Placement 3

For this reflective piece, I will be using Gibb’s Reflective Model to reflect on an incident which occurred on placement.

Description

In my third placement, I was given an individual case to handle from the very beginning. I had the responsibility of studying the case information, collecting and understanding relevant information, and then creating a treatment plan to work with. I would see this patient regularly to continue rehab sessions and make necessary changes according to the progress she was making or other factors which had to be taken into consideration.

The first time I went to see the patient, I was accompanied by my educator and an occupational therapist, to conduct the initial assessment, including a mobility assessment, which I had carried out independently with supervision, and the patient was mobilising well with the help of a mobility aid.

However, the patient’s health began to deteriorate – medically – which had an effect on her mobility. I had to wait for the patients medical reports to come back to find out what the reason was, and how that could affect the physiotherapy and rehab aspect of her treatment. However, until then, after consulting with my educator, I had decided to only mobilise the patient for small distances and continue her exercise programme.

Feelings

Initially, I didn’t know how to feel about my patients’ health deteriorating suddenly, as there was no certainty as to what the reason was. I was feeling helpless as there was not much I could do to help her, in terms of getting her reports or giving her exact answers.

As a physiotherapy student, it was the first time I had seen a patient from the first day of their admission to experiencing something which felt like was out of my control, so I had mixed emotions about it and didn’t know how to react in some situations. The patient also had some breakdowns as she also had no idea what was happening, and we were all waiting for some certainty.

Evaluation

Within this experience, the bad thing about it was the uncertainty as to what is happening and what I could do to help the patient in any possible way. This was because, there was a sudden change in the initial treatment plan, that was planned out for the patient. It felt as if I was put into a situation where I had to make impromptu decisions to fit the scenario and still come up with the best solution for the patient.

However, the good part of this experience was that I got to see the sudden medical change in the patient at an earlier stage, rather than fining out too late, which could have been worse for the patients’ health and wellbeing. I believed that if we had found out at a later stage, there may not have been anything I could have done to help her.

Analysis

I believe that this incident has prepared me for the future when I may be working independently. The guidance and support I received by my educator and other professionals I worked with, really helped me stay calm in this situation, to be able to think about it and then act accordingly to benefit the patient. This experience has helped shape me in being a better physiotherapist already as I believe that I may be ready to face this situation again if it arose.

Conclusion

I believe that in that moment, I had done everything I could have, as a student. Although, if I was a qualified physiotherapist, things may have been slightly different. In terms of having more knowledge in certain aspects, which could have helped in that situation.

Nevertheless, I had tried to do everything I could, such as chasing up the doctors to see when the reports would come back, speaking to counsellors for the patient – as she was having emotional breakdowns and refusing to talk to people – encouraging the patient to do as much as she could whilst waiting for the reports.

Action Plan

If this situation was to rise again, I think I would be more prepared to face it. For instance, I believe I would know how to react in this type of situation, and I would know what things I would have to do to help the patients and also other professionals who are involved in the incident, trying to make the patient’s worry at ease.

I would also approach the patient confidently. For example, as I had never been in this situation before, I was also upset and shook by what had happened and I didn’t want to show it to the patient, so I had began to let my educator talk to the patient. However, if I was to go through a similar situation like this again, I would talk to the patient confidently, giving them the confidence to continue doing well whilst waiting for any certainty.

Word Count: - 817 Words

Reflections

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