks. Thursday when my CI was sick, I had a full caseload by myself. Some of the other OT's helped me with some treatment ideas since I hadn't seen some of the patients before. When my transverse myelitis patient came in for her afternoon session, Stephanie, another OT, suggested that we stand with her. She has been walking with knee immobilizers and a non-swivel 4 wheel rolling walker in PT. We've been working with her for weeks on UE strength so she is able to use her arms where she once used her legs. When she heard Stephanie say we were going to stand with her, she flat out refused and said, "I have faith in my legs, but I don't have faith in you two." This is not like her. At all. I've never heard her refuse. And she did. Not only that, but she said she didn't have faith in me and Stephanie. I would have said "okay" and picked something else to do, but Stephanie didn't give up. We stood with her. She required a min assist of one to stand, but required two people to be there to block her knees. She seriously popped right up. We did this a few more times, and then she and I started talking. She asked me "Isn't that a PT's job?" I told her, "While PT's tend to focus on walking and standing, they are looking at it for mobility reasons. We, as OT's focus on walking so that you can get in and out of the shower by yourself, you can get on and off the toilet by yourself. You can stand up to pull your pants up. We both focus on LE's but for different reasons." She was shocked that we were trained in helping people stand. That is our fault. That is MY fault. This is exactly why we need to get people up and walking/standing/transferring while they are in therapy. It is OUR responsibility to make sure these misconceptions and stereotypes are broken.
Friday when she came into therapy the first thing she said was, "I need to apologize. I was a crab yesterday, and I shouldn't have been. I didn't know you guys did that [standing] too." That meant more to me than the harsh words she said the day before. She told Stephanie the same thing, and gave her a hug.
Other than that, not much is new. I can't believe that I'm half way done with my first fieldwork. It is going so fast. Crazy.
The patient I've been seeing with transverse myelitis was a perfect example of this. She was evaled 1/4, the day after I started my fieldwork. I'm about to enter my 7th week of fieldwork, meaning she has been a patient, receiving OT and PT for 7 weeks. Thursday when my CI was sick, I had a full caseload by myself. Some of the other OT's helped me with some treatment ideas since I hadn't seen some of the patients before. When my transverse myelitis patient came in for her afternoon session, Stephanie, another OT, suggested that we stand with her. She has been walking with knee immobilizers and a non-swivel 4 wheel rolling walker in PT. We've been working with her for weeks on UE strength so she is able to use her arms where she once used her legs. When she heard Stephanie say we were going to stand with her, she flat out refused and said, "I have faith in my legs, but I don't have faith in you two." This is not like her. At all. I've never heard her refuse. And she did. Not only that, but she said she didn't have faith in me and Stephanie. I would have said "okay" and picked something else to do, but Stephanie didn't give up. We stood with her. She required a min assist of one to stand, but required two people to be there to block her knees. She seriously popped right up. We did this a few more times, and then she and I started talking. She asked me "Isn't that a PT's job?" I told her, "While PT's tend to focus on walking and standing, they are looking at it for mobility reasons. We, as OT's focus on walking so that you can get in and out of the shower by yourself, you can get on and off the toilet by yourself. You can stand up to pull your pants up. We both focus on LE's but for different reasons." She was shocked that we were trained in helping people stand. That is our fault. That is MY fault. This is exactly why we need to get people up and walking/standing/transferring while they are in therapy. It is OUR responsibility to make sure these misconceptions and stereotypes are broken.
Friday when she came into therapy the first thing she said was, "I need to apologize. I was a crab yesterday, and I shouldn't have been. I didn't know you guys did that [standing] too." That meant more to me than the harsh words she said the day before. She told Stephanie the same thing, and gave her a hug.
Other than that, not much is new. I can't believe that I'm half way done with my first fieldwork. It is going so fast. Crazy.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Same old, same old.
Not much is happening in the life of this OTS. One thing I would like to mention is a website: prescriptionhope.com. This website is one that I heard about through HASCI. It offers name-brand prescriptions for $15 dollars a month for those who qualify. I was skeptical about it at first, but mentioned it to a social worker during a team meeting and she has been able to get several patients name brand medication. I think this is a great resource- and want as many people as possible to know about it!
Fieldwork is going well. Friday is midterm already... I don't know where the last 6 weeks went. They flew by! It has been a great experience... and I definitely like working with adults more than I thought I would.
Hope you all are well!
Fieldwork is going well. Friday is midterm already... I don't know where the last 6 weeks went. They flew by! It has been a great experience... and I definitely like working with adults more than I thought I would.
Hope you all are well!
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Finding the humor...
I'm exhausted, cold, and sore from shoveling 8+ inches of snow in the last two days. Not to mention Jillian Michaels DVD kicked my butt last night. But I wanted to share a few funny things from the past week or so. Have to find the humor, otherwise I couldn't make it through the day.
1. Twice in the past two weeks I have been asked (while treating a patient) what I'm going to be when I'm finished with school. Really? lol
2. My patient with Transverse Myelitis is doing AMAZING! She is able to "march" while seated, and can even kick her leg some. I informally tested her LE today and noticed that she is now about a 3+/5 for knee extension while seated. I was so excited! Since I've known this patient from the time she was evaluated (I started 1/3, she was evaled 1/4) and I'm really close with her. I was excited that she has some movement back in her legs and I went to give her a hug. Right after, as I was sitting back, she lost her balance forward and had to catch herself on my legs. I was so excited about her legs, I "forgot" her balance was still poor. We both laughed for a few minutes after that.
And finally....
3. A retired OB/Gyn is currently in therapy now after having a bilateral knee replacement. During therapy today, the therapist asked, "So, are you completely retired, or do you still keep your hand in it." I realize it's just a saying... but really? With the kind of work he did, there are better phrases available. lol
Hope you are all staying warm with this crazy weather.
1. Twice in the past two weeks I have been asked (while treating a patient) what I'm going to be when I'm finished with school. Really? lol
2. My patient with Transverse Myelitis is doing AMAZING! She is able to "march" while seated, and can even kick her leg some. I informally tested her LE today and noticed that she is now about a 3+/5 for knee extension while seated. I was so excited! Since I've known this patient from the time she was evaluated (I started 1/3, she was evaled 1/4) and I'm really close with her. I was excited that she has some movement back in her legs and I went to give her a hug. Right after, as I was sitting back, she lost her balance forward and had to catch herself on my legs. I was so excited about her legs, I "forgot" her balance was still poor. We both laughed for a few minutes after that.
And finally....
3. A retired OB/Gyn is currently in therapy now after having a bilateral knee replacement. During therapy today, the therapist asked, "So, are you completely retired, or do you still keep your hand in it." I realize it's just a saying... but really? With the kind of work he did, there are better phrases available. lol
Hope you are all staying warm with this crazy weather.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Things I've discovered since beginning fieldwork:
- Even though I'll be in debt forever, OT is definitely the job for me.
- It doesn't take long for a patient to crawl into your heart.
- The snowbelt is not for me.
- I cannot live without cable forever.
- I miss Charleston.
- Working with older adults is not that much different from working with children.
- I love having a washer and dryer in my house.
- It's amazing the type of friendships you can create while spending ALL day in a classroom for 19 months with 40 people. I miss them.
- Even though I'll be in debt forever, OT is definitely the job for me.
- It doesn't take long for a patient to crawl into your heart.
- The snowbelt is not for me.
- I cannot live without cable forever.
- I miss Charleston.
- Working with older adults is not that much different from working with children.
- I love having a washer and dryer in my house.
- It's amazing the type of friendships you can create while spending ALL day in a classroom for 19 months with 40 people. I miss them.
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