P4R1W1: PreClinical Week

Stolen off somebody else's physio blog - I can't remember which.

On the road again!

The students placed in Nelson made their way to Chch for the two preclinical weeks. Most of us carpooled, which for the cost of fuel and the 4.5h drive, made the trip a lot easier. We stopped at Maruia Falls - an epic waterfall, which seems to be popular with the white-water kayakers! Upon arriving in Chch (on the Sunday before class began) we had a group BBQ to catch up on the summer so far. Preclinical weeks allow us to complete administration tasks and tutorials ready for the clinical placement ahead. Preclinical weeks are usually last one week, however because there's a lot of administration things to get our heads around, this first one is two week duration.

Maruia Falls, on the way from Nelson to Christchurch

Sunday 31st Jan, BBQ in Christchurch at a peer's house.

It soon became apparent that cycling was the best transport option for commuting, however I didn't bring my bike (I carpooled). Christchurch has a superb bus system, however it isn't exactly cheap to use and some trips may take twice to thrice as long as it would take to drive. The main problem when taking your own car is parking around Christchurch Hospital. There is a lack of free parking spots. Deans Ave is usually a safe bet if you get there early enough, and Hagley Park carpark is free for three hours - this means that you can come back after three hours (say, during your lunch break) and shift your car (and rub out the parking wardens chalk markings from your front tires). This is how we managed parking on Monday.

Our 2016 student ID's were sent to Chch!

^Walkway through Hagley Park / Christchurch Botanic Gardens / by the Avon River.

 ^We spent a lot of time based at the Christchurch School of Medicine.

Classes on Monday were at Christchurch Hospital / Otago School of Medicine. The morning focused on administration stuff (those of us from Nelson had returned these forms to our DHB a few weeks ago) and introductions. We were given verbal instructions to locate the library, computer suit and cafes in close proximity to the School of Medicine / Chch Hospital. The afternoon was more of the same - we found out where we were placed for rotation one, and whom we were working on our research project with. I'm lucky to be placed on my neuro rotation at the AT&R (Assesssment, Treatment & Rehabilitation) unit at Nelson Hospital. We finished day one with a bit of team building challenge 'who can build the tallest tower out of spaghetti and marshmallows' (the winner wasn't my research group). 

Tuesday classes were located at St John of God Hospital and the theme of the day was learning about ourselves - we completed a few psychometric questionnaires about our personalities and learning styles. Furthermore, we discussed strategies that would open communication lines and build rapport with people of different personalities and learning styles. Useful stuff. The staff put on a spread for lunch. There were a few interesting points for me on this day:

• The memory task we began the day with which put reading and remembering patient notes into perspective.
• Taking the Myers Briggs test and learning how we can best collaborate with others of different personality types. We had a few good laughs and looked at Harry Potter characters purported to fit each of the personality types (I was Neville Longbottom). My personality is the ISFJ-A. Check out http://www.16personalities.com/ for a short version.
• For the learning style we used the Index of Learning Style Questionnaire. I discovered that I sit around the 1a/b and 3a/b - pretty much on the fence as the continuum goes to either 7a or the opposite 7b.

Outdoor space designed specifically for people with disabilities.

Wednesday was again at a different location - Princess Margret Hospital. In the morning I was shadowing a neurological physiotherapist. This will be the only time I will be in a clinical situation and not have to do anything, answer any questions, etc - only have to fill out a form and fill in a reflective statement. In the afternoon, we focused on our observation skills with the aim to observe normal / abnormal movement strategies on our peers and with patients with neurological conditions.

Half of the physio gym on ward 3a

Princess Margaret Hospital

Another day, another location. Thursday was a boiling 32degC outside, and by 3pm we were feeling the heat inside too. Our location was on Mandeville Street in Chch. We shown what was expected for us to submit in our portfolios and had a workshop on documentation. I got to meet our clinical educator too - she flew down from Nelson.

 

On Friday we were back at the School of Medicine. The Christchurch group were given their internet and intranet access codes and shown how to access electronic public health records. Strict policies prevent us from deviating from privacy laws. Interestingly we aren't even allowed to access our own health records. Later we had a lecture from a doctor about introducing ourselves the patient. He made us aware of the campaign #HelloMyNameIs. Have a read about it here: http://hellomynameis.org.uk/

In the afternoon we had a clinical supervisor from the Barrington Clinic (branch of the School of Physiotherapy clinics) talk to us about their expectations for fourth year students. Following on from this, we had some new University of Otago graduates now working as physiotherapists for the Christchurch District Health Board talk to us about their experiences of fourth year - very reassuring.

Student lounge at the Chch School of Medicine... we have door access too!

Rolleston Lecture Theatre at Chch School of Medicine

We have five papers / rotations this year.
PHTY455 - Musculoskeletal
PHTY456 - Neuro-rehabilitation
PHTY457 - Tertiary care
PHTY458 - Community rehabilitation
PHTY459 - Research

The order of rotations, for me, are: Neuro --> Research --> MSK --> Community --> Tertiary.

Obviously there were many more important messages and processes for fourth year to get our minds around, but it's not within the scope of this blog.

Year four is about relationships: the relationships with colleagues, our peers, educators, supervisors, patients and of course ourselves.

Waitangi weekend antics to come!