Welcome to our new subscribers!! And if you haven't joined the conversation on Facebook, then find us @ptsonmission to continue to receive updates, encouragement, and information. Finally, tell a friend if you are benefiting from this site. If you’ve been following the blog recently, you know we had a discussion about the necessity of rest in our personal lives. Caleb did a fantastic job highlighting the need for rest to help us in our work days and with our families. If you missed it, you can get caught up by clicking here. But another reason why I think resting is important for our careers is to avoid PT burnout. Burnout can happen in many fields and PT is no exception. There are many factors that can contribute to burnout (work environment, productivity standards, patient populations, etc) but today I wanted to highlight a study that have looked at the prevalence of burnout in our profession. Burnout in Physical Therapists As you can see, a fairly high number of physical therapists will experience burnout - anywhere between 77-83%. I think it’s important to be aware of the high prevalence to guard your work/life balance and incorporate some of the concepts of rest we discussed on the last blog. We have much needed skills in today’s healthcare environment and we all need to make sure we can operate in our field for the long haul. That will require rest and strategies to prevent burnout. I hope today’s blog gives you some food for thought and that if you are feeling burnout, you begin to rest and assess your work/life balance. Jason
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Welcome to our new subscribers!! And if you haven't joined the conversation on Facebook, then find us @ptsonmission to continue to receive updates, encouragement, and information. Finally, tell a friend if you are benefiting from this site. I'm am thrilled to have Caleb Mellinger back on the blog today to discuss a topic that is important to him and necessary for all of us. Rest. We expend tons of physical, emotional, and spiritual energy in our jobs and for our patients and it is important for us to recharge to continue to be effective. I think you will really appreciate his thoughts and if you missed his previous post you can get caught up here. "Have you ever had on of those “aha” moments in life? Something just clicks or you have a revelation in Scripture? Has God, in His grace, gently whispered pure truth and goodness for you to do something? I pray that He has because there is nothing like His presence and peace as He shepherds us. I experienced a moment/season like this in March and April of 2020 as God used the quieter months of life during the onset of COVID-19 to take me to new depths in Him. God wanted to teach me about rest. He wanted to turn down the volume in my life, to cut out extraneous noise, and to create a new framework for my days. God used a book called "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry" by John Mark Comer to do this. Obviously, the book is about eliminating hurry but Comer challenges the reader to do this by calling out the lies of culture and the constant noise of life. He argues we can fight hurry through silence and solitude, practicing sabbath, living simply, and slowing down (literally and figuratively). Rest became the healing balm my soul needed in that season and rest in God was what I yearned most for day after day. This rest also started to change my work. This was especially true after I read another Comer book on work and rest in God's design called "Garden City." Eliminating hurry and finding better balance (always a journey never a destination) in my work/rest ratio has really helped my approach to my vocation as a physical therapist. Let’s see what the Bible has to say about rest and about work and how we might use these truths to number our days. I love the first two chapters of the Bible. I always have because for 2 chapters humans live under God’s rule and blessing. For 2 chapters we see His perfect design and can see His purposes and plans for us as individuals, as spouses, as workers, and friends. Adam and Eve were free of sin, of distractions, of cultural and worldly enticements. Adam and Eve lived in a perfect society and ecosystem. They had what secularism today is so desperately searching for albeit incorrectly and wearyingly. Utopia. They were not free of work, however. They were not free of mandated rest. I want to ponder a few verses from Genesis 1 and 2 so that we can see the good that God has for us both in our vocation as physical therapists but also in our rest — real rest, not binging the office. To bring the garden to today and live in the freedom of His original design for His glory and our good. "Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the heavens and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day." Gen. 1:26-31 "The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it." Gen. 2:15 Adam and Eve were created in the image of God to have dominion (rule) over the garden (a vast expanse if you check the geography of the 4 rivers listed), to subdue it, and to be fruitful and multiply. Adam and Eve had work to do. God created them both for particular purposes and with particular gifts. John Mark Comer argues in his book Garden City “we don’t work to live, we live to work.” "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation." Gen. 2:1-3 God rested and he blessed the 7th day. Adam and Eve again were created in His image and thus were expected to rest as He rested. So, the question becomes how do we marry these two things? Work. Rest. Are they opposites in perfect contrast? Are they meant to work together? John Mark Comer again in Garden City says “Work and rest live in a symbiotic relationship. If you don’t learn how to rest well, you will never learn how to work well (and vice versa). After all, the opposite of work isn’t rest — it’s sleep. Work and rest are friends, not enemies. They are a bride and groom who come together to make a full, well-rounded life.” If we are created to rule and reign, to love and serve but to also rest in this beautiful, God given symbiotic relationship then I have to ask — how are we doing? How do we as physical therapists protect against burnout? Documentation, growing case loads/productivity standards, decreased reimbursement, difficulty patient personalities or workplace relationships. Are you anxious yet? What about personal financial struggles such as cost of living expenses, student loans, kids, or school choices? All these things push some to work more or do weekend PRN. We grind and strive and strain. If we aren’t doing these particular things then culture does that for us. Work. Work. Work. Be yourself. Be in control of your future. Work today so you can play tomorrow. In contrast to burnout, we also love what we do. There is much altruism and service built into being a physical therapist. We provide healing physically and often encourage spiritually. We live life with patients and coworkers. Physical therapists also use the interests, gifts, and skills God has given us along with what we have learned and invested in to care for people. We get the opportunity to love thy neighbor every single day. The awareness of my imbalance and my lack of good and true biblical rest pushed me to make significant changes. I was able to better see and understand I cannot work for my entire career (both as a PT but also very much so as a disciple of Jesus, husband, father, friend, etc) out of my own goals, personality, strength and wisdom. I needed to rest in God and out of that then I could fulfill my earthly calling and vocations to the betterment of my own soul and then also to those I am to serve (wife, kids, patients, etc). What about you? Do you need rest? Real rest? Biblical rest? Do you see imbalances in work and rest? Is work to you joy giving or joy stealing? Might you take hold of the Bible’s teaching on rest? I have a firm conviction from Scripture that we are meant to rest in God and out of that rest we can go live on mission in all categories of life. Unfortunately, as we have discussed, culture and life tend to say work, work, work and then schedule a vacation or a day off or some “you time” or a binge on Netflix. God has so much more for us in Him. I pray and hope we all find rest in Him and out of that we go work and live for the glory of God. May I offer a few practical/tangible suggestions? I share these not as someone who has it all figured out or who is teaching you. Rather I share them as one beggar to another telling you I have found some food and nourishment. Biblical Advice / Spiritual Rest Have a Sabbath. A 24 hour period where you live anti-culture and restore your heart and soul as a family. Comer’s two books previously mentioned are a great resource here. Stop and cease. Rest and delight. Worship. A quick note here — sabbath in Jesus time started at sundown — our day starts with rest in Him and out of that rest we can live. Grace > works. Commune with God. Slow down and sit in scripture. Meditate on what you are reading. Ask questions and then wait on the Holy Spirit to answer them. I can be so guilty of consuming scripture and time with God like I would consume a news article or television show. I am daily learning how to SLOW down with God. Be refreshed and renewed by the Trinity. Psalm 23. Let the cliche and commonness of this passage go and drink deeply from the richness of this Psalm. Noise Reduction / Mental Rest Put your phone down. Consider getting your screen time down to 60 minutes and put your phone to bed. 8pm lights out for the ole’ iPhone. Moments of silence and solitude with God. Start at 15 minutes and increase in 15 minute intervals. Have quiet. Pray. Cease. Listen. Quiet Car ride. No music, phone calls or podcasts. Number your Days / Physical Rest Guard your calendar. Say no to good things. Get 7-8 hours of sleep. These applications points are not exhaustive. But may they encourage you, challenge you, and train you to rest in the goodness and grace and kindness of our Heavenly Father. Out of His peace, presence and power may we use that rest to live, work and have dominion in this life until He returns to restore creation and humanity to rule and reign as He originally designed. Caleb Welcome to our new subscribers!! And if you haven't joined the conversation on Facebook, then find us @ptsonmission to continue to receive updates, encouragement, and information. Finally, tell a friend if you are benefiting from this site. We all know that outcome measures are so essential in today’s physical therapy practice. We’ve discussed some orthopedic outcome measures on this blog before to equip you in your practice. Those outcomes were directed at the outpatient sports medicine practitioners. Today, I want to share a great study for the outpatient neuro practitioners. It is just as vitally important for you, as a neuro therapist, to have a set of highly reliable and valid measures to not only track potential progress but also document decrease in decline. In other words, sometimes the outcome measure will show you that your interventions are working because the patient is not getting worse. So with that in mind, this article discusses a core set of outcome measures for adults with neurologic conditions. The researchers combed through many different types of outcomes for the neurological population and essentially did analysis to identify a set, or grouping, that will give you really good functional data. A Core Set of Neuro Outcome Measures I hope you use some of these already in your practice. If you do, I hope you begin to use this subset as a means to better quantify the progress or lack of decline your patients are experiencing with your interventions. If you are not using any of these outcome measures, I encourage you to get started this week! ***Check out the new book "Rehab the World" written for Physical Therapists to encourage us in our workplace and prepare us to serve those around us. If you like, please leave a review and spread the word!!*** Jason Welcome to our new subscribers!! And if you haven't joined the conversation on Facebook, then find us @ptsonmission to continue to receive updates, encouragement, and information. Finally, tell a friend if you are benefiting from this site. Prayer is a powerful and wonderful way to inject gospel care and concern to the patients and colleagues that we interact with on a daily basis. It can be so sweet and encouraging to take the burdens of others before the throne of God. In fact, it is something that God wants us to do! “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayer, intercessions, and thanksgiving be made for all people...This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” 1 Tim. 2:1-4 In my book “Rehab the World”, I talk about the importance and necessity of intercessory prayer in our daily clinic life if we are going to be faithful in our work. Two ideas I discuss in the book are praying for your patients in general every morning before your day begins and also praying specifically for your patients needs, fears, anxieties, and healing. This is a practice I work to be consistent in and I recently had a great example of the joy and positive benefit of incorporating intercessory prayer. I was working with a patient to improve her mobility and stamina which had been severely limited because she had just finished a round of cancer treatments. We had had several conversations about church and the Gospel in the past and she was aware of my faith in Christ. One day she came in much more somber and anxious than normal. So, I stopped the treatment and we just chatted a bit. As tears began to well up in her eyes, she told me that she had to get another scan because the doctors thought the cancer might have returned and spread to other areas of her body. She asked at that moment if I would pray over her and specifically that the upcoming tests would come back negative. I obliged and we prayed together in a private treatment room. At the end of the PT session, I told her that I wanted a report at her next visit. A week went by and I continued to think and pray for her. And as she came in for her next PT appointment, you could tell she was in an improved emotional state compared to the previous week. So, I asked her right away if she had the results of the tests and she told me with happy tears in her eyes the great news that the tests were, in fact, negative! We shared a joyful hug and praised the Lord together in our PT gym. God was pleased to answer that prayer in those moments. And that is when I realized in a more tangible way the power of what Paul writes to us in 1 Tim 2:1-4. Namely, that God actually does delight in us interceding for others and offering prayers and supplications on behalf of those around us. It pleases Him! You might wonder sometimes how you can make God happy? Here it is! Pray for others. And not only does he delight in it, it is good for us to do it. So, I want to challenge you this week to take a first step in praying for your patients or colleagues. Maybe, pick a patient to pray for or maybe pick a particular need of a patient. You don’t even have to tell them but if you hear about something going in their life, take it before the Lord. Take it into the heavenly realm and then watch what God does. Be a part of God’s plan and then discover the incredible joy, beauty, and glory of seeing your prayers answered for others. If this is an area in which you would like more guidance, I would encourage you to pick up a copy of “Rehab the World” because there are some helpful tips and ideas for you to get started. Jason ***Check out the new book "Rehab the World" written for Physical Therapists to encourage us in our workplace and prepare us to serve those around us. If you like, please leave a review and spread the word!!*** Welcome to our new subscribers!! And if you haven't joined the conversation on Facebook, then find us @ptsonmission to continue to receive updates, encouragement, and information. Finally, tell a friend if you are benefiting from this site. Several weeks ago, I had a friend and co-worker on the blog talking about her faith at work experience in the acute care setting. Ana shared many of her thoughts about serving her patients. One thing she mentioned that I did not include in the original blog is a song that she often recites or sings to herself throughout the day. She told me it describes a life dedicated to serving others and by doing so honors the love and sacrifice of our Lord, Jesus Christ. She said it always speaks to her deeply and centers her when needed; it always comes to her right when she need its message as if to help her pay special attention to how she serves (ministers) to others throughout the day. I thought it was awesome, powerful, and captured the message of service exactly as Ana described it. So, being the editor of the blog, I determined the words of this hymn deserved its very own post. Often, having a song or poem or saying can help us remember that as Christ followers there is a deeper meaning to our work; there is gospel ministry in our daily work. I hope you find the words of "The Servant Song" by Richard Gillard encouraging to you today. The Servant Song Will you let me be your servant, Let me be as Christ to you; Pray that I may have the grace to Let you be my servant, too. We are pilgrims on a journey, We are trav'lers on the road; We are here to help each other Walk the mile and bear the load. I will hold the Christ-light for you In the night-time of your fear; I will hold my hand out to you, Speak the peace you long to hear. I will weep when you are weeping; When you laugh I'll laugh with you. I will share your joy and sorrow 'Til we've seen this journey through. When we sing to God in heaven We shall find such harmony, Born of all we've known together Of Christ's love and agony. Serve your patients well that they might see the light of Christ in you in the days, weeks, and months ahead! Jason ***Check out the new book "Rehab the World" written for Physical Therapists to encourage us in our workplace and prepare us to serve those around us. If you like, please leave a review and spread the word!!*** Welcome to our new subscribers!! And if you haven't joined the conversation on Facebook, then find us @ptsonmission to continue to receive updates, encouragement, and information. Finally, tell a friend if you are benefiting from this site. Today we are back to discussing the infamous ACL. Much research and literature has been published regarding the best approach to ACL rehab. We would do well to digest all of that information to make sure we are providing the highest level of care to our patients who have had ACL reconstruction. Today’s discussion will add to that knowledge base and help us think more clearly about what interventions may be helpful. Should we only use open chain exercises early on in the rehab process? When should we introduce closed chain exercises? Are open chain exercises more stressful to the graft? All of these are good questions and that's where this video becomes very helpful. Tune Up Your Clinical Practice in ACL Rehabilitation & Quadriceps Strength Training I watched this video from JOSPT several weeks ago and found it quite fascinating. Partly because the data and information was really interesting, challenging some of my preconceived notions, and partly because I still can’t believe the researchers actually found volunteers to have probes jammed inside their knees and then exercise on machines! That’s grit. The first 20 minutes are certainly worth your time and provide so much information. But the main takeaway for me was the research discussing forces on the knee/ACL during gait. I was pretty shocked to learn that the forces on the graft are higher during walking than traditional open chain exercises. The researchers in this discussion used that information to argue that if we are comfortable having a patient walk fairly early on a surgical graft, then there really is minimal to no risk of graft damage during a bout of open chain exercises early in the rehab process. Fascinating stuff in the open vs. closed chain debate. There are several other intriguing bits of information in this video so I would encourage you to check it out and grow your brain. I hope you use this information to continue to provide the highest quality of care to your patients for the best outcomes. Jason ***Check out the new book "Rehab the World" written for Physical Therapists to encourage us in our workplace and prepare us to serve those around us. If you like, please leave a review and spread the word!!*** Welcome to our new subscribers!! And if you haven't joined the conversation on Facebook, then find us @ptsonmission to continue to receive updates, encouragement, and information. Finally, tell a friend if you are benefiting from this site. Imagine this scene with me. You get notified that your new patient arrives a few minutes late to the appointment. You grab your computer and get a room ready for the initial evaluation then head to the patient waiting area to call the patient back with you. The patient gets up and begins to walk toward you and you warmly introduce yourself and ask how are they doing today. Then, you get a snarky retort from the patient and they begin to unload their anger and frustration over some situation related to your clinic or hospital. All of the sudden the mood changes. This is probably a scenario that is easy to imagine because it has likely happened to you. It’s happened to me recently! We often end up dealing with a frustrated or upset patient. The frustration can come from any number of places and for any number of reasons, but the bottom line sometimes we walk into situations that can become tenuous because of the emotional state of a patient. I was reflected on my recent experience with a frustrated patient and a proverb came to my mind. “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1 In those moments when we find ourselves dealing with a patient who is upset, it is important to remember this verse because we don’t want to escalate or stir up a situation with our response. So what might be involved in a soft answer? Well, for sure it means thinking before we say something. And for sure it means that we speak with a calm, gentle tone. But I think there are a few other components to a soft that turns away wrath. Prayer. Whenever we find ourselves in a situation like the one described, it would behoove all of us to just say a quick little prayer to God to give us patience, understanding, wisdom, and words to say in response. We will certainly need to have God’s power and grace in those moments, especially if the frustration is directed at our clinic, hospital, rehab facility, or even us. Praying in that moment, much like the command Paul gives in Thessalonians to pray without ceasing, will help us avoid stirring up more anger. Listening. Then we often need to just listen. Not empty listening but active listening. Some of what may be said may actually be completely false or partially false but sometimes people just need to vent the frustration and if we are actively listening then we can better recognize some of the issues that might invariably be true. That will allow us to show more empathy in our responses which will in turn help to ease the tension or as the proverb says, “turn away wrath.” Assisting. Once we’ve been listening and communicating in return with a little empathy we then might discover a few small ways to help the patient. Either through just reassuring them or through small acts of service to help improve the situation. I’ve found that even small offers to reach out to a physician or just let my supervisor know of the situation can go a long way in helping the patient feel heard and understood. Providing measured assistance can really help ease any frustration and begin to establish a connection not built on the anger or frustration. I hope you find these components helpful as we think about a Biblical response to a situation in which you inevitably find yourself at some point in your career. Realize, too, that often there are much deeper issues at play behind a patient's frustration. In my recent case, sure enough, a few family stressors surfaced through our conversation before the evaluation. Those stressors were the underlying cause of the frustration directed at the clinic. And as the patient verbalized those stressors she realized there was more to her attitude and began to calm down. We ended up having a successful and helpful evaluation after handling the situation. “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” Proverbs 15:1 Jason ***Check out the new book "Rehab the World" written for Physical Therapists to encourage us in our workplace and prepare us to serve those around us. If you like, please leave a review and spread the word!!*** Welcome to our new subscribers!! And if you haven't joined the conversation on Facebook, then find us @ptsonmission to continue to receive updates, encouragement, and information. Finally, tell a friend if you are benefiting from this site. Today I am excited to have a second therapist discuss her experiences while working in acute care! Please welcome my friend and colleague, Ana Quinlan, to the blog! I hope you are impacted by her honesty and her perspective of working in acute care. Where do you work? Describe the patient population in which you work. I work at Augusta University Medical Center in the acute care setting. I primarily work with patients who have neurological impairments. 2. What do you enjoy about working in your field of PT? My favorite things about acute care PT are getting to meet new people daily and helping them improve function to be able to return to their loved ones and their lives. 3. What are some of the unique physical, emotional, or spiritual challenges of working in your field PT? Working with people in the acute care setting, you enter people’s lives when they are most vulnerable. They have had a major change in their health status, which could be physical and/or cognitive and can affect them on a deeper level. My interventions often include a lot of physical work (lifting, holding someone up in sitting or standing, helping them move their limbs). Emotionally, working in this setting can be difficult as we work intimately with people and the future is often so unknown at this stage in their recovery. My patients' lives have just dramatically changed, and we are there to help get them on a path toward functioning in their “new normal.” I aim to bring hope to every interaction with each patient, and the message that this is temporary, better is coming. Being of service to others definitely has its challenges when motivation is limited or a patient is struggling to find a purpose for why he/she is in this position. It's also difficult to watch someone struggle with illnesses or injuries and keep a positive perspective knowing the prognosis is poor. Spiritually, I am blessed every day to be a light for those who need it and thankful that they are the same for me. I am constantly reminded how precious and powerful our presence is in each other's lives. I truly believe that He places us in each other’s paths for a reason; each patient is in my path as much as I am in theirs. 4. How does your faith impact your work and how you view you patient interactions? My faith guides me and pulls me through, especially those more difficult days. It lets me know there is a higher purpose and a plan that we can't always see but we do what we are called to do. My faith allows me to show grace when patients need it and provide them hope for the future, whatever that may look like for them. It also refocuses me when I get distracted with complications (people, situations, attitudes) to guide me back to my purpose - serving Him through serving His people. 5. Briefly describe a story in which you really felt like you ministered to a patient. I struggled to respond to this question, and I kept asking myself, "Why?" I'd like to be able to point to some poignant moment where I felt a warm glow and everything was shimmery as a patient and I made a connection. I have prayed over patients, prayed with patients, cried and rejoiced with patients. I have encouraged them and tried to help them find some peace in the moments that are darkest. I have spoken of trust and faith in God and his plans for us when the path feels dark and lonely. To me, ministering is something we do every day with every patient. We are there to be of service as healthcare providers and as Christians. We show the way to Him as we minister to every patient, in every interaction. Ana ***Check out the new book "Rehab the World" written for Physical Therapists to encourage us in our workplace and prepare us to serve those around us. If you like, please leave a review and spread the word!!*** Welcome to our new subscribers!! And if you haven't joined the conversation on Facebook, then find us @ptsonmission to continue to receive updates, encouragement, and information. Finally, tell a friend if you are benefiting from this site. In keeping with the most recent post regarding Casey’s thoughts about faith at work in the acute care setting, today we will briefly discuss an interesting systematic review related to acute care work. For those of you that work in acute care this may come as no surprise, but patients that become admitted to the hospital become rather sedentary very, very quickly. Staying in the hospital bed can lead to all kinds of issues - weakness, deconditioning, difficulty breathing, etc. and all of these things are essentially byproducts of a sedentary lifestyle. Enter you, the physical therapist. You enter a hospital room with the understanding and skill set to begin to offset a patient’s sedentary predicament. So, my goal with today’s post is to not provide exercises or methodologies to help because you already know how to help someone combat effects of being sedentary. The article today focuses on just how sedentary hospitalized patients can become during their stay. It’s kind of mind boggling. Systematic Review of Sedentary Patients in the Hospital We see in this systematic review that patients really are quite sedentary patients spending 93-98% of their time in sedentary positions. That is a whole lot of sedentary! Some studies cited patients that do get up and break the sedentary cycle will still perform less than 1000 steps during the hospital stay. So there is not a lot of movement and exercise happening. Use this quantified data of what we intuitively knew to be true to inspire you to continue working hard moving and exercising patients because every bit you do will impact their function after discharge from the hospital. Jason ***Check out my new book "Rehab the World" written for Physical Therapists to encourage us in our workplace and prepare us to serve those around us. If you like, please leave a review and spread the word!!*** Welcome to our new subscribers!! And if you haven't joined the conversation on Facebook, then find us @ptsonmission to continue to receive updates, encouragement, and information. Finally, tell a friend if you are benefiting from this site. Excited to have a colleague and former student on the blog today! Casey graciously provided some of his thoughts on working at Emory Hospital in acute care. I think you will be encouraged enjoy Casey's thoughts on the blog today! 1. Where do you work? Describe the patient population in which you work? I work at Emory St. Joseph’s Hospital in Sandy Springs, Ga. We have multiple floors of every type of patient whether it be orthopedic, neurological, general medicine/post surgical, oncology, cardiac, and 3 intensive care units. In general we rotate around so there is not one type of patient population I see everyday. Currently most of my patients are in the age range of 50-100 years old but I occasionally see younger patients for various illnesses/ injuries. 2. What do you enjoy about working in your field of PT? My favorite part of working in acute care is seeing the impact of physical therapy when people are at their lowest physically, mentally, and spiritually. Our job is very impactful and a vital part of improving patient health and keeping our hospital running smoothly day to day. It is very exciting seeing patients take big or small steps towards being well again. Professionally, I really enjoy the one on one care I am able to provide to my patients in acute care that is not feasible in most outpatient settings nowadays. I also enjoy the flexibility of my schedule each day as I can choose when to evaluate/treat my patients and when to document or take my lunch break. Overall, my job provides an excellent work-life balance. 3. What are some of the unique physical, emotional, or spiritual challenges of working in your field of PT? Physically there can be many days of heavy lifting. Some patients are barely able to move and need our assistance with something simple like sitting on the side of the bed. It is vital that my coworkers and I use good body mechanics and our equipment wisely to prevent acute or chronic injury to ourselves. Emotionally, we deal with patient’s dying and having severe setbacks so it can be very disheartening at times to see patients who you’ve built a personal connection to go through those hard times. I always try to be a positive impact on my patients each day and help them to focus on how they’ve improved and the big picture. Spiritually, some of the most impactful moments of my life have been at work. I truly feel called to serve others through physical therapy and many times the verse Matthew 25:40 “whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me” comes to mind. Whether I am grabbing a cup of water for my patient or helping them take their first step after surgery I truly believe this profession was tailored for me to serve others and be an example of Christ. 4. How does your faith impact your work and how you view your patient interactions? Briefly describe a story in which you really felt like you ministered to a patient. I would say my relationship with God has a huge impact on my patient interactions. I do not just see patients as part of my workday. I see them as people in need. I’m blessed with a gift to help others in their darkest time similar to how Jesus met those he healed at their darkest time. Out of the many stories I have there is one that sticks out. I had a patient at a previous hospital who I worked with many times over the span of a year. The patient was in and out of the hospital for lung problems. This particular day I was chart reviewing prior to treating the patient and I read that the patient decided he was tired of needing to be on a BiPap 24 hours a day in order to survive and wanted to go home on hospice. I entered the room and the patient told me that this would probably be the last time I would see him and he had two requests. His first request was that I would pray for his family and the second request was that I would help him sit up on the side of the bed one more time. I hesitated for a minute because I did not want to push him too hard with his lungs in such a fragile state. After monitoring his oxygen levels I saw that he was stable enough at the moment to attempt sitting up. I assisted the patient to sitting and he was able to sit up for 15 minutes without his oxygen level dropping. He was smiling and laughing the whole time while he sat on the side of the bed. After I helped him back to laying down in the bed he thanked me. The nurse came in and said that the MD said he could go home the next day on hospice so I told him I’d come back by and say hello if he had not left yet the next day. When I got to work I found out he passed away in the early morning so he never made it home but he did get to sit up with me one last time like he wanted. The power of movement is the freedom it brings to each of us. As physical therapists we are always working to help others move better so that they can return to doing what they love again whether it be playing sports, visiting family, or sitting on the side of the bed. Casey ***Check out the new book "Rehab the World" written for Physical Therapists to encourage us in our workplace and prepare us to serve those around us. If you like, please leave a review and spread the word!!*** |
Awesome ResourcesThe Gospel at Work Archives
April 2024
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