Whilst on my gerontology prac I treated a 70 year old woman who came into the centre with a PC of falls, BPPV and decrease muscle strength. She had previously been admitted into Fremantle Hospital with an exacerbation of BPPV and the physiotherapist there had performed the Eppley's manouvre on her twice with very good effect. My supervisor said that she would show me how to do it, and then I could perform it on her.
I was very reluctant to do it, as I had never done it before even on a peer, so to perform it on someone with a pathology was a daunting thought. When I found out that my supervisor couldn't even watch me perform it on her because she was busy in a meeting I was going to just try it in the next session. However when my patient came in and began to tell me how much trouble it was giving her, I didn't want her to have to wait for another week. I took her through the positions and she was quite severely nauseous and dizzy in the sidelying position, however by the time she was sitting up for a minute she was ok. I treated her 3 more times with the Eppley manouvre, once each time I saw her and her improvement was impressive. By the end of my prac she was no longer taking her BPPV medication and suffered a quarter of the symptoms she was at the start of my treatment sessions.
From this experience I learnt that I should embrace the opportunity to try new things, especially in this field as there are new techniques being developed all the time. If I hadn't treated her, and had simply watched my supervisor do it, I wouldn't have nearly the amount of satisfaction I derived from treating her start to finish. In future I will have more confidence in myself and my ability to adapt to new situations, and accept that even if I don't get it perfect the first time I can still help people.
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