Support Groups
Since I have been interning at this hospital, I've been involved with two support groups for our patients- the Amputation Support Group and the Stroke Support Group. Each group has a list of about 40 participants, and anywhere from 5-30 people show up at the monthly meetings. Weather, of course, is an issue for participation, as is remember what day the meeting is on! (If something only happens monthly, I would have a tendency to forget as well.)
Each of these groups meets monthly to talk about different topics related to their injuries. For the amputation group, there was a patient in the hospital who came down, just a few weeks after his below-the-knee amputation. The other members of the group welcomed him and answered a lot of his questions about getting around, how his new leg feels, and phantom pains. It was very interesting to see how the group worked together. For the stroke support group, we discussed balance exercises and the risk of falls- a lively discussion that ended with a group trial of the Nintendo Wii game!
The interesting thing is, in 3 years of PT school, we never once discussed support groups. I can't remember talking about them and the impact they have on patients. I still have a lot to learn.
What about you? Any other support groups out there that seem to have a positive impact in your community?