Today was the day I got to tour a psych. unit. Quite an impressive facility. It is huge. Every where you look, there are employees--abundant, to say the least. We were told that the employees check on pt.s every 15 minutes. The OT that met with us provided us with a wealth of info. regarding the facility, as well as what goes on within each floor/wing. The OT dep't was rather quiet, as a few of the COTA's were out. We were able to look through some of the assessment books, and also caught a glimpse of some soap notes on the computer. Sometimes being brief is best!!
We did observe a "Fun Group"--the Ot lead a game of 20 questions. It seemed to be a good activity when nothing else was planned. It was interesting to see the dynamics of the group. Those that did participate really seemed to enjoy the game. It was wonderful to see the pride shown by one of the pt's. as he got to pick the "person" to be guessed--he chose himself and was smiling from ear to ear when someone asked if it was him!!!! In the beginning when he was waiting for some clues to be thrown his way, he said "this one will drive y'all crazy!!!!"
Our OT did state that COTA's are very much needed at this facility, as they run different groups every day, most days 3 to 4 groups. Hopefully, she will push for that, and maybe even employ a few more!!! This facility did not escape the budget cuts. The full-time dentist has been replaced with one who is contracted out, as well as an OT also there today.
We were able to observe certain behaviors of some of the pt's. One pt. hummed and sang very softly too herself, not disruptive to the group at all. She had a beautiful voice! We also observed two pt.s who were rather withdrawn from the group. One pretended to be asleep, as noted by the OT, and the other snored throughout the game. We heard of the person who has quadraplegia, and doesn't seem to know it! Very interesting and fascinating all at the same time. OT can provide many opportunities to each of these "unique individuals" through an array of groups--cooking, community life skills, cognitive, and also sensibility training. Hopefully, through therapeutic use of self, we can provide a sense of normalcy and a quality of life to which we are all deserving.