I had some sick days to make up for on my neuro prac and was there when the very large caseload that was normally handled by 4 students and 2 physios was all double assist patients with myself and 1-2 other physios. It was a huge caseload. We had to prioritise patient needs and treatment so that we limited our load to those who really needed physiotherapy that day, and their treatment was catapaulted. By that I mean, if a patient couldn't walk, we made a judgement call and walked them, as walking is one of the most beneficial functional tasks for the rehabiliation post stroke. We pushed patients hard in their treatment, demanded a lot from them and they responded very well. Over 3 days I noticed the difference in their sitting and standing balance after we walked them, their increased alertness and voluntary control. It was amazing! I had been worried that we were not being completely textbook thorough with each patient, but time just didn't allow it. Yet they were improving very well.
I learned to make fast but clinically accurate judgement calls, to REALLY prioritise treatment sessions to the top 2 or three items and to analyse well. This is what you face in the real world. I see why we learn the text book perfect way, as it is essential to seeing the scientific progression of physiotherapy, but we are also trained to be flexible, abstract thinkers and this enhances our analytical skills. And you know what? It feels great to be able to do a good job on so little resource and time, and know that you are making a difference in a hard situation. The real world is where we will work and it is not of perfect resource and opportunities, so our flexibility is important!
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2 comments:
Sounds like you have really found the balance between getting the job done and doing it by the book. I think a lot of the time we focus on trying to be perfect with our treatments when rather we should focus on what we are there for, which is to help the patient improve.
I think once you are confident in making a difference with a patient you can then look to perfect your techniques. It must be a good feeling for you to know that you are very competent to pass and more so to work under pressure in a real environment. Well done!
That sounds like a great learning experience as well as increasing your clinical skill confidence! Being put in that situation and under time pressure has improved your ability to think quicker! sometimes when you have a light caseload you dont really extend yourself with time management because you dont need to. It sounds like you adapted and handled the situation really well and didnt let yourself get stressed out! If you think about a year ago and your confidence, it may have been a different story, but if your like me, i feel my confidence in clinical situations has doubled since being on prac this year! and hopefully will continue to increase when i start in the 'real world'! Good to hear you faced a real world stressful situation and handled it so well! :)
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