the rapport whore strikes again- day 3!

Day 3 and lots to report. My caseload has increased to 7 treatment sessions today! My first patient, the woman post stroke with right sided hemiplegia, aphasia (inability to process language, for more click http://www.aphasia.org/), and apraxia (difficulty controlling movements) is really coming along! Today she smiled at herself in the mirror and began using her left hand to clean her face. Ahh, the simple sweet power of intrinsically motivated occupation. Later in the day she sat unsupported at the edge of the bed for 30 minutes- I was completely amazed! Then she began to attempt to tell us something, "I want to bathe in the water." She became frustrated with our inability to comprehend and then the ah-ha moment! As we attempted to transfer her to the wheelchair I noticed signs that she had a little accident. The poor woman had gone to the bathroom and then sat in it while she tried to explain to us the situation. It all came together!

More excitement happened after lunch while I was covering a patient for another therapist. This 62 year old woman who was being treated for COPD exacerbation did not look thrilled to see me. She had just cut her chin while shaving the tiny hairs on her chin and was now lying flat on her back attempting to reach the tissues by her bedside without sucess. However, through the session she began to unfold and we really connected in a very therapeutic way. You see, I am a rapport whore. I love it and will pretty much do anything to get it. And the payoff was tremendous- by the end she was sitting up in her chair and looked like a different woman. "Wow, you just got me to do a bunch of things that I thought I'd never be able to do or want to do." As Midge would say, "That's stealth OT." As it actually so happened Midge was treating the patient in the next bed. After I left, my patient pulled Midge aside and mentioned how she'd been listening to Midge as she worked with her neighbor (see Midge is fun to listen to with her British accent). Then she said, "You know, it's funny, if that girl (me) had a British accent, I think you'd sound exactly the same. Your treatment styles are so similar." HA!

Lastly I finished up my eval with a 72 year old man, recently diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome with pancytopenia. Hmm, don't worry- i had to look this one up too! It's a blood disorder in which there is a dysfunction in the production of blood cells, thus a shortage of red & white cells and platlets. It is treatable with drugs and transfusions, but can lead to leukemia. Hopefully all will go well for Mr. W, in the meantime I hope to establish some rapport.

my first day!

the wait is over and the work has begun. today began my career. i can now walk into a room and introduce myself as an occupational therapist. it has the similiar feel to driving a car all by yourself for the first time. and i'm sure over the years it will become as routine as driving a car, but hopefully a very exiting hot car- like a 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB (which sold for 13.7 million in 2005- i've recently gotten into watching vintage car auctions).

anyway, back to the matter at hand- my first day. well first things first, the commute- can't get much better than living 1.3 miles from work. the car didn't even have a chance to warm up on the way there. then generally my day went like this... started out with basic orientation bruhaha, then human resource paperwork, and then my first patient (who was too tired to actually do therapy- dialysis is such a drain!) after lunch i became familiar with our computer based eval then put to use with my first official eval as an OT! very interesting case, which i'm too tired to go into, but i'm sure you'll hear details later. basically we've got a elderly woman post stroke who cannot speak, but can follow simple directions so she has some receptive language capabilities (in layman's terms).

the highlight of today was the surprise visit of a gentleman who wandered into the gym. he was a former patient who had returned for a stroke support meeting and wanted to thank his therapists 5 years since his stroke. "i took my first steps right here!" his enthusiasm and gratitude was the perfect blessing for my first day. hope that 5 years from now i can drive to work in my 1972 Ferrari and be greeted by such inspiration. fuel in the tank.

still waiting

i've color coordinated my closet. i've made it to yoga or to the gym every day. i've slept 8 hours every night. i've listened to NPR morning edition 4 days in a row. i'm organized, well rested, and all updated on politics. enough is enough people! put me to work!

every day i wait by the computer or the mailbox, just hoping that something might appear. it's really enough to make you crazy. i can't plan out my week. heck, i can't plan out the next day until 6pm and i'm sure nothing else is coming in the mail. my anxiety is peaking.

of course i'm not the only one who's life this delayed piece of paper is tragically ruining (slight dramatization). the effect is magnified by the thousands, seriously. i'm not carrying a caseload, therefore, every one has to cover for me. this means each therapist is probably seeing 10-12 patients daily, ultimately leading to burnout. the patients' care could be affected, which could impact their families lives. And what about the lives of the burnout therapists' families! it's one giant mess i tell ya.

but i'll also tell you this- my empathy meter is sharply rising. this is exactly (or closely) how patients must feel. waiting to hear from the doctor about their test results. waiting for the foley to come out. waiting to know if they're going home or to a nursing home. and of course they may also be sweating their impact on others lives- physically, mentally, and financially.

okay so now that i've learned that lesson and my empathy meter is at 99%, can i start work now?

waiting

If you are an OT student, reading this post could save you much anxiety. Well, at least help you anticipate the anxiety. Okay, actually this may prematurely create anxiety and probably shouldn't be read at all. But let me just tell you- going through the licensing process is long, tedious, and confusing! Here's been my experience so far... Finished fieldwork Dec. 14th, NBCOT closed Dec 15th (until Jan 3rd)! Meaning no online applications, no processing of paperwork, nothing. I setup my start date at my new job for Jan. 14th (today), but am still awaiting the arrival of my temp license which was held-up due to NBCOT's convenient 3 week closure. So basically I may be missing out on a week's pay and this month's orientation because someone hasn't gotten to my file yet which is just sitting on their next. Not that I'm placing blame, directly, I understand that Sally the assistant has 45 other files to review, but are they all supposed to start work today? My guess is no.

Phew. Needed to get that out. It's just so frustrating- checking my email every hour of every day to see if I've gotten the temp license numbers and not knowing when I'll actually start, could be tomorrow, could be next week. But I suppose things could be worse. I'm not totally strapped for cash (thanks to the $8 million in student loans) and I do get some extra days off. Good practice in learning to enjoy the moment and attempting to appreciate this current state of limbo.

life in the off season

i'm into week 3 now of my month off between the end of fieldwork and the start of my career. next week i hope to sit for the exam. yikes! i've put in a little study time (2 hours) but hope to really crunch it out in the next few days, in between unloading boxes of course. i'm moving tomorrow!

life is really about to change. new year. new place. new career. new body (i'm in the middle of a major detox after the holidays). but same old blog. have no fear, this nonsense is going to continue right through 2008!