Reflection

This week was a good week. It was nice getting to know my pt even though she is not going to be the same one that I will see next week b/c she is at a lower level. I felt that I approached my pt in a professional and respectful way. I introduced myself and asked her if I could sit down and talk to her for a little bit. She accepted my offer and it was interesting to get to chat with her and establish rapport. I really enjoyed talking to her and learning so many interesting things about her. We talked about her kids, grand-kids, and great grand-kids, how she liked to bake, where she was from, and much more. During our conversation I noticed that her call button was hanging down off the bed so I asked her what she would do if she needed help. She responded that she would push the button. I placed the call button at her side and had her demonstrate how she would do it for me.

One thing that I learned about myself and something that I clinically need to work on is my observation skills. I need to do a better job of looking through my OT goggles and really observing my pt’s and what they are doing. I felt that when it came time to do my documentation that there were a few things that could have been documented that I didn’t document because I didn’t think about them at the time. This is something that I will definitely be working on.

My favorite part of the session was just getting to know my client. It’s amazing what can be learned just my sitting down and chatting with someone. I feel like I could sit down and make a long list of things that I learned just by talking to this pt for a mere 20 minutes. This population loves to tell stories!!

If someone were to read this particular clients chart they probably would have a relatively good understanding of how she would be. The way I pictured her physically, after reading her chart, was pretty much how she actually was, but her cognition seemed to be intact. She answered my questions and was able to elaborate on her answers. This was a pleasant surprise and hopefully she enjoyed talking to me as much as I enjoyed talking to her!!