This week has been another week bursting full of learning experiences. I have really come to the realisation of the jump up from PP1 to PP2 and I felt a little out of my depth on a couple of occasions. This a really good thing though on reflection it means that areas I need to work on and learn have been highlighted to me and I was able to recognise my own limitations and inform my educator. Further to this, I had my first supervision this week and with my educator we set out my learning objectives. My objectives this placement are more ambitious and reflect that step up in placement level.
Here are some of my learning objectives:
- Plan and implement an art based group at the residential stroke rehab centre
- Complete a competent assessment of the upper limb (with supervision)
- To be able to complete an initial assessment of a stroke patient
- To be able to develop an action/treatment plan following a mood or cognitive assessment for 3-4 patients.
Lets see if I meet my objectives by the end of placement!
Acute Stroke Unit
On my day on the ward this week I continued practicing my skills in personal care assessments and hospital bed making! I also completed a kitchen assessment under supervision with a patient who was hard of hearing which gave a whole new dimension to the assessment. It's amazing how much a simple thing like making a cup of tea can highlight and give an OT some insight into cognitive, memory, visual and perceptual issues a patient may be experiencing. I also discovered how hard it can be to work with people who have had a stroke when I met a relatively young patient on their initial assessment and the affects the stroke has had are devastating on the person and their family. It will be very interesting to follow their journey and see how much of a difference the intense therapy input makes. I also realised I felt quite out of my depth in a place surrounded by medical professionals with people who are really, very un-well. It opens your eyes to the dangers of stroke and how devastating it really can be. I have seen as an OT you have to learn to use your therapeutic use of self and be very empathetic however, you need to learn to turn this off to a certain extent as working in this environment could definitely become quite upsetting.
Residential Stroke Rehab.
I am really enjoying my days spent here and feel i'm starting to build some rapport with the patients and getting to know them more now, especially after meeting them on the ward and following their journey to this setting. I think I feel most excited about this part of my placement and have a lot of opportunity here. A discussion with the therapy staff team revealed the need to start up some activity groups to incorporate into individual's therapy. I shared my experiences of being a creative arts activity leader and am currently helping to arrange/plan some creative arts sessions which is such a great opportunity and i'm really looking forward to it. My planning consists of thinking of activities that focus on individual's physical and psychosocial needs as well as memory, cognition, planning/sequencing and sensory needs. I am also doing some research into art in stroke rehab and OT - which ties in very nicely with my proposed research project for my dissertation!
A creative weaving project I came up with using old CD's. This will address fine motor skills and coordination. It will involve the weaker upper limb, use sequencing and concentration skills and address some sensory input.
Community
During my time with the community team I have been writing notes, making phone calls to patients , completed an initial assessment under supervision and have began working on my ability to assess a person's upper limb for range of movement and sensory loss. This is helping with my anatomy knowledge and use of terms such as "flexion" and "subluxation."
The realties of stroke have really hit me this week and the importance of stroke awareness is vital.
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