Comfortable With The Patient
11/20/06
Today I worked with the same patient as last week. This time however, I worked by myself without the help of the other first year student. I still needed help with the transfer from an instructor. I worked with the patient on balance, PNF, AROM finger extension, and AROM in the upper extremities for strength. I felt comfortable with treating the patient this time around. I was also able to communicate well with the patient today. I felt comfortable with most of the treatment. The things I want to work on are transfers, repositioning the patient from sitting to supine, body mechanics while treating the patient, and chatting with the patient while continuing the treatment.
I am not totally comfortable transferring the patient by myself yet. I feel like I need that extra person there just in case I have trouble. It is also nice to have that extra person there to help me move the wheel chair out of the way and make sure the patient maintains balance while I position her feet on a block. It is also hard sometime for me to move the patient into different positions by myself because I have to help her maintain balance and try to position her trunk, so that it is straight. My goal is to become more comfortable with transfers and to organize my treatment area better, so I do not need an additional person for the transfer.
I need to start paying more attention to my body mechanics while I am treating the patients. I have noticed a couple of times like when I was stretching the patient and apply resistance during PNF and AROM, where I was not maintaining a straight back. I need to make sure I have correct posture for the whole treatment session, so I do not end up hurting myself. I could also try to use a mat that I can raise up, so I don’t have to bend so much to reach the patient.
I also want to work on communicating with the patient. I felt like I was communicated well with her today. We talked and joked around throughout most of the treatment. I just felt like at times I lost my focus. This happened especially with PNF and AROM when I lost count of the rep the patient was on and didn’t add enough resistance when I needed to at times.
Overall this was a good day in clinic. I felt like I have the patient an effective treatment. I was comfortable and confident throughout most of today’s treatment. Now that I am familiar with the patient I feel comfortable to try new things with her. My goal is to become more confident and comfortable quicker with my next new patient. I also need to practice documenting faster.
