PT Clinic Reflection Journal

9/26/07

Today, I got to work with the same patient as last week. We worked on strengthening and balance today. Balance is definately an area I haven’t really got to work on before. It was a little nerve racking, for me and the patient. I had another student there to help me out to ensure the safety of the patient. Since I have never really worked with a patient on balance before I am not sure how far to push the patient. I got some great ideas and tips from my instructor though. I think it was out of the patient’s comfort zone using a rocking board, but I think everything went well. I am going to try the rocking board again next week to see if the patient is not ready for this yet or was just scared to be on it for the first time. I also wrote about half of my note during the treatment time which I was happy with.

For the second hour I worked with the SPT again helping with the same patient I did last week. I really enjoy working with the SPT because she takes the time to explain what she is doing to me and why when I don’t know something. This patient however did not have a good day. I think the SPT and I ended up getting more of a work out than the patient did.

Overall today went pretty well. I need to work on knowing how hard to challenge the patient. TTFN

3/19/07

Today, I worked with another new patient. At the start of clinic last semester I watched the second year treat the patient, so it was interesting to see all the progress the patient has made. I felt the treatment went pretty well today. Although I didn’t get through as much as I would have liked to, what I did get through went well. I need to work on making treatment plans faster and being comfortable working with new patients.

For the second hour I got to work with a SPT with one of their patients. It was interesting to see how she worked with the patient. She was really nice to work with. She was also good at dealing with the patient and his wife. I thought it was also nice that she took time and explained things to me. It was a really good experience working with the SPT.

3/12/07

Today I worked with two new patients. I am glad I got two new patients because I felt I was to into my comfort zone and not learning a whole lot working with the same patient. I felt nervous at first, but I spent the whole preparation hour going through my plan thoroughly to make sure I was comfortable. I got to work with the patient in the wellness center, which I have never done. I need to spend some time familiarizing myself with the equipment, so I am able to feel comfortable using it.  I also need to work on getting a patient out of their normal routine and pushing them to work harder. I tend not to push the patient when I first work with them. For the second hour, I helped a classmate with their patient. I got to do some gait training which was nice because I haven’t done a lot of.  I am also getting my documentation done quickly, but I need to work on wording in the note.