Preparing For the Workday
How do you prepare for your workday? Do you have a resource file of handouts for the many different things that you teach the patients you treat?
This question came up for me in regards to my own work as I read through the Forum. http://Community.advanceweb.com/forums/28/ShowForum.aspx
I found a post http://Community.advanceweb.com/forums/thread/28190.aspx written by an OT who talked about an "acute care overload." At the facility where she worked it was common to evaluate a patient and then the patient was discharged before meeting treatment goals because there wasn't even time to see the patient! The evaluation without further treatment was important even if the patient was quickly discharged in that it was a helpful determination of the patient's functional level. She was wondering if the process of writing the treatment goals could be avoided due to this fast turnaround. I am guessing because it would be faster for an overextended evaluator to eliminate a long list of goals if they would not be accomplished before discharge.
I love the answer provided by OT Tim Mancino. http://www.ot4life.com/ He says that he usually writes a goal for patient education and that actual treatment goal can begin during the evaluation. He uses handouts and he documents in the evaluation that the treatment intervention was initiated. That was a simple solution but it was quite an effective suggestion for that specific situation.
It made me think about a couple of different issues, helping patients to understand the therapy process at the initial meeting, and how to prepare for our day in regards to having some "hard copy" handouts already prepared.
It is often true that the initial period of time in acute care, home care or a skilled nursing facility can be a chaotic time for the patients. Add into this chaotic mix the evaluation from OT and often times other disciplines' evaluations. In order to reinforce patient education, the addition of handouts, a visual component of patient education, could be very helpful.
(We all know that the handouts could later be found set aside, but let us think positively!) Therefore, especially if our contact is a one-time occurrence as in an evaluation-only situation, we can leave behind with the patient the activation of the recovery process.
This brings me back to my initial question about preparing for the workday. What are the points that you want to add to each person's learning? Is there a common denominator that would be easy to disseminate when you meet with the patient? I always like to teach diaphragmatic breathing to many of my patients. I could use those instructions as a handout that could be universal. Another example of a handout that could be used for almost all new patients could be in an outpatient setting. It could be helpful to have in writing what is expected from them to achieve their goals, such as good attendance, equipment to purchase, the home exercise program or tasks to practice.
Anytime this is put in writing, it can reinforce what is said as well as make the whole new language or jargon of therapy clearer to those who may not know what we are talking about!
That one reply on the forum from Tim has me thinking about my specific work. There are several aspects to the therapeutic treatment plan that are usually new to the patient; therefore, they may not take in all of the information taught to them at the evaluation session. In a perfect world I would have a flyer or handout for each person newly evaluated as to what they may expect from the therapy and also what is expected of them.
Lymphedema treatment is not a passive process; the patient or a designated family member has to put forth effort to carry over the treatment in between visits. Therapy for the most part is an active process. Therefore, I plan to think about how to improve the learning curve for the patients as well as make each interaction with the patient as productive as possible.
I would love to hear how you approach handouts, and if you are able to use a "universal" handout. Do you print up your exercise programs for each person?
With these questions in mind, how do you prepare for your day?
I look forward to hearing back from you,
Lorraine