P4R5W2: Orthopaedic Physio

My tertiary physiotherapy placement will be divided into two main areas. The first week was on the orthopaedic ward. The next five weeks will be spent on the surgical ward. As an added bonus, I've shadowed a paediatric ward patient (we played games in the AT&R gym), and had my first medical ward patient. I have also spent some time on the surgical ward earlier in the week. It seems like I might get a bit of everything in small quantities over the next few weeks.

I've got back into the swing of things. The 8am rounds with the surgeons / orthopods and charge nurse (printing off my own handover sheet and annotating it from the previous day). Teaching people how to use frames and crutches. Liaising with the nurses and checking obs charts. Patient education. Listening to patients and their lungs (not at the same time). Writing notes and entering in the days work in Trendcare (a statistical software that tracks patients and the services they have received).  

I've had plenty of great moments with my supervisors, and other staff at the hospital. My supervisor has a great sense of humor, she introduced me to the 'Care Principle', an acronym that stands for 'Cover ass, retain employment'. Simply this means to tie up all loose ends (figuratively) and do a thorough job.

I've had some experience with the Arjo and standing hoists, ROM knee braces, ERAS (enhanced recovery after surgery) total hip replacements... I even encountered an Airvo humidifier. There's a continuous passive motion device that I'm eyeing up for next week (maybe)! I was fortunate to join the Occupational Therapists for a half-hour excursion to deliver home equipment to a patient's house ready for their discharge in the weekend. This opened my eyes to the amount we assume when a patient tells us there is a ramp or stairs in their house. The patients house we visited had a nice ramp that led directly onto small pebbles, with a step down to the driveway... we didn't hear about the pebbles, which will make using the low walking frame interesting! Another patient we saw lived in a house-bus and another patient wasn't able to safely use crutches up the stairs, so we taught one to bottom shuffle up and down the stairs and suggested the other find alternative accommodation for a few weeks.

All fourth year students will have received an email that looks like this and feel quite excited! I've got neuro to repeat, so that will be done next year in Feb (so I won't be graduating this time around).

Not all fourth year students will have received an email that looks like this. I'm hoping the CHCH based research group members decide to go along - it'll be great for them!

The weekend was spent studying and seeing more of the scenery around Nelson... My flatmates and I went to Cobb Valley for a day tramping excursion!