Blog 22: Mentorship

Literal:
Hours log - See link on blog
Contact name and place of mentorship - Robbie Faustino, PT aide, Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation.

Interpretive:
The most important thing I learned during my time at Casa Colina was probably the flow of hospitals. I watched so many evaluations and saw so many plans of treatment play out that towards the end it became easy to predict the way things would turn out. One of the most interesting things I've taken from my senior project is how the human body is a machine like any other, and can be treated as such in physical therapy. There are treatments with such high rates of proven clinical effectiveness that once the PT gets that eval out of the way, the finish line is already in sight. Even though patients will come in presenting very different problems to the PT, the treatment flows the same way for the most part. The first portion of treatment always begins with tentativeness and anxiety on the patient's part, but later on treatment goes more smoothly as the patient gets more and more comfortable, falling into the routine of performing their prescribed exercises. This kind of thing is good to know and gives insight on why hospitals do things the way they do.

Applied:
The 50+ hours I put in at Casa Colina gave me a lot of insight on how exactly the healthcare system works, and what we need to do to improve it. PTs like Annie, Dave, and Manny have been working in physical therapy for a long time and gave me their views on streamlining medical records and improving patient education in hospitals. Cinnamon and Robbie, PT Aides who did more of the hands on stuff with the patients, showed me how to effectively treat and maintain the body in the event of injury/disease. I talked with a lot of patients about what they thought of their experiences in Casa Colina, which as cool, but a lot of the time I could tell what they thought just based on body language alone. A lot of the first time patients gave off incredible vibes of anxiety and fear, and I think the hectic nature of a physical therapy ward is not very conducive to stress-free treatment. More than one patient also told me that they wished they could have consistency with their physicians, and that having PTs constantly changing in and out with their schedules was tiresome. All this combined with my research on healthcare policy improvements made it clear to me that patient centered care was probably the best answer to my EQ. This care model addressed everything I had learned regarding patient needs and the required conditions for effective care. If I just did research using online sources and print resources, I doubt I would've arrived at the same answer. The PTs and PTAs at Casa Colina were very helpful in nudging my research in the right direction.    

Blog #12: Mentorship 10 Hours CHeck

1. I'm currently doing my mentorship at Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation

2.  My contact is Andrea Haston DPT, ATC

3. I've done a total of 16 hours.

4.  I do a lot of observing at Casa Colina. I watch my mentor treat patients and listen while she explains anatomy and PT concepts to me. I also talk to the patients quite a bit. I learn about what they're going through and what exercises my mentor has prescribed them to help them get better. I help out in maintaining the PT ward as well; I throw dirty linens in the laundry basket and replace them with clean ones, wipe down tables, and make ice packs when one of the PT's/PTAs needs them.

Blog #2: Summer Mentorship

1. Mentorship Log
 https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jiPQKkUNaBeqHjmeXuUmfIGigAjKZmpf5BdjUfenGlM/edit?usp=sharing

2.  Dr. Andrea Haston, DPT.
     Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation.
     866-724-4127

3.  Questions I have:
(for my mentor) How did you decide on PT as a career? What did the schooling entail? What's the most rewarding part of the job?
(general questions) What qualities should someone in PT possess to ensure a good patient experience? Are the patients you deal with mostly elderly, or is the age range pretty broad? What other people in the hospital do PTs work closely with?

4.  The most important thing I gained from in this experience was a different perspective on being in a hospital setting. When you think about it, most people only have to visit hospitals when there's something wrong with them or when there's something wrong with a family member or close friend. That was true for myself as well, so as you can imagine, going to the hospital was never particularly fun for me. This mentorship experience shed a different kind of light on hospitals for me. I was able look around and take everything in for what it was, and it was really kind of fascinating. When you're the one that's sick, you're just thinking "How bad is it, Doc?" But when you're on the other side, you're thinking "What can I do to help this person in the best way possible?" People tend to think of doctors as bringers of bad news, but in actuality they're problems solvers. This was made clear to me after my first day of mentorship, and even though I don't think I want to be a physical therapist, I think that a job in the medical field is definitely for me.  

5. My senior topic is going to be on Physical Therapy. It wasn't my first choice (I wanted to Anesthesiology),  but Casa Colina is close to school, and my mentor has very set work hours and a high availability on weekdays, so getting hours this year shouldn't be an issue at all. Physical Therapy is also a job that I can easily shadow and participate in to some degree. If I decided to stick with Anesthesiology, the only thing I'd really be able to do is interview my mentor. I wouldn't be allowed to go into operating rooms at all. So after weighing the two against each other, I decided on PT. During my mentorship I'm actually interacting with people and getting a good idea of what PT is all about, so I think it'll make for a much better experience, and by extension, a much better senior project.

Well that's about it for this blog post so peace out girl scouts!