This is how many of our patients come to us, emotionally and physically...
Sometimes our patients are struggling with life-altering changes, like in the case of an amputation...
Sometimes our patients just have bad habits we need to work on, or at the very least, need a referral to a 12-step program.
Sometimes our patients have trouble taking turns and need gentle but firm reminders.
Sometimes we can use Wii therapy with our patients, as discussed recently on www.otility.com, to make their therapy more fun and engaging.
Sometimes our patients shock us with their stories of occupational deprivation and it is all we can do to hide our surprise or dismay.
And sometimes, as occupational therapists, if we are unable to compartmentalize our workday and bring our emotions home with us, our patients will lead us to drink. If this happens too often, it starts the "Halp" cycle all over again. And this time we begin it as a patient, not a therapist.
The moral of the story? Don't let yourself run out of happy.
The End.
7 comments:
As a healthcare consumer, these feels condescending, arrogant, disrespectful - as thought clients and providers are 2 different species. I am guessing as you are a student that that was not at all your intent, but I tell you honestly that's how it feels to me.
Wishing you success and wisdom in your chosen career. Keep in mind that the people that use your services are people too - people with their own careers, relationships, and lives.
Mary
Hi Mary,
I doubt you read my blog regularly or would come back to see if I responded, but I wanted to apologize for causing you offense. That was certainly not my intention and I definitely did not mean to imply clients/providers are different species! I posted about it here if you want to see my response (sorry it is on two lines, it is one http address but I don't know how to make it fit on one line).
http://otstudents.blogspot.com/2007/08/
painful-criticism-i-need-reader-advice.html
Karen,
I don't think that you have anything to apologize for concerning your witty and creative presentation illustrating the patient-therapist relationship. I understand that you just posted it as a lighthearted illustration, and I thought that it was very fitting! It reminded me of "The Blue Day Book" and "The Meaning of Life" book by Bradley Trevor Grieve. Maybe you should be an illustrative author...I think you have something, here! =)
Best of luck in all that you do.
I'm right there with ya.
OMG LOL...Dat waz funny! You crack me up and have really taught me a lot about OT. Thank you for being an inspiration. Please don't become one of those old cat ladies. You're way too cool. Keep rockin'
i found your LOL cats posting very funny! i found your blog will mucking about for an OT presentation for a presentation i have to do soon for an early childhood special education class. did you make the LOL cat images or find them on the web?
what made them so funny to me is that i did something similar for an educational media class last semester--only i linked the LOL images (and other memes) to pride and prejudice, not OT!
good luck in your studies!
coming from an OT...
now that was really really funny! well done :D
x
I definitely like this article. I always felt there wasn’t much of a difference of the importance of extra curricular in high school compared to undergrad, but your post clears it up. Of course I will participate in extracurricular activities based on my own interest and to gain experience.
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