From Graduate School
I am finished with my adult patient placement, and I'll say what we all say upon endings: where did the time go? This summer/holiday/year just disappeared! I think elderly individuals say this in daily conversation, which makes me wonder whether the older we get the less attention we pay to the present moment.
I've experienced so many instances and/or people this summer that tripped up my thinking and/or got me teary-eyed and/or deeply angered me; I should have been consistently journaling to remember all I've learned, nothing of which has been textbook material.
2. Even adults need positive reinforcement. They may not need to follow a prettily colored visual schedule or earn a dum-dum after ever therapy session, but they need encouragement. I deem 25% constructive feedback to 75% you're doing wonderfully attitude an appropriate ratio for a therapist's approach.
3. If you are living in a nursing home, you have every right to refuse therapy when you are in the middle of weekly Bingo. If you are living in a nursing home, you will probably benefit more from the socializing and the competition than you would from 30 minutes of begrudged speech/swallowing/language exercises, and I won't blame you for getting angry with me for trying to pull you aside.
I've experienced so many instances and/or people this summer that tripped up my thinking and/or got me teary-eyed and/or deeply angered me; I should have been consistently journaling to remember all I've learned, nothing of which has been textbook material.
A few lessons:
1. One of the greatest gifts you can give is a listening heart. Many patients I've met this summer seemed constantly on the brink of sharing their life stories and deepest angst, if simply allowed some actual time after questions were posed. I heard many a meltdown and many a rather personal tidbit, usually when I least expected it. I think clinicians and caregivers are often too focused on getting the information they need from a patient, fill-in-all-the-boxes style, to actually hear (and process) the patient's answers. They (we) fly from question to question for the sake of efficiency and end up being counterproductive. Therapeutically speaking, true conversation is just as bill-able as "skilled" intervention. Woe to the clinician who signs his or her name with fancy credentials and charges a pretty penny only to throw exercises at a wall. 2. Even adults need positive reinforcement. They may not need to follow a prettily colored visual schedule or earn a dum-dum after ever therapy session, but they need encouragement. I deem 25% constructive feedback to 75% you're doing wonderfully attitude an appropriate ratio for a therapist's approach.
3. If you are living in a nursing home, you have every right to refuse therapy when you are in the middle of weekly Bingo. If you are living in a nursing home, you will probably benefit more from the socializing and the competition than you would from 30 minutes of begrudged speech/swallowing/language exercises, and I won't blame you for getting angry with me for trying to pull you aside.
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