Level 1 Fieldwork Adult Phys Dys Day 2!
I started out the day a little scared, after reading Merrolee's comment about how it can get really hot when observing showering and it might make you feel faint!! After my experience with a really hot room for burncare and almost fainting, I didn't want to repeat the experience!
I got there around 6:45am and I was supposed to park in this really far away and empty lot. In the dark. I parked, saw a man walking near by, and went noooooooooo, turned on my car, and parked in the normal parking lot. Around 7 we started our rounds of helping with ADLs (activities of daily life – like brushing teeth, bathing, combing hair, dressing, etc). I was a little bit nervous – I'm not really comfortable around naked people or toileting activities! Plus I couldn't imagine the patients themselves would be thrilled with an extra stranger watching. I tried to be as discrete as possible, like kind of not just staring directly at the person while they were in the middle of more intimate acts!
Then we just had typical patients, most of whom we had seen yesterday. Several of them were complaining of nausea and pain, which my OT said is not that common, actually. Some got out of therapy. Others complained, but were willing to attempt it. I got to help today with things like pushing the wheelchairs, encouraging people during upper extremity exercise group, sitting with patients while they did things like upper arm bike, sanding (pushing) exercises, etc. It was fun, a little scary.
The part that got to me most today was just helping people get dressed! It was torture to watch. It is frustrating to only be able to use one hand/one leg! (Like in the case of a stroke). There are certain tricks to making dressing easier. For example, when putting on the shirt, you put the affected hand in first. When taking off a shirt, you take the unaffected hand out first. When putting on pants, you put the affected leg in first. Etc. You can also cross your affected leg across your unaffected leg to get the pants started. It's still not easy though.
I like to understand everything that is going on, and I maybe ask too many questions. I hope I'm not completely driving my OT crazy!
Day 2 was fine, but exhausting. This 7am to 3:30 stuff with people, nonstop, is hard to get used to. I know it's the real world, but it is both physically and mentally exhausting. Mostly mentally – dealing with new people, mostly people who don't particularly feel like doing anything, all day long, is hard on an introvert like me!! Yes that's right! I'm actually an introvert! Shocking I know!
Ok…I'm prepped for Day 3. I only need to get through until Friday afternoon…then I get to leave for TOTA Conference in Nashville! Then only one more week. I guess it will fly by, but right now it seems slow!