This is perfect! Just finished my last scholastic term and I'm about to start my first level II fieldwork experience which happens to be at a SNF. The questions you asked were spot on, especially when you asked about the incorporation of occupation in a setting that tends to make it difficult. Thank you!
Awesome!! So happy this video came at the right time for you. Please keep us posted and share your experiences with us as they unfold. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this setting and what you enjoy/not enjoy about SNF!
@@MiriLee Hey guys! Finished my first Level II FW at a SNF and here are my thoughts: What I liked: the ability to build rapport and a relationship with the residents, seeing them become more independent with their occupations, excellent interdisciplinary coordination (rehab director, SLPs, PTs, nursing, maintenance staff ), opportunity to educate and train caregivers/family, opportunity to perform home evals, weekly meetings on resident progress, a lot of exposure to run-of-the-mill geriatric diagnoses introduced in school (i.e. fractures, TKA, THA, CABG, COPD, CVA, dementia, depression, anxiety), exposure to splints (mainly prefabricated), lots of exposure to wheelchair positioning and modifications, opportunity to collaborate with the COTAs, ability to focus on ADLs. What I didn't like: Mary wasn't kidding about documentation! There were evals, progress notes, daily notes, discharge summaries, telephone orders, equipment orders, and more. Didn't like the facility focus on "getting all the minutes" on a resident even if they demonstrate decreased tolerance for therapy. Also facility pressure to perform screens (essentially mini evals) on LTC/memory care residents. This is mainly done in order to put residents on caseload in order to make more money, even when a resident has demonstrated max rehab potential. This is all due to how healthcare is structured here in the U.S. but is something we can advocate for. Overall I really enjoyed my experience in the SNF setting. I had a great fieldwork educator which goes a long way. Productivity for the evaluating OTs wasn't too demanding (~80%) also. Although documentation was the bane of my existence, I learned so much about the common diagnoses you will see in the elderly. I also really enjoyed building relationships with my residents even though it was challenging at times. There are definitely some humbling moments such as helping those with toilet hygiene, bathing, and things like that, but it's part of the gig. I recommend making sure you know your precautions (hip, shoulder, sternal, spinal, pacemaker, etc). Also be sure to look up alternative strengthening/activity tolerance interventions (residents get bored doing the same thing); if you're creative unlike me, you'll be fine! **For other BrOTs in the making: on occasion, I would get the traditional elderly female patient who prefers females to do certain ADLs. If you are confident and assure them that you are a professional and are respectful of their modesty, you'll have success in that area. Obviously, respect their culture and dignity, but I have found that this has worked for me and I was able to get more "buy-in". Good luck guys! Feel free to message me if you have any questions. Next stop, hand therapy! :]
oh, Max!! Congratulations on earning that wonderful COTA title! This is just the meaningful of a wonderful, rewarding and fulfilling career and I hope you will be met with all the people, places and opportunities that help you tap into your greatest potential and sense of fulfillment! Thank you for walking this journey with me Max!
Thank you for all you do for the OT community Miri. As a new grad considering entering this setting this video helped me weigh the pros and cons. Much appreciated!
Dear Miri, You are truly my OT guru and inspiration. Your positiveness and passion in this field are very contagious, which helps me to stay positive and push through all the exam reschedules and delays and passing my board exam during this pandemic situation. As somebody who works as a COTA before becoming an OTR, I would say everything that you ask and discuss in this video is on point. On top of everything, I want to say thank you for everything you have done in our profession. I am very sure, when the day I become down and need some motivation to find a bright light to keep continuing on the right path while facing all the corporation's business mindset, I will come to your video to remind and boost myself. Stay safe and be well for you and your family. Thank you.
Hi Jeremy, what a wonderful, thoughtful and heartwarming message. Thank you for taking the time to express your appreciation as well as share words of encouragement. We are in this journey together and we are always stronger when we lift each other up. I hope you continue to feel supported throughout your OT journey and come across many people, places and opportunities that help you thrive. Thank you for being here, Jeremy. Please stay in touch and let me know how you're doing every now and then!
Thank you Miri for this video...tomorrow 8/27/18 is the first day of my level to fieldwork at SNF I’m glad I watched this video...although I am scared but I will try my best to learn and enjoy every day at SNF. I love all your videos by the way😍
Hi Mary!! Good to hear from you! How was your first day of Fieldwork? As with anything new, this can be a daunting experience, but you're going to learn and grow so much from it! Soak it all in because all the clinical application you use in this setting will help you with the NBCOT process and the actual clinical work in the field!
OT Miri, thank you Miri for your response and so far I really Ike the skilled nursing ;however, documentation are my biggest concern since I’m new to the setting and not familiar with the word to use...hope you can give me an ideas or if there is a book for documentation specially for skilled nursing settings ...thank you
I wasn't sure where to request a video topic, but my classmate and I have been watching your peds videos this week (we take our exam in 20 days-eek!) and were wondering what tricks you use to remember the different types of grasps required for handwriting! I didn't see a video on that topic, so I thought I'd ask! Hope you are having a great day! :)
Hi Brooke! Exciting times ahead as you're taking your exam soon! I hope each day leading up to your test date is met with calm confidence and peace. I'm not sure if you watched my pregnancy announcement news, but I've decided to take a quick break from creating study materials during this time. I'm already counting down the days and can't wait to start creating more study materials, but for now, I'll need to focus on self care. But please remember that you have so much creativity within you to come up with tricks for this content area! Think about how you would present the material if you were teaching this to an incoming new cohort next week. Once you empower yourself to be the giver of knowledge, you'll be surprised with how much you know and how well you can synthesize the material. Instill that confidence in yourself and I hope you'll feel empowered to teach this material to your classmates with the tricks that are uniquely yours. You'll do great, Brooke. I believe it!
Yes, it's on the list! But for now, you can check out this article on home health, which provides some of the insights and resources I wish I had known before going into home health. It's got a ton of helpful information: www.otmiri.com/occupational-therapy-in-home-health/
This is perfect! Just finished my last scholastic term and I'm about to start my first level II fieldwork experience which happens to be at a SNF.
The questions you asked were spot on, especially when you asked about the incorporation of occupation in a setting that tends to make it difficult. Thank you!
Awesome!! So happy this video came at the right time for you. Please keep us posted and share your experiences with us as they unfold. I'd love to hear your thoughts about this setting and what you enjoy/not enjoy about SNF!
@@MiriLee Hey guys! Finished my first Level II FW at a SNF and here are my thoughts:
What I liked: the ability to build rapport and a relationship with the residents, seeing them become more independent with their occupations, excellent interdisciplinary coordination (rehab director, SLPs, PTs, nursing, maintenance staff ), opportunity to educate and train caregivers/family, opportunity to perform home evals, weekly meetings on resident progress, a lot of exposure to run-of-the-mill geriatric diagnoses introduced in school (i.e. fractures, TKA, THA, CABG, COPD, CVA, dementia, depression, anxiety), exposure to splints (mainly prefabricated), lots of exposure to wheelchair positioning and modifications, opportunity to collaborate with the COTAs, ability to focus on ADLs.
What I didn't like: Mary wasn't kidding about documentation! There were evals, progress notes, daily notes, discharge summaries, telephone orders, equipment orders, and more. Didn't like the facility focus on "getting all the minutes" on a resident even if they demonstrate decreased tolerance for therapy. Also facility pressure to perform screens (essentially mini evals) on LTC/memory care residents. This is mainly done in order to put residents on caseload in order to make more money, even when a resident has demonstrated max rehab potential. This is all due to how healthcare is structured here in the U.S. but is something we can advocate for.
Overall I really enjoyed my experience in the SNF setting. I had a great fieldwork educator which goes a long way. Productivity for the evaluating OTs wasn't too demanding (~80%) also. Although documentation was the bane of my existence, I learned so much about the common diagnoses you will see in the elderly. I also really enjoyed building relationships with my residents even though it was challenging at times. There are definitely some humbling moments such as helping those with toilet hygiene, bathing, and things like that, but it's part of the gig. I recommend making sure you know your precautions (hip, shoulder, sternal, spinal, pacemaker, etc). Also be sure to look up alternative strengthening/activity tolerance interventions (residents get bored doing the same thing); if you're creative unlike me, you'll be fine!
**For other BrOTs in the making: on occasion, I would get the traditional elderly female patient who prefers females to do certain ADLs. If you are confident and assure them that you are a professional and are respectful of their modesty, you'll have success in that area. Obviously, respect their culture and dignity, but I have found that this has worked for me and I was able to get more "buy-in".
Good luck guys! Feel free to message me if you have any questions. Next stop, hand therapy! :]
Miri im a COTA now 🙌🙌I really appreciate all of your help thank you so much for all that you do!
oh, Max!! Congratulations on earning that wonderful COTA title! This is just the meaningful of a wonderful, rewarding and fulfilling career and I hope you will be met with all the people, places and opportunities that help you tap into your greatest potential and sense of fulfillment! Thank you for walking this journey with me Max!
Thank you for all you do for the OT community Miri. As a new grad considering entering this setting this video helped me weigh the pros and cons. Much appreciated!
You are so welcome!
Dear Miri,
You are truly my OT guru and inspiration. Your positiveness and passion in this field are very contagious, which helps me to stay positive and push through all the exam reschedules and delays and passing my board exam during this pandemic situation. As somebody who works as a COTA before becoming an OTR, I would say everything that you ask and discuss in this video is on point. On top of everything, I want to say thank you for everything you have done in our profession. I am very sure, when the day I become down and need some motivation to find a bright light to keep continuing on the right path while facing all the corporation's business mindset, I will come to your video to remind and boost myself. Stay safe and be well for you and your family. Thank you.
Hi Jeremy, what a wonderful, thoughtful and heartwarming message. Thank you for taking the time to express your appreciation as well as share words of encouragement. We are in this journey together and we are always stronger when we lift each other up. I hope you continue to feel supported throughout your OT journey and come across many people, places and opportunities that help you thrive. Thank you for being here, Jeremy. Please stay in touch and let me know how you're doing every now and then!
Thank you. Hope you'll make new videos!
Thank you Miri for this video...tomorrow 8/27/18 is the first day of my level to fieldwork at SNF I’m glad I watched this video...although I am scared but I will try my best to learn and enjoy every day at SNF. I love all your videos by the way😍
Hi Mary!! Good to hear from you! How was your first day of Fieldwork? As with anything new, this can be a daunting experience, but you're going to learn and grow so much from it! Soak it all in because all the clinical application you use in this setting will help you with the NBCOT process and the actual clinical work in the field!
OT Miri, thank you Miri for your response and so far I really Ike the skilled nursing ;however, documentation are my biggest concern since I’m new to the setting and not familiar with the word to use...hope you can give me an ideas or if there is a book for documentation specially for skilled nursing settings ...thank you
I find that I struggle with addressing ADL goals with my patients when they have already completed grooming/hygiene and dressing. Any advice?
jayy22 this is my constant struggle
jayy22 get to know your CNA and get to your patient’s room early. Communication matters and it works for me.
I wasn't sure where to request a video topic, but my classmate and I have been watching your peds videos this week (we take our exam in 20 days-eek!) and were wondering what tricks you use to remember the different types of grasps required for handwriting! I didn't see a video on that topic, so I thought I'd ask! Hope you are having a great day! :)
Hi Brooke! Exciting times ahead as you're taking your exam soon! I hope each day leading up to your test date is met with calm confidence and peace. I'm not sure if you watched my pregnancy announcement news, but I've decided to take a quick break from creating study materials during this time. I'm already counting down the days and can't wait to start creating more study materials, but for now, I'll need to focus on self care. But please remember that you have so much creativity within you to come up with tricks for this content area! Think about how you would present the material if you were teaching this to an incoming new cohort next week. Once you empower yourself to be the giver of knowledge, you'll be surprised with how much you know and how well you can synthesize the material. Instill that confidence in yourself and I hope you'll feel empowered to teach this material to your classmates with the tricks that are uniquely yours. You'll do great, Brooke. I believe it!
Jan Davis is my idol too!!💕
She's amazing! I hope to be like her one day :D
Hello, miri can have a favor can you discuss about neurological disorders please🙏thank you in adance 😊
Can you do a home health one?
Yes, it's on the list! But for now, you can check out this article on home health, which provides some of the insights and resources I wish I had known before going into home health. It's got a ton of helpful information: www.otmiri.com/occupational-therapy-in-home-health/