This week was a challenging week for my rehab patient. She had just come back from break where she had her wisdom teeth removed. Her first few days back she was struggling really hard to manage the pain. She canceled her rehab on Monday due to pain. She did come in on Tuesday, but she was noticeably exhausted. She struggled through the rehab I had made for her. I didn’t believe it was hard for her at all. I took into account that she would be in pain and made it easy for her. While she did not tell me she thought it was hard during the rehab, I later found out that she perceived it to be extremely difficult. This led to her canceling on Wednesday as well. She came in on Thursday and still seemed tired and worn out. This rehab I had for her was significantly simplified. All I had her do was: single leg figure 8 jumps, drop calf raises, cone drill, plank, ankle 4 ways. After these exercises, I did a massage on her calves to reduce tightness and I did an ultra sound on arches to help with her plantar fasciitis. Then on Friday she came in and Chaypin had created a rehab for her that was much more challenging than the one I had. We did the more challenging rehab and she completed it perfectly fine with no reported pain or discomfort. She seemed to be in a better mental state and seemed like she was in a lot less pain than she had been over the whole week.
What I learned over this week is to be able to listen and observe the patient to understand and accommodate to the patient’s needs. It was clear that she was in pain and miserable on the first couple days of the week even she did not tell me she was tired or in pain. It is very important to communicate. There was a lack of communication on my patient’s side. For the future I know I will have to encourage her to be more communicative. Steps I have taken to make this easier is to be a good listener for her and I gave her my cell phone number so that if she has questions or needs to reschedule I am easily reachable to her. This week I have two attempts and one mastery.
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When I graduate and I am licensed I see myself working in a performing arts setting. This can be anywhere from stunt doubles, ballet, Disneyland performers, Cirque Du Soleil, and Drum Corp International. I have always enjoyed performing arts. This stems from me being in marching band from middle school to college. I also have a great appreciation for other arts and how physical and taxing they can be on the body. Therefore, my dream job is to be able to enjoy the art my patients create and know that I was a key part in being able to keep the performer healthy. A normal day in my career would include preparing the performers for their upcoming show and maintaining their bodies to be in peak performance. Because performers can be any age my patient population can vary greatly. I find this aspect to be very exciting because I would be able to apply so much more of my knowledge in one setting. In one day I may be working on a 15-year-old, 20-year-old, and 30-year-old. While many injuries and prevention will be similar, there will also be other considerations to take into account. Many of these athletic trainers also travel with their patients. Something I have always wanted to do is travel and see new places. This setting would give me the opportunity to work and do what I enjoy and see the world at the same time. In order for this to become a reality I have to do something to put myself into a position to get an opportunity. So far I have applied to an internship with Drum Corp International and I have been looking for other summer internships to get me connected to the type of people to make my career come true. Other things I have been doing is trying to keep my grades up and raise my GPA in order to get into the grad school of my choice. I am also working hard to become a good clinician so when I am certified I will be able to be more reliant on my skills rather than being doubtful on my decisions.
This week I had 7 attempts and 2 masteries. This year National Athletic Training Association has created, “Compassionate Care for All” as the slogan for National Athletic Training Month. I really like this slogan because I am already a naturally compassionate person, so I feel this is like a goal I can truly follow through on. I’m the kind of person that doesn’t doubt how a person feels. If a person tells me something is wrong I will want to help them, this is our job after all. I have heard other people say, “so-and-so is only here because they want the attention, they don’t have anything wrong with them.” There is a possibility this could be true, but we should also be some of the first people to see signs of psychiatric changes in our athletes too.
I think it’s important for athletic trainers and all health care providers to be compassionate towards their patients. We have all experienced a “bad doctor”. I feel like a large component to a bad doctor is a lack of compassion and attention to the patient. Anyone who feels like they are just pushed through isn’t going to feel cared for. This is especially important for athletic trainers. It’s possible that if one athlete you treat doesn’t feel cared for with you they could tell other people about their experience. This could be detrimental to both the athletic trainer and the whole sports team. Compassionate care for all sends a message that we care no matter what and we have a holistic approach. An athlete isn’t just an ACL tear, they are a human being with a soul and emotions and we should treat them as such. This week I had 10 attempts in my clinical packet. |
This is where I do my weekly clinical blog assignment. There is either a prompt I am responding to, or I just talk about something exciting I saw during the week.
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April 2019
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