Hi Ron! I think it is important that both of you (and the other therapist) must have the opportunity to meet and make out the best for your patient. I agree with your methods and I also think that the other therapist also has good intensions in his/her approach. I think it would be nice to combine both in a funtional activity which your patient would really be interested in. Try checking what your patients old and new insterests are and from there start on. Being an OT is a huge resposibility, it encompases not only the physical problems of the patient but also others areas...that is why treating patients in my point of view should be wholistic.
PAM
>From: Ron Carson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>Subject: Question on Practice
>Date: Sun, 5 May 2002 13:18:04 -0400
>
>I do some volunteer work at a local adult day care center which primarily
>houses clients with dementia. Additionally, I also take students there for
>group treatment intervention. The facility only uses OT on a PRN basis when
>it's ordered by a physician. There is no in-house OT or PT services for any
>of the clients.
>
>Part of why I volunteer at the facility is to educate the staff about
>occupation, occupational therapy and occupation-based therapy. I hope to
>one day serve as their primary OT.
>
>To continue, last week a client began receiving OT. In all fairness, I have
>not talked with the OT as to why OT was ordered. Not because I don't want
>to, I just haven't had time.
>
>This particular client is a 87 year-old woman who is physically frail but
>cognitively intact. In fact, the other day when we were doing some group
>stuff, she was able to recall information about Martin Luther King that I
>couldn't remember.
>
>With regard to her OT services, the only thing the staff knows is that the
>client is getting OT for some upper extremity problems. The staff has asked
>me to follow up on some of what the OT is doing. The OT has left
>instructions and equipment for the patient as follows:
>
>1. Overhead pulleys
>
>2. Thera-putty with beads
>
>Directions to the staff included to do range of motion exercises for the
>client's neck/shoulders and to use the putty for strengthening the client's
>digits.
>
>The majority of clients at this facility have difficulty engaging in
>meaningful occupation. Granted, some clients are cognitively declined to
>the point that there is little difference between meaningfulness and
>non-meaningfullness. I have spent many weeks educating the staff about the
>role of occupation in people's lives and how OT may be able to facilitate
>their clients to better achieve desired occupations.
>
>So, the staff has now been exposed to two OT's - me and the other therapist.
>The differences between our approaches seems to me to be about as far apart
>as two therapists could be.
>
>So, what does this say to the staff/client about the role of OT? I am
>confident that my treatment approach is philosophically sound and I am
>willing to bet that the other OT will say the same thing about her approach
>But, how can two therapists be in such different 'camps' and still be
>providing the same therapy service?? It seems that somehow, one of us is
>missing the boat or is it that the boat is too big (i.e. too much
>diversity).
>
>What ever the answer, I need help understanding how this is a good thing.
>Also, if this isn't a good thing, what can we do to help alleviate this
>disparity in practice approaches.
>
>Thanks,
>
>Ron
>
>P.S. I am trying to be more positive and less punitive in my questions. I do
>NOT mean to indicate that either of the above treatment approaches is better
>than the other. I am just trying to illuminate a practice disparity which I
>believe is happening in many places and to bring the issues to the
>discussion table.
>
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