This was my last day at Eastern Star and I can honestly say I have learned alot in the past few weeks. Today I transferred a pt. on my own and did a good job at it. The PTAs and OTAs asked if I was going to get a job there later. I guess it was a successful few weeks.
D/C - I have finished my 100 hours and 10 weeks at Eastern Star Nursing Home.
I saw the most interesting case Tuesday. The resident was picked up for problems with perception. She felt like the floor was uneven and like she was falling every time we tried to get her up. She also had a left field cut…so the entire left side didn’t exist. It was so interesting to see the OTA and PTA trying to work with her. They tried weights so that she would feel where she was and jt. compression. They also put her in front of a mirror and it took her a while to realize that the reflection was her own…she said that lady is just staring at me and won’t talk to me. it was one of the most interesting cases I have seen.
I was so excited this week to get to go on a home assessment for a pt. at Eastern Star. I went with the OTR, PTA and the pt. It was interesting to see how pts. go from the nursing home back into their own homes. They measured door ways and heights of the toilet etc. then had her get into and out of the bath tub. They also had her practice microwaving to she if her cognition was still ok. It was a great experience for me because I had seen home health and the nursing home but not how the pt got from one to the other.
I also transferred my first pt by myself. She was a min A pt and was able to do most of the work but it was neat because her room was so small and tight I had to figure out how to make the transfer happen in tight quarters. So far it has been a good week.
I am feeling much better about the experience that I am having at Ohio Eastern Star. I think it is important for future students to level 1 field work to realize that it takes a few weeks to feel comfortable and like you are learning anything. My COTA and I discussed that it took us time to get to know each other and what was expected from each other. I have been experiencing alot of ADL’s, functional transfers and some modalities. I find it all very interesting and am now looking forward to level 2s where we will get to start planning and doing more. I still have several hours to go in level 1 due to scheduling issues but am finally loooking forward to going each time and seeing what we get into.
I want to add that although I love the journaling aspect of this class. I am at a disadvantage because I do not have internet at my home. I do all my work at my parents so my blogs have been few. I apologize for this. I am hoping to have satelite internet next year. I really love reading all the journals.
Progress Note: My circumstances have changed and I am now content and enjoying this experience.
Wow, is any one else as frustrated as I am?? I love being at the site but the speed at which work gets done is amazing. I was on my way to Eastern Star when my COTA called and said that she had just got out of bed and would be late, it was 8:45. So when I got there at about 9:20 everyone was just getting started, I did one tx with the OTR until my COTA got there ( 10:00 ). She got one pt done before it was time for a home health meeting at 10:30. The meeting lasted until 11:15 and we saw one more pt for a Claudia Allen placemat test. Then at about 12:00 we went out to a restaurant for lunch. We got back at 1:30 and I leave at 2:30. She joked that at least I am learning to order from a restaurant. Is anyone else having any of these issues??
Today went much better. The COTA was not there so I went with the OTR, she is very informtive. She explains everything she is going to do before she does it which I like. We did two evaluations and one re-evaluation. I got to do a dynamometer test and pinch test on one patient. This was neat because we had just done this in class. I haven’t done any documentation yet which I am anixous to try, however I have read alot.
The only thing that I had a hard time with on this day was a comment from one of the PTAs there. We had alot of bathroom accidents that the OTR cleaned up…about four on this particular day. The PTA said “that’s why I’m a physical therapist because I don’t want to wipe butts all day. I call COTAs certified butt wipers”. I know that she was joking around but I still am having a hard time with this statement because I hope that my schooling and hard work is going to be more respected than that.
I have not been blogging much because I have had cancelled times due to my COTAs divorce and it has been very frustrating. The therapy department doesn’t seem to even get started until 9:30 or 10:00 and I have to leave by 2:30, so when they are getting busy I am leaving. I am seeing alot of interpersonal communitcation about their personal lives but not much about pts and work. Still waiting and hoping it will get better.
I am assigned to Ohio Eastern Star Home in Mt. Vernon. The facility is beautiful and the staff there is very nice. The OT department and the PT department work really well together and all seem to get along both at work and on a personal level. Our day started with a tour of the facility, which is huge and thankful my COTA told me to wear comfortable shoes:) We then got three patients ready to go to Walmart to shop. It was intereating to see how they were able to take a trip to the store and make it OT. The patient that Tiffany, my COTA, and were assigned to was shopping for spring clothes. She had to try on things-ROM- and transfer from her wheelchair to a scooter. We then had lunch at Subway and headed back to the facility.
When we returned we helped get everyone settled back into their rooms, then went back to the office and wrote time for billing purposes. We saw a hip replacement patient who was getting ready to go home so we took her to an apartment style kitchen and boiled eggs for easter and had her put away dishes. Then we splinted a stroke patients hand and another patients finger. We made a sign for a patients wheelchair so that the nurses knew to lean her back to keep her head from tilting to the side. The last thing we did was working on the computer for billing.
Tiffany explained to me that the facility is low on patients because they normal have about 30 patients to see but right now they only have 11. So she rarely works a full day she stays at around 32 hours per week. Also she asked me to organize a closet within the dementia ward that has activities for cognitive patients. She wants it organized based on Claudia Allen’s cognitive levels and I can buy whatever I need for it. This is exciting but also makes me a little nervous. It was a good first day but I hope that I get to see a bigger variety in the next few weeks.
Initial Note- I am assigned to Ohio Eastern Star Home in Mt. Vernon, Ohio and am going twice a week for ten weeks. My COTA is Tiffany Gross, COTA/L.