Ron,
Are you saying that PT, nursing, and nursing aides is working on
increased independence in clients' occupations? Or does it appear that
they are addressing the issues by completing them for the patient?
Perhaps it would be wise to have a tag along day with these disciplines
to create a team approarch. I think one of the best things a home OT
can do is become friends with the home aides because they can help with
the needed correct repetiion of your treatment interventions outside of
formal therapy time.
You know Ron, I once thought like you in regards to the perception of
OT in the setting in which I worked "OT
has no TRULY unique and HIGHLY valued role", but there was a time
in which I stopped listening to that unproductive self talk, and
decided to put all of my efforts into the clients. I learned a few
things in the past five years since changing my attitude and to help to
chage the culture of a department a) respect is dependent on the hard
work you put into your clients b) constant continuuing education and
inservicing to the staff has helped change perceptions c) lowering my
ego by helping out with toileting and bowel accident clean ups instead
of calling the nurse and "running" has helped to build a more team
approach and provides an opportunity to share important information d)
the better I know the nursing and therapy staff on a personal level the
more they learn about OT.
A few months ago I had my friend and collegue Pat a nurse talk to me
about how her opinion of OT has changed in the past few years. She
admitted that she never really had a clear grasp on what we did because
she never got the opportunity to see us in action when she worked in
home care. But when she transitioned to the rehab unit she was
outstounded by the the reality of what we worked on. She regrets that
she did not have that knowledge prior and how that could of helped many
patients in the home therapy setting. She told me that she once
thought physical therapy was the "go to therapy", but now she
understands how imperative OT is to the recovery of a client. I now
get constant phone calls from Pat and the other nursing staff about
certain things they see when they are helping clients with their
morning ADLs and how they want my advise to deal with the problems. We
then often work together to come up with a solution. Looking back at
my career so far I learned it really was not the other hospital staff
that devalued OT but in reality it was I whom came to hate what I was
doing because my focus and passion was on myself and not on the client.
Chris Nahrwold MS, OTR
-----Original Message-----
From: Ron Carson <rdcar...@otnow.com>
To: Brent Cheyne <OTlist@OTnow.com>
Sent: Wed, 25 Feb 2009 8:41 pm
Subject: Re: [OTlist] hello c
ompany...it's misery calling!
Hello Brent:
The question of home health being the best practice setting is
complicated.
In a perfect world, I say unequivocally "yes", but in the real world, I
say "no". It seems to me that in home health, like other settings, OT
has no TRULY unique and HIGHLY valued role. There seems to be very
little that OT does which isn't already covered by either PT, nursing or
the aide.
Ron
--
Ron Carson MHS, OT
www.OTnow.com
----- Original Message -----
From: Brent Cheyne <brentche...@yahoo.com>
Sent: Saturday, February 21, 2009
To: OTlist@OTnow.com <OTlist@OTnow.com>
Subj: [OTlist] hello company...it's misery calling!
BC> RON: I related so well to your well written response to Ilene
(Message
BC> 4,2/21/09), I have a similar history to you and worked in the
SNFs in
BC> the late 1990's, but woe is me... I still do today. As you
stated the
BC> business model doesn't foster the best that OT can be as a
profession.
BC> It is very inflexible and stifles innovation, creativity, and
quality in
BC> favor of effeciency, profit, and bureaucratic compliance to
Medicare
BC> rules and regs which set the system up to be as lame as it is.
Some how
BC> I have found a way continue in this practice setting for almost 15
years
BC> and have sought out the most high quality employe
rs and
facilities with
BC> a bit of luck had good results. But I too am
growing VERY WEARY
BC> of all the issues you so effectively stated. I even spent one week
as a
BC> Rehab Manager and quit..it made me physically ill, tried o/p
hand
BC> therapy for 6months and was quite unsatisfied. I have
thought of
BC> leaving the SNF setting, but every now and then I get a patient or
case
BC> or two that goes so well and is so satisfying that it draws me
back
BC> in...it's like trying to leave the Mafia :), Ron do you think
home
BC> health is the best OT practice setting?
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