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March 16, 2010

Following My Mid-Term Evaluation

I'm trying to integrate some of the feedback that I received from my mid-term evaluation into my patient care. One area for improvement is efficiency. Efficiency is define as the ability to perform in a cost-effective and timely manner. The grading rubric discusses how the student should develop: As the student progresses through clinical education experiences, efficiency should progress from a high expenditure of time and effort to economical and timely performance.
I know that because I am new with patient care that I am slow. My patient interviews are slow, my hands-on examination is slower. But thanks to experience as a tech this summer, I should be able to put a patient (or two) through their exercise routine fairly efficiently. For me, this means cutting down on socializing.

Oh yes, that gift of gab is coming back to haunt me. Honestly, how easy is it for a patient to concentrate on counting how many reps they have done in a set, if I'm talking their ears off? How well will my patient be able to concentrate on doing their exercises correctly if they're telling me about a vexing situation in their life? How well can I educate them about why an exercise is important for managing their back pain, if they're talking on their BlueTooth? Not very.

So I'm working on being cordial and friendly, but not initiating unnecessary conversation. I achieved a small victory today when a patient arrived in a hurry. They wanted to be out of their appointment in a half hour so I had them on their way at half past the hour. My CI congratulated me. Honestly, the credit goes to the patient who was highly motivated, not only because they had someplace they needed to be, but because if they exercised for too long, they would be in pain.

My challenge will be the patients who I have established a rapport with, who want to take their time and make their PT a social experience. I must figure out a way to encourage them through the process without making them feel rushed or unwelcome. For those patients whose appointments are inclined to stretch out to two hours (oh my productivity rating!!), even shaving off a half hour is a victory for taking control of the situation.

Next time, I'll tackle another issue sited in my mid-term evaluation that many of my long-term readers will recognize and likely deal with every day.

Posted by linda at March 16, 2010 6:15 PM