Week 6 went by pretty quickly, but unfortunately not as quickly as 4 and 5 did. I really can't afford for it to start slowing down, either; I'm starting to get really exhausted and am ready for it to be over. I'm getting tired (literally) of waking up at 5:30 every day and going to bed at 9:30-10:00 (yes, it is sometimes still light outside. That's what I've been reduced to). I'm starting to get really trunky for this to end. All the fun stuff I have planned for after it isn't helping, either.So this week I worked with another new PT I hadn't worked with yet. Overall, it was a good experience. He let me work with a lot of patients on my own like I did last week, except whereas last week me and the PT divided the caseload and both worked to get things done more quickly, this time I'd go see a few patients and then I'd find my PT and he'd be out talking to people by the nurses station, and hadn't seen anyone else. This guy REALLY loves to talk. He'll give you a 10 minute answer to a yes-or-no question. I should have been prepared for this from the start, because Monday morning we didn't start seeing patient until 9:00 (we usually start @ 7:30) because he spent all that time talking to my CI (who was back for Monday but then off Tuesday-Friday again) about how the changes they are about to make aren't going to work. It was the worst conversation to ever have to sit through; the PT never stopped to let my CI get a word in, so it was 90% of just him talking and 10% of him and my CI trying to talk at the same time.
See, I'm right in the middle of a major shake-up they're having in terms of staffing. Management wants them to be more cost-effective. Up until now, there has been 3 PTs, 3 PT Assistants, and 6 aides on every day. A few weeks ago they cut out 1 PTA, and soon they're going to be taking away 2 aides too, but the amount of patients to see will stay the same. In fact, last week we had a LOT more patients than any other week. Most days there were quite a few that we just didn't have any time to get to. So I understand why they're complaining. What I fear is that after all this (I think the reduction in aides starts this week) I'm going to be utilized as more of an aide than a student PT. I expressed this concern to my CI, so hopefully it doesn't happen, but the people here are generally a lot more focused on getting their jobs done than accommodating a student. (plus, after 6 weeks of being here, I still don't see much evidence that my CI ever talks to any of the PTs about me or get any feedback from them about my working with them. Then again, maybe that's just because he's been gone for half of the time.) So anyway, all the staff is feeling a bit mutinous right now. I guess we'll see what happens.
Last week I saw both ends of the patient spectrum. We had a few really awesome patients, and a few horribly awful patients too. The awesome ones were the type of people that I've already explained in past blogs- people who have been active and healthy their whole lives, so their hospital stays were short, pleasant, and productive. It's patients like those who are actually a pleasure to work with. Unfortunately, there's not enough like that. There were two patients I can think of that stood out for opposite reasons. One was a girl a bit younger than me who had a back surgery. I've never heard someone complain more in my life! She was a total redneck (missing front teeth and everything) who completely over-exaggerated her pain. Any time we'd touch her she would freak, yet other times she would move herself around in a much more harsh way yet be totally fine. She complained about everything so much that I began to think she was just looking around the room to find things she said she hated. She complained so much that she started crying, and then complained that her eyes were all itchy and wet. Seriously. The other bad one I'm thinking of was a 35 year old guy that was your typical basement-dwelling video game player. He had back surgery and was a bitter angry guy who complained that nobody told him that recovery from surgery would hurt. Really? They cut open your back. It's going to hurt. Patients like those are fun to laugh about now, but they're never fun to have to deal with.
So I guess we'll see what's in store for this week. Every week is a new adventure. I'm nervous to see who I'll be with this week and what things will be like. Hopefully I can get some quality work done like I have the last two weeks, and not be resigned to be someone's aide.
Six weeks down, four more to go. (pray they go fast).
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6/21/10 - Week Seven Sneak Preview: I'm at my lunch break on Monday. If the rest of the week goes like this morning, it's going to be a looooooooooooooooooong one :(
6/22/10 - like, REALLY looooooooooooooooooong.
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