"Stress is the spice of life"


I really love this quote. It gave me a good giggle when I came across it, because life would be quite boring without stress, because people only stress when something important is about to happen. For me, that something important…. Or somethings, was my midterms. Midterms consists of a 20 page case study, a 22 minute case presentation and a 15 minute planned prac exam.

I had my prac exam on Monday. A prac exam is a planned 15 minute session of intervention, which your supervisor will mark you on. I had not realised how long 15 minutes was until I had my prac exam. Nerves? Definitely. Feeling like I wanted to run away from the facility? Absolutely. Did it go well? It did.



I planned a wheelchair mobility session where my client would have to transfer from the plinth to the wheelchair and wheel himself outside, down a ramp and then up a ramp to go to the dining room for lunch. My client has never done inclines or declines before, and as such, needed to be taught how to control his wheelchair so that he does not roll forward too quickly or roll backward. He was able to do the session with minimal to moderate assistance, and was very proud of himself after the session. During feedback, my supervisor said she was very impressed with my session, which obviously meant I was very impressed with my session.





My case presentation was on Tuesday, and that went alright. I unfortunately ran out of time, but only just. It was the first time I had done a presentation that involved intervention aspects, and needed to summarise things a bit more to be able to make time. I felt very relieved when it was done, as presenting in front of 3 supervisors was a little bit nerve wracking. Case study was due today, but luckily that was just a hand in. I also had prac today but was not able to treat my clients as they were both in physiotherapy sessions.

I have officially reached the halfway mark of the fieldwork block. What have I learnt so far?
I have learnt the importance of the client therapist relationship. My client is very open about how he is feeling, he does not hesitate to ask for assistance, and he shares his fears with me. This is vital as it establishes trust, and if your client trusts you, he will participate in therapy even if he is scared. This was particularly seen when he told me he was scared to go down the ramp because he was afraid of rolling too quickly and hitting the wall. Once I reassured him that I was standing right behind his wheelchair, holding the handles, he was happy to participate in the session.

I have also learnt the importance of communication. Communication with your fellow students, communication with the therapists at the facility, communication with your supervisor, and of course communication with your client. People are more than willing to assist wherever they can, all you need to do is ask for help.

I am very excited for my next practical session as my new client is busy preparing to be able to walk. I have never had such a client before, as all my clients have either been wheelchair bound, or already able to walk. This is very exciting as I am going to be exploring new ways of intervention to improve my client’s lower limb function.

All in all, it has been a rewarding fieldwork experience, and I look forward to continuing to learn and grow into the best OT I can possibly be.




References

love, W. (2019). Eric Butterworth Grow Through Life Quotes | Inspiration Boost | Inspiration Boost. Retrieved from https://weheartit.com/entry/104952269

Happy Snoopy - Create, Discover and Share Awesome GIFs on Gfycat. (2019). Retrieved from https://gfycat.com/creativeimmaterialcomet

nervous, gif, loop, animation - javiermarimon | ello. (2019). Retrieved from https://ello.co/javiermarimon/post/anudt7c1_d9pn448ggbebq

Relieved GIFs | Tenor. (2019). Retrieved from https://tenor.com/search/relieved-gifs






Comments

  1. Sanchia27 March 2019 at 22:44

    Love the quote! Have a read up on some articles that can help with training lower limb function and the role of OT thereof.

    ReplyDelete

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