Hmmm…no good title springs to mind.

Did two evaluations today – one behind a mask so I'm glad the patient wasn't also hard of hearing (since my lips were covered/muffled).

Busted out the new cards/markers etc that were donated from a friend…the stuff was popular. My favorite part was when I gave this low-functioning patient two markers, a green one and pink one, she sat there and colored, and then the next time I glanced at her, she was using the pink marker as lipstick and had perfectly put it on. Good thing the markers were non-toxic and washable. My OT, upon hearing that story, told me of patients who would think the stain used in crafts was chocolate sauce and try to lick it up.

I also put some pretty pink rubber bangles on that same lady's wrist…I said Miss X, you want some pretty bracelets? She stuck out her hand in “put on bracelet” pose and I slipped them on. This particular lady isn't my patient, but she is “babied” by staff in a good way…

I did an informal family visit today….went well as we more or less agreed on proper placement for patient after discharge, and I gave the family some literature to read on her approximate cognitive level, for them to get a better feel. They were complimentary and it was a successful first family visit 🙂

I also found the MADRS (Montgomery Asberger Depression Rating Scale I think) and the Hamilton something. One of the psychiatrists had recommended them to me because he was curious as to what depression assessments we did besides the Geriatric Depression Scale. It turns out the psychiatrist didn't have copies (I printed them off the Internet) and he was happy to have them.

The MADRS is a scale that, in my understanding, is done by the health professional, but I looked at it and decided I'd rather do it in conjunction with the patient. We discussed each question together and I think it was much more helpful done as a joint process, at least from the OT perspective.

So I did the MADRS for the first time, albeit modified, and I also got to do the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale for the first time…

My schedule today was quiet again for most of the day…although always when it does get busy, it gets busy quickly. Sometimes I end up helping two different patients in two differently ludicrous situations, at the same time, because of their proximity to each other (ie roommates both in need)…obviously not billable time at that point, depending on what's going on, but hey, sometimes ya gotta do what you gotta do…if that involves ludicrous tasks x 2, then that's what you do, if at all possible.

I didn't get to do group yet AGAIN – only like one of my patients in the room – but I think probably tomorrow I should have 3+ finally. Gonna do discharge planning/leisure activity. Not that I miss group or anything, but my productivity is so low now that I need the units, yo! Only 46 groups to go, lol.

AFTER work, I went and had a dance lesson…basically a modern ballroom dance!! Yes, laugh all you want, I'm awkward as can be. It was actually really good – it works on poise and posture and positioning and all that good stuff. I signed up for a few more…it's a stretch for me, out of my comfort zone, but I believe it's a helpful thing…the instructor kinda got annoyed with me because I was all ADDish, my eyes darting everywhere to see the other dancers…he finally turned me around so I couldn't see anything but him. He also had to deal with my huge “trust” issues – I don't like being led backwards where I have to trust him as leader – I kept glancing back and at one point completely froze because I knew people were near, he was like TRUST ME! lol. I'm one of those people who could never just fall back trusting people to catch me, in those trust-building games you play. We worked on very basic components of foxtrot, waltz, and rumba (sp).

Okay, The END.