Random day….Week 8, Day 2….

Today was a low census day. In the morning I asked my supervisor…if I weren't here, would you call the PRN COTA? And she said yes. And I said, well please call her, because it's not fair for her to lose money because of a student. We can function as one – it would suck if she had to go work elsewhere because she couldn't get the hours she needed. She agreed – after all I'm only there another four weeks and this COTA is hopefully going to continue on much longer.

I have been co-treating with a particular PTA a lot the last day or so, especially today – she is very good and I like to follow her for low level clients because she helps me with the lowest-level skills like maneuvering out of bed.  Today we got an ICU patient sitting on the edge of the bed, and she had me kneeling on his bed with pillows, holding up his back (to keep him supported) with my thighs pressed against the pillows which were pressed against his back. We also did some weight-shifting and weight-bearing things with her giving me some nifty neuro tricks she had learned from a PRN OT. 

I also went with the COTA some for another low level client who needed two people to get her sitting on the edge of the bed, and I used the PTA's pillow trick I had just learned.

Trying to think of other interesting things – one of our patients passed away, sadly, and another two of our patients, I found in the charts, had been the cause of recent codes (where the hospital announces a code overhead). Both survived.

OOOOOOOOOH I know something weird – my fellow OT student Brooke's father is a PCP, and his name showed up in a chart today! I was like whoah!! Small world.

Hmm, what else. I don't even know. Oh, I helped a man with oral care the other day, he is a mouth breather in ICU so his mouth is dry and crusty with flaking mucous membranes, we did glycerin swabs in his mouth and skin was flaking out of his mouth, isn't that gross? But it felt good to him at least.

And I am told I should learn how to change a colostomy bag since it is an ADL for many.

And I have a good friend looking to give up her sweet young female cat, if anyone is interested….and apparently another friend with a cat and 4 kittens. Just sayin'

And….biggest news of all is that OTCONNECTIONS has launched today….I'll give that it's very own post tomorrow. Or maybe tonight.

Did I mention I still have way too many emails and Facebook msgs to respond to. I might try and get to that tonight. We shall see. For now I need to clean up a little and then take some ibuprofen because my head really hurts!!

Nov 19, 2008 | Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none