Today I first was able to meet with a Physical Therapy Assistant in the morning. I learned the different responsibilities of a PTA and I found it all very interesting. I especially enjoyed the different patients we had and I loved that we were able to talk about the different diagnosis’ and treatment options. One of the patients, Mrs. Toucan, has osteoarthritis is her knees and rheumatoid arthritis. I was able to discuss the things I had learned from class, the osteoarthritis study I participated in, and the different articles I have read. I loved being able to bring up the new treatments I had read about in medical journals and discuss the different implications.
We met with Mr. Rooster again today. His enthusiasm is refreshing! He tried SO had to be able to maintain good posture and as I would see him throughout the day he would sit up very straight and give me a little smile. We did sit-to-stand exercises and worked on maintaining balance while sitting. Those trunk muscles are important and I had him reaching all around for cones. This was good for his trunk muscles and also beneficial in helping him to remember to look up and pay attention to his surroundings.
Ms. Zebra is going home soon and she has made AMAZING progress. When I first started seeing her, she had no control of her trunk. The PT had to pick her up for transfers and she was not able to assist very much. Today we set up an obstacle course to help her remember that there are often objects to her left (the weaker side). We all laughed as I clumsily bumped into objects and noted that I needed the therapy and not Ms. Zebra.
We saw many other patients and I was able to observe different situations. I am becoming more comfortable in the gym setting and I love being a ‘regular’ in the gym. I am starting to understand many therapy techniques and I get to practice my therapeutic communication.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
September 21, 2010
I was at the rehab hospital for two hours today and was able to spend time with three different patients.
The first patient was Mr. Snake. We saw Mr. Snake last week. He recently had two knee replacements so we walked around the gym to loosen up his joints. After the walking we did some stretched to increase his range of motion and leg lifts to increase strength.
We next met with Mr. Gator. Today was his last day and we were able to go outside and walk across different surfaces. He was very excited to go home and worked very hard to prove to the PT that he was ready.
The final patient, lets call him Mr. Rooster, for the day had been in the facility before but was sent to Shands Hospital because of pneumonia. He has several tumors in his brain, diabetes, difficulty breathing (to the point that he requires an oxygen tank), and left side weakness. Mr. Rooster was very optimistic about his recovery and tried very hard to follow all instructions as closely as possible. He was a great patient and I look forward to working with him in the future.
The first patient was Mr. Snake. We saw Mr. Snake last week. He recently had two knee replacements so we walked around the gym to loosen up his joints. After the walking we did some stretched to increase his range of motion and leg lifts to increase strength.
We next met with Mr. Gator. Today was his last day and we were able to go outside and walk across different surfaces. He was very excited to go home and worked very hard to prove to the PT that he was ready.
The final patient, lets call him Mr. Rooster, for the day had been in the facility before but was sent to Shands Hospital because of pneumonia. He has several tumors in his brain, diabetes, difficulty breathing (to the point that he requires an oxygen tank), and left side weakness. Mr. Rooster was very optimistic about his recovery and tried very hard to follow all instructions as closely as possible. He was a great patient and I look forward to working with him in the future.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Week of Sept 12 - 18
Tuesday September 14, 2010
Today I volunteered for 2 hours. In that two hour time span we saw two patients. One patient, Ms Zebra had a brain tumor removed. As a result she has left side paralysis and we worked on trunk stability and transfers. Ms Zebra is an especially fun patient because she only speaks Spanish and I was able to brush off my Spanish and translate the instructions from the PT. I am a little rusty but she was able to understand and participate in therapy.
We also met with Mr. Gator again. He is making good progress. He has more stamina and learned all of the safety precautions. We went outside again and he loved it.
One of the things that I focused on this visit was the work of a physical therapist. I asked the PT where she had worked in the past and why she chose
Thursday September 16, 2010
One reason I love my volunteering schedule is that I get to spend all day Thursday at the rehab hospital. This gives me a feel of what it would really be like to be a physical therapist. I now understand what it feels like to be on your feet all day and that it can be difficult to stay positive and light hearted at the end of the day.
Today we mostly met with patients that I had met with previously. Mr. Gator’s family was visiting him today during rehab and he was so funny… he was showing off for them. He is usually easily tired but today he kept asking to do exercise after exercise. His spirits were much higher and he kept joking and teasing us that he was going to leave us in the dust if we didn’t start walking faster. It was a pleasure to see Mr. Gator in better spirits today.
I was also introduced to a patient who had two knee replacements less than a week ago. What a man! He was up and walking around! It was obvious that he was in pain but he kept working and really wanted to be able to accomplish his activities of daily living.
We also worked with a man, let’s call him Mr. Lizard. He had recently had a stroke which affected his Broca and Wernicke areas in the brain. As a result he has global aphasia and is not able to speak or understand what is being said to him. He was having a difficult time as he knew that we were speaking to him and he was not able to understand and he was not about to express to us when he didn’t understand. He also had right side weakness and so we worked on pre gait training to prepare him for walking and get his muscles working again.
We saw several more patients that I won’t discuss but one unique part of the day was that I got to attend an in-service about tracheotomies. My PT invited me to attend… and how could I refuse?! A pharmaceutical rep came to the hospital to teach the therapists about the different types and methods of removal of the products. It was very interesting and was a unique addition to the day.Friday, September 10, 2010
9/9/10 First Day at Shands Rehab Hospital
Thursday was my first day volunteering at Shands Rehab Hospital and it was AMAZING. I volunteered from 9am to 3pm and so I was able to experience a variety of cases. I was also lucky enough to shadow an amazing physical therapist who was very patient and answered all of my questions and took the time to explain each exercise and the reasoning for it.
Our first patient, lets call him Mr. Frog, had recently undergone heart surgery. We were asked to take special cardiac precautions which included frequently taking his vitals to insure that he was getting enough oxygen and that his heart rate was normal. Since his ribs were separated and Mr. Frog has a large incision across his chest we were also supposed to make sure he knew not to use his arms. Have you ever thought how difficult it would be to not use your arms during your ADLs (activities of daily living)?! Well it is hard! We mostly concentrated on regaining endurance and making sure that Mr. Frog knew the safe and correct ways to get in and out of bed without using his arms. We walked all through the hospital and used a bike to increase endurance. Mr. Frog was an excellent patient and really pushed himself to be able to return to health.
The next patient had a spinal cord injury around the T10 level. Lets call her Ms. Chick. Ms. Chick had made excellent progress over the previous week and we practiced transferring from her wheelchair into a bed. We also worked on increasing her range of motion and leg strength through leg lifts. The physical therapist mentioned that she could safely maneuver around the potential obstacles in her house and so would soon be returning home.
Ms. Mouse (again, not real name) had recently had her 5th stroke. With assistance and a lot of encouragement, Ms. Mouse was able to walk her longest distances of 90ft and then an additional 40 ft. She also was able to lift her feet more instead of shuffling them. Again, we also monitored her vitals frequently and when we found that her blood pressure was high, we informed the nurse and rested.
For the purposes of this entry, lets call the next patient Mr. Gator. Mr Gator was such a funny man. When I first met him, he told me that nothing was wrong with his body and that the only reason he was in Shands Rehab Hospital was because he was a spy! He was one of the most entertaining patients, but his story is also one of the saddest. Mr. Gator is an elderly man who lives with his wife. He had been in excellent health until suddenly his wife noticed that he seemed confused and disoriented. Upon getting to Shands Hospital, they found that his brain had swelled. Through the course of his hospital stay, his muscles deteriorated and he became very weak. Since he lives only with his wife, the goal of his stay at Shands Rehab is for him to be able to move around his house and care for himself. Mr. Gator is a new patient and so we spent a lot of time learning the proper procedure of transferring from wheelchair to walker to chair/bed. Mr. Gator is still a little disoriented and so it took a while for him to understand what needed to be done. We also needed to remind him frequently where he was and why he was there. Mr. Gator was freezing through the majority of his therapy and so I suggested that we might walk outside. The PT thought that was an excellent idea and when presented to Mr. Gator, he was very excited and enjoyed the walk despite his fatigue.
During the lunch hour, the PT that I had been shadowing went to lunch along with most of the other therapists. As a result, I was able to meet a few OTs (occupational therapists). One was working with a patient Ms. Crane who had polio as a child. One result was a differing in the lengths of her legs. Through the years this put strain on her hips and back. Mr. Crane recently had 4 different surgeries on her back and a hip replaced. I sat and talked to her as she strengthened her back and leg muscles on a bike.
Also during the lunch hour I was able to meet an OT who was working with a patient Ms. Birdy (not real name). Ms. Birdy was in Haiti during the earthquake and got a spinal cord injuring. Ms. Birdy is young and only speaks Creole. It was interesting to see the OT communicate with Ms. Birdy and help her learn English and also learn ADLs. We strengthened arm muscles and practices transferring from her wheelchair to a bed or chair. Despite Ms. Birdy's language barrier and lack of familial support, she was so sweet and strong. Throughout the session she would tell us that she spake Spanish or Danish and would laugh as she spoke the few words in the language that she knew. I am not sure how to came to be in Gainesville but I am glad she is receiving so much assistance and is making so much progress.
My experience at Shands Rehab hospital was amazing and I am excited to return on Tuesday!
Our first patient, lets call him Mr. Frog, had recently undergone heart surgery. We were asked to take special cardiac precautions which included frequently taking his vitals to insure that he was getting enough oxygen and that his heart rate was normal. Since his ribs were separated and Mr. Frog has a large incision across his chest we were also supposed to make sure he knew not to use his arms. Have you ever thought how difficult it would be to not use your arms during your ADLs (activities of daily living)?! Well it is hard! We mostly concentrated on regaining endurance and making sure that Mr. Frog knew the safe and correct ways to get in and out of bed without using his arms. We walked all through the hospital and used a bike to increase endurance. Mr. Frog was an excellent patient and really pushed himself to be able to return to health.
The next patient had a spinal cord injury around the T10 level. Lets call her Ms. Chick. Ms. Chick had made excellent progress over the previous week and we practiced transferring from her wheelchair into a bed. We also worked on increasing her range of motion and leg strength through leg lifts. The physical therapist mentioned that she could safely maneuver around the potential obstacles in her house and so would soon be returning home.
Ms. Mouse (again, not real name) had recently had her 5th stroke. With assistance and a lot of encouragement, Ms. Mouse was able to walk her longest distances of 90ft and then an additional 40 ft. She also was able to lift her feet more instead of shuffling them. Again, we also monitored her vitals frequently and when we found that her blood pressure was high, we informed the nurse and rested.
For the purposes of this entry, lets call the next patient Mr. Gator. Mr Gator was such a funny man. When I first met him, he told me that nothing was wrong with his body and that the only reason he was in Shands Rehab Hospital was because he was a spy! He was one of the most entertaining patients, but his story is also one of the saddest. Mr. Gator is an elderly man who lives with his wife. He had been in excellent health until suddenly his wife noticed that he seemed confused and disoriented. Upon getting to Shands Hospital, they found that his brain had swelled. Through the course of his hospital stay, his muscles deteriorated and he became very weak. Since he lives only with his wife, the goal of his stay at Shands Rehab is for him to be able to move around his house and care for himself. Mr. Gator is a new patient and so we spent a lot of time learning the proper procedure of transferring from wheelchair to walker to chair/bed. Mr. Gator is still a little disoriented and so it took a while for him to understand what needed to be done. We also needed to remind him frequently where he was and why he was there. Mr. Gator was freezing through the majority of his therapy and so I suggested that we might walk outside. The PT thought that was an excellent idea and when presented to Mr. Gator, he was very excited and enjoyed the walk despite his fatigue.
During the lunch hour, the PT that I had been shadowing went to lunch along with most of the other therapists. As a result, I was able to meet a few OTs (occupational therapists). One was working with a patient Ms. Crane who had polio as a child. One result was a differing in the lengths of her legs. Through the years this put strain on her hips and back. Mr. Crane recently had 4 different surgeries on her back and a hip replaced. I sat and talked to her as she strengthened her back and leg muscles on a bike.
Also during the lunch hour I was able to meet an OT who was working with a patient Ms. Birdy (not real name). Ms. Birdy was in Haiti during the earthquake and got a spinal cord injuring. Ms. Birdy is young and only speaks Creole. It was interesting to see the OT communicate with Ms. Birdy and help her learn English and also learn ADLs. We strengthened arm muscles and practices transferring from her wheelchair to a bed or chair. Despite Ms. Birdy's language barrier and lack of familial support, she was so sweet and strong. Throughout the session she would tell us that she spake Spanish or Danish and would laugh as she spoke the few words in the language that she knew. I am not sure how to came to be in Gainesville but I am glad she is receiving so much assistance and is making so much progress.
My experience at Shands Rehab hospital was amazing and I am excited to return on Tuesday!
Past Volunteer Experiences
In the past I have volunteered at the UF Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine Institute in Gainesville. While there, I was in the sports medicine department. Mostly I shadowed the doctors as they met with patients. The doctors would usually take x-rays and then discuss diagnosis's and treatment options. My other responsibilities were to make files, bring patients to rooms, deliver supplies, and print x-rays.
http://www.ortho.ufl.edu/
The next semester I volunteered at the Pediatric Clinic at Magnolia Park. I really enjoyed getting to know the children and watching them progress. It was a great learning experience and I was able to form an excellent relationship with the physical therapist. I also learned that although I love children, I would prefer to work with adults in the rehabilitation setting.
http://www.shands.org/hospitals/uf/public/volunteer/clinicalService.asp#rehab
http://www.ortho.ufl.edu/
The next semester I volunteered at the Pediatric Clinic at Magnolia Park. I really enjoyed getting to know the children and watching them progress. It was a great learning experience and I was able to form an excellent relationship with the physical therapist. I also learned that although I love children, I would prefer to work with adults in the rehabilitation setting.
http://www.shands.org/hospitals/uf/public/volunteer/clinicalService.asp#rehab
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