One Week Down, 17 More To Go

January 23, 2014
by Ryan

Fieldwork

Well, I have finished my first week of my last semester of school! (I am probably going to use that phrase a lot because it sounds so great . . . “my last semester!”) I am very excited about my classes. I have loved how our schedules have been set up for us so far this past year and a half, but it is really nice to be in classes that I have chosen. There is a different excitement about each class. Yesterday, I had my first clinical observation at Keck Medical Center for my Acute Care course I am taking. I was a little nervous at first because I haven’t spent a lot of time in hospitals, but that is why I signed up for this course! Last semester, I completed my Level I Fieldwork for Adult Rehab in a hand clinic so I wasn’t able to see a big variety of diagnoses.

I really enjoyed my experience at Keck. The beginning of the morning was spent completing our orientation and filling out paper work. Then I was able to shadow Dr. Don Gordon who is a practicing therapist at Keck and has been a guest lecture for two of my classes since I’ve been in the program. He is very nice and an engaging speaker so I was happy to hang out with him yesterday as well as see him in action. It was great! I saw three patients with a variety of reasons for being in the hospital; one individual had recent spinal surgery, another person had gastrointestinal problems, and then I saw a man living with liver dysfunction and Hepatitis. Observing Dr. Gordon, I truly saw a client-centered approach with each patient we saw. He does a wonderful job sitting to talk and listen to his patients. Each person had their own difficulties that were causing them discomfort but I could see how they all appreciated the time we took to just talk and hear about who they were. The focus was not only on their physical impairments but also on the things or people in their lives before coming to the hospital or even before they were sick or had any pain. I left very uplifted and inspired! I love OT!!! (Another phrase I think I use a lot, but I mean it . . . I LOVE OT!!).

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