Musings of an unconventional OT student

"...when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved." I see these achievements as a result of teamwork every single time I am on prac. I have been placed in such a wonderful position to see the growth and progression of patients and the effect that a collaborative approach can have on this growth and progression. First a bit of background regarding the facility and what therapists can be found there. There are Occupational therapists, Occupational therapy technicians, physiotherapists, physiotherapy technicians, speech therapists, psychologists, dieticians and social workers. As you can see, that is quite a list. At first, things were a bit rocky, as the therapists were very strict about having supervision throughout the session and not handling a client on your own. As things progressed, it became a case of “I have to quickly go grab something, just look after my patient for a couple of minutes.” This can be rather scary when a physiother...

"...Flowers bloom because of rain, not thunder." This is a very important lesson that any health practitioner must learn, as your opinion is only valid if it is backed by clinical reasoning. For critical reasoning to occur, critical thinking needs to take place first. What is critical thinking?   To give you a summarised version – “ It refers to the ability to analyse information objectively and make a reasoned judgment. Critical thinking involves the evaluation of sources such as data, facts, observable phenomenon, and research findings.” ("Why Employers Value Critical Thinking", 2019) I know this looks like A LOT of words and therefore a lot of work involved in critical thinking, but once it is broken down into a couple of steps, it becomes a bit simpler. The above picture is what is known as the clinical reasoning cycle. This helps us upcoming health professionals to break down the process and do it step by step until it becomes second...