Ron, I do understand your frustration, even more so from having spent some time in IP rehab. Here are two of the problems outside of lack of creativity....productivity and required IP pt rehab hours. Although I preferred to work with pts on ADLs in the am, b/c they were the most relevant, some of those pts had to be down to pt at an early hour & you just can't get to all of them (although you CAN shift your schedule around from day to day, but in my experience this was not often done). Thus the next part of the day was often working with pts in the rehab room, where there was a considerable push for working with more than one pt at a time. Instead of working with them together, they were often set up a separate 'stations' and given a task that they could do without 1:1...thus the towels, clothespins, bead sorting, etc. It takes thinking outside the box to set up a session that is both meaningful and therapeutic; which is often not the case on a day to day basis. It's not that these are not good OT/OTAs, they just are not creative. I've seen this in OT and I also saw this for many years in my previous profession as a teacher. There are those truly dedicated to the profession and those that see it as a job that pays the bills. No matter where you work, there will be people of both types. The best we can do is be the former and put in the extra effort to provide meaningful therapies and explain to our clients why and how the particular activities we choose are therapeutic and pivotal to OT. d
-----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2008 3:00 PM To: otlist@otnow.com Subject: OTlist Digest, Vol 48, Issue 2 Send OTlist mailing list submissions to otlist@otnow.com To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit http://otnow.com/mailman/listinfo/otlist_otnow.com or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to [EMAIL PROTECTED] You can reach the person managing the list at [EMAIL PROTECTED] When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific than "Re: Contents of OTlist digest..." Today's Topics: 1. AARGH! (Ron Carson) 2. Re: AARGH! (Lehman, David) ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message: 1 Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2008 06:37:53 -0500 From: Ron Carson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: [OTlist] AARGH! To: OTlist@OTnow.com Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252 I evaluated a home health patient who was just out of rehab secondary to a total hip replacement. This is a 55 y/o who was previously independent. During the eval, I asked her if she receive OT in rehab. She rolled her eyes and explained that the OT's had her folding towels at a table and standing at a table playing cards. I will NEVER, EVER understand why so many OT's have client's doing essentially meaningless activity when there are so many other NEEDS and DESIRES. Why do OT's stand with patients at a table playing cards? It makes NO sense because it's contextually incorrect. Who plays cards standing? And why will OT's stand with patients but won't take the initiative to address mobility issues such as getting clothes from the closet, ambulating to the toilet, etc? On that happy note <smile>, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! Ron -- Ron Carson MHS, OT ------------------------------ Message: 2 Date: Thu, 27 Nov 2008 12:32:54 -0600 From: "Lehman, David" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [OTlist] AARGH! To: "OTlist@OTnow.com" <OTlist@OTnow.com> Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Oh, my dear friend, Ron.....why so bitter on this day of Thankfulness? Perhaps this patient was asked what her personal goals were and they were to be able to do the laundy and paly cards with her friends.....and, the OT had the creativity to say, "you know, I notice your weight bearing is not symmetrical and your balance seems to be off....let's kill two birds with one stone and work on the dexterity needed to shuffle, deal and fan cards while standing.....and, we don't have any shirts and underwear here in the clinic, but, we can do towel folding. I guess we need more information to understand your frustration for one might see that this particular OT WAS addressing life goals the patient expressed while in rehab. That all said.....you know how much I love you and I am thankful you are a person in my life...wishing it were more than OTnow, rather fishing and having philosophical discussion about life. Wishing you and your family a festive holiday season. Peace, David David A. Lehman, PhD, PT Associate Professor Tennessee State University Department of Physical Therapy 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd. Nashville, TN 37209 615-963-5946 [EMAIL PROTECTED] Visit my website: http://www.tnstate.edu/interior.asp?mid=2410&ptid=1 This email and any files transmitted with it may contain confidential information and is intended solely for use by the individual to whom it is addressed. If you receive this correspondence in error, please notify the sender and delete the email from your system. Do not disclose its contents with others. ________________________________________ From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Ron Carson [EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Thursday, November 27, 2008 5:37 AM To: OTlist@OTnow.com Subject: [OTlist] AARGH! I evaluated a home health patient who was just out of rehab secondary to a total hip replacement. This is a 55 y/o who was previously independent. During the eval, I asked her if she receive OT in rehab. She rolled her eyes and explained that the OT's had her folding towels at a table and standing at a table playing cards. I will NEVER, EVER understand why so many OT's have client's doing essentially meaningless activity when there are so many other NEEDS and DESIRES. Why do OT's stand with patients at a table playing cards? It makes NO sense because it's contextually incorrect. Who plays cards standing? And why will OT's stand with patients but won't take the initiative to address mobility issues such as getting clothes from the closet, ambulating to the toilet, etc? On that happy note <smile>, HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!! Ron -- Ron Carson MHS, OT -- Options? www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com Archive? www.mail-archive.com/otlist@otnow.com ------------------------------ -- Unsubscribe? [EMAIL PROTECTED] Change options? www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com Archive? www.mail-archive.com/otlist@otnow.com Help? [EMAIL PROTECTED] End of OTlist Digest, Vol 48, Issue 2 ************************************* -- Options? www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com Archive? www.mail-archive.com/otlist@otnow.com
