Jumping In

                        "The time to hesitate is through." -The Doors
     Flexibility was the key to my week. The patient whose chart I reviewed was not mobile, so prior to seeing her it was determined I would work with someone else. I reviewed that patient's chart and located the room, but her bed was empty and her roommate didn't know where she was. After prompting from my instructor, I asked the people at the nursing station, who didn't know either. I looked throughout the facility and found a nurse who realized the patient was at a doctor's appointment. Strike one.
     Ms. G and I decided it would work to go back to my original patient for purposes of interview practice. When we arrived, she was already with another student and instructor. Strike two.
     I was assigned a third patient, quickly reviewed the therapy notes, and went to his room. The bed was empty. Strike three. I quickly began asking anyone who was possibly familiar with the patient, if they had an idea where he might be found. As I walked the halls an internal clock raced...tick, tick, tick: no patient, no therapy. No therapy, no paperwork. No paperwork...
     Luckily, as I rounded the corner to his room one last time, his family member wheeled him around the corner from the opposite direction.

I stopped him in the hall, introduced myself, appealed to his sense of altruism and asked if he would help me. He obliged by going to a triva game for residents. His hands were both in splints and he couldn't hold a pen, so we worked as a team with him answering the questions and me writing the answers. When he would question if one of his answers was right I would turn it around and say, "What do you think?" This seemed to make him more apt to answer with conviction and elaborate on some answers. He appears to have good cognitive abilities, with slight memory deficits for more recent trivia. I felt good about getting the opportunity to work with him in this way because we had a good rapport and I was able to make some general assessments even though I did not get to know him well.
     My time ran out quickly and I had to pass him off to one of the teachers for the remainder of the game so I could do my paperwork. Though my patient was not left unattended, I did not like the way I abruptly ended my session with him. I will definitely remember that for the future.
     This week I learned that I can roll with the punches, do not get too flustered by change, and I can jump right in an talk to a patient without hesitation.
      I didn't have many pre-formed opinions of my patient because I only reviewed his safety precautions and general goals. I wasn't affected by his physical appearance, however, which could have been shocking. He had fallen outside his home several days ago. No bones were broken, but because he was on blood thinners, the whole side of his face, both arms and both hands were completely purple. He didn't complain of much pain beyond his hands (which bore the brunt of the fall), so hopefully when I see him next week we can get him back on the road to full independence.