Hello all! Returning to my project after spring break brought a pleasantly calm week. By that I mean no patients pranking me and minimal construction work on the new building, although one of the techs did tell me I was rude when I walked in with my coffee without bringing her one. I guess what I’m saying is that working at CAP is feeling more and more normal. This comfort has allowed me to interact more knowledgeably with the patients, even answering their questions about their exercise routines and the general physical therapy. Feeling pretty accomplished, I was probably walking around the office looking like this:
Unfortunately, I walked into my first shift not knowing what my research question for the week would be. Not the most accomplished. However, after hearing one of the patients say he would be back to give his therapist a gift even though he had finished his last therapy session, I decided to focus on another patient-based question. This particular patient remembered my name after I told him once, and before he left he wished me luck on getting into the colleges we had talked about two weeks prior!
The question for this week (inspired by the very kind knee-rehab patient): just how important is a good relationship between patients and therapists/techs for the therapy process?
Although this isn’t necessarily knee and hip injury specific, I think looking further into the patient-therapist interaction is crucial for my research about treatment specialization and individuation. One of the things I’ve noticed throughout the past weeks is how friendly all the patients are, regardless of their pain levels or anxiousness to finish their therapy. Even though some of the patients are not always in the best mood, they thank their techs and therapists and engage in conversation either with the techs or even the other patients.
I think the comfortable relationship reduces patient apprehension about their rehab. Especially for post-operative patients, the majority of their doctor’s visits aren’t necessarily as upbeat and enjoyable as the physical therapy appointments they have. Much of the effort at the office goes into ensuring that the patients will go through their rehab with minimal pain, which I think along with the interactions with the techs/therapists creates an enjoyable therapy process.
Within the final weeks, I will be seeing if I can sit in on an initial patient evaluation to see exactly how the therapy regimens for knee and hip patients are made. Until then, I will continue with my observations of patient-therapist interaction and routine specialization. See you next week!
It's great to hear that you're getting on well with the patients. From a customer service side, are most people who come to your site recommended by physicians to your specific location? Have you ever had people leave for another site because they weren't getting the treatment they wanted?
ReplyDeleteSounds like another great week at the site. How often and how much time do the patients have to interact with one another as far as you have observed? I'm looking forward to next weeks post!
ReplyDeleteHi Carla! Do you mostly interact with the patients, or do you also do other tasks? It sounds like it had been an enjoyable week
ReplyDeleteHey Carla! It's nice that the patients are friendly and interactive even though they may be going through a difficult time. Have you seen any patients that have acted rude or unpleasant? How do the therapists/techs react and deal with those patients?
ReplyDeleteIt's cool to see that you turned the tables a bit and focused on the other side of the therapy--the patients. Do they take any specific precautions or measures to make sure that the patient is as comfortable as possible, besides a friendly attitude? Are there any techniques of therapy they don't use because it would be uncomfortable to the patient?
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see that despite therapy sessions being "physical", emotional factors play a big role as well. On average, how long does it take clients to get comfortable around their therapists? Has there ever been a case where an ill-behaved client had their treatment stagnated due to their emotional state? Looking forward to next week's post!
ReplyDeleteHello Carla!!!! It is so interesting to hear about your experience this week. How have the interactions between patients differed from each other, specifically on the emotional side?
ReplyDeleteHi! One question. Is there any patient that does not bond well with the therapist? If so, why?
ReplyDeleteHello Carla! It certainly is strange that visits to the hospital are stressful, but visits to physical therapy are enjoyable. Do you think that hospitals could learn from physical therapy's model?
ReplyDeleteHi Carla! Your question this week was very interesting! Do you have any expectations for the initial patient evaluation?
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