This morning while I was walking a patient, I overheard another patient walking behind us. She was telling the CNA taking her to the dining room that she recognized me from the weekend. She was upset with me because I came to take her to therapy and she refused. Her daughter was coming later that day and she didn't want to get up. I don't know ...

Recently I took on another challenge, writing a CEU module. When I agreed to do it, I thought no problem. This is what I teach. I already have an outline and references. I can just fill in the words. After I started writing, I realized something. When I teach, I have lots of material to cover so spend little time on any one thing. The CEU module ...

Last week I questioned what the definition of skilled therapy was. I had worked with several patients the previous weekend whose only deficit was the need for supervision. I've realized I wasn't clear in describing those patients. All of them had been on caseload for a while. Previous safety issues, such as Berg and Tinetti scores, had been ...

I've been noticing a disturbing trend lately. More and more facilities are considering the need for supervision as a need for skilled therapy. Back in the day, patients referred to SNFs and outpatient had an obvious need. They had trouble walking. They couldn't transfer. They'd recently undergone total joint replacement. The knowledge and skill of ...

One of the presentations I attended at CSM discussed ways to increase motor learning by empowering the patient. They gave an example where one group of patients was asked to help decide which picture to hand in the waiting room prior to assessment. The other group just did the balance test. The patients who participated in picking the picture did ...

Now that I'm home from CSM, I've had an opportunity to process all of the information. Most of the presentations were excellent. Those that weren't purely theoretical had a common theme. We have to maximize what we do because we're spending less and less time with patients. We have less time to spend because there isn't money to pay for our ...

SAN DIEGO -- Just like my fellow ADVANCE blogger Lauren, I'll be attending the APTA Combined Sections Meeting in San Diego. CSM happens this week so I'm already in my hotel. I've registered and picked up my materials. I attended my pre-conference workshop on item writing. I'm ready for things to begin. Unlike most of my fellow therapists, the ...

Because I ride horses competitively, I spend many hours taking lessons. Just like my patients, I'm trying to learn and master motor skills. Sometimes I get it right, sometimes not. This morning it hit me how similar my learning experiences are to those of my patients. I heard myself saying exactly the same thing to a frustrated patient that ...

Yesterday I heard something that's still bothering me. I was evaluating a woman. Her husband told me the following. He couldn't tell me when the problem started, just that for the past few weeks she couldn't sit up without leaning on something. He had been taking care of her at home and calling a grandson to help move her. Finally he couldn't do ...

One of our residents has a well-known grandson. For several years, he starred as one of the Chandlers on the soap opera, ''All My Children.'' There are autographed pictures of him throughout the facility from his last visit. When I started working there, I was told he occasionally drops by to visit his grandmother. Today was the day he stopped ...