There ain’t no “I” in Team
Please don't think I've lost my mind after seeing the grammatical error in today's title. I'm sure this is a phrase you may have heard before, maybe associated with a sports team or as something the coach might yell at one of his hot-shot players. But what if we relate it to how a team of therapists work together in the clinic?
This is a concept that would not only be a benefit to the patients, but it could help us in many ways. Just as a team depends on each other for covering specific positions, each team of therapists could depend on each other for many different assists throughout the day.
Mainly, this would concern patients and scheduling. If the disciplines can set an approximate schedule for seeing a patient, PT could finish their treatment, pass the person to OT or Speech, and treatments for the patient run consecutive. The patient needs only one trip to the clinic for the day, so transport time is also reduced. By the same token, the OT patient can be passed off to the PT or Speech discipline as needed. The biggest concern here is the patient's endurance level. Some may not be able to tolerate being in the clinic for that long of time. Some may not tolerate having so much activity in such a short amount of time. The discipline completing the first treatment will have to realize this and allow the patient to conserve energy for the following discipline.
With disciplines doing treatments back to back, this also provides an excellent situation for the disciplines to work together to address common goals. At the end of treatments, and with two therapists present, could be a good time to work on some higher level standing and balance activities. One therapist could assist the patient and the other therapist could provide a dynamic activity for the patient.
Another part of being a team is to recognize the strengths and weaknesses of other team members. Everyone has certain things that they enjoy doing and are better at than others. So if one therapist is good at positioning, then the majority of the caseload that requires this should be delegated to that person.
And as much as the team should be discussing patient progress with each other on a regular basis, it helps to see how the patient responds and reacts to certain activities. Having two disciplines working together with one patient provides this opportunity. This allows us to assess how the patient is progressing in other areas, and with this knowledge makes it easier for each discipline to adjust goals to benefit the patient.
So working as a team can be a win-win situation. I find that when everyone plays fair, things really run smoother, patients are happier, and it's an easier day for us.
Until next time, hope all your thoughts are good,
Tim