Belated Birthday Surprise

S: For those of you who didn't know I had a birthday yesterday the 25th of April and it was pretty uneventful. Like most people in the real world I still had to do my job and I didn't tell many people at work so it wasn't that big of a deal anyhow.

O: I recieved birthday phone calls from Matt Saller, Cody Blair, Clay Chesser and Alex LaBounty. I got text messages for Robert McCall and Eric Hise. I went to eat at Red Lobster with my mom and since it was my birthday I got free chocolate cake, and don't worry there was singing involved too. The funny thing about the whole singing situation is, as most of you know, in most cases the entire wait staff gathers around your table to make a spectacle of the whole situation. I on the other hand had my waitress only serenading me with the happy birthday song, since all of the other waiter/waitresses were busy. I think this is even more embarrassing than having a group sing for two reasons 1) if it a group they can lack lusterly sing through the song and you can find the person who cares the least and look at them the entire time 2) When a solo is being sung to you it is kind of awkward to have to look into the eyes of a stranger singing you happy birthday. But today I got good post birthday surprise, I found out that I was getting paid for my time at the facility. Keeping in mind I was not expecting this at all, today as I sat at my desk my clinical instructor placed a W-4 in front of me and said fill this out so you can get paid. It took all I had not to jump up and click my heels. I maintained my composure and just completed the form and turned it in. I realize the check can be anywhere for $50 to $500, but what ever it is I will gladly accept it because it is unexpected.

A: I am ready to close out this week and begin the final stretch of this part of my journey. One more week in this facility and then I move on to the next challenge.

P: Keep working hard and enjoy the fact that in about 28 weeks people will be able to call me DOCTOR.

MOJO Spring Football

S: I am happy today because I get to see something I haven't seen in about 7 years, and that is a Permian High Spring football practice. I was proud of the boys in black and white last season for doing something that hadn't been done since I was in high school and that is make the Texas High School playoffs. It make me even more proud to know that the didn't get in because of the expansion of the number of teams entering the playoffs, but because they were one of the best teams in the district. I am pumped to see what next season holds for the Panthers.

O: At work today I say 2 patients, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I also had 2 patients cancel on me which made for an even longer afternoon. I had another Spanish speaking pre-employment which one of the guys deliberately called me over to do knowing that I am horrible with Spanish. I also had a pretty good scare today because I lost some paperwork from two weeks ago and we had to search for it for an hour or so before I found it in one of the least likely places it would be in the entire facility, so a weight was lifted from my shoulders. Had I not found them I think I might have not passed the affiliation, may be not, but it felt like I would. After work I went out to spring practice and reflected back on the good old days of high school football, and being happy I wasn't having to go through that anymore.

A: It's going to be a great next couple weeks because I got some good news about my last day and that I will get to leave at NOON.

P:FINISH STRONG

It was an Interesting day

S: I woke-up this morning at 5:30ish to get to work early so I could drive with one of the physical therapist to do a back clinic. Being up and at'em so early brought some important things to my attention such as: 1) donut places and Whataburger are the only things open before 7:00 am and 2) old retired guys look forward to meeting at these donut places to start their day.

O: When I got back to the clinic I didn't have many patients to see so the day was fairly uneventful except for two unforgettable people. The first was a young man who came to get a physical for his job, this guy was skinny and his pant were too big. The first thing I asked him to do is to take off his shirt and shoes, which is standard protocol. Low and behold that under his too big pants he is not wearing any underwear, which in his daily routine may not be a big deal. This is a problem in this situations because the physical required him to do activities that will cause him to sweat, which has to be uncomfortable, and it also requires him to bend to touch his toes to get range of motion measurements. Sadly enough this is not the first time someone has come to a pre-employment screen "commando", but a little modesty goes along way considering they are out in the open and ladies perform part of the physical. The next situation makes me want to go back to elementary, junior high and high school and pay attention in Spanish class. Being from Texas it is not uncommon to encounter people who only speak Spanish, but this is not a problem until you are attempting to give instructions to perform movements and the only people who can translate are laughing at you. I am trying to learn the terms that apply for this these screens but I don't use them enough to learn them.

O: So what I need to do is first of all send a memo to employers sending people for jobs asking them to tell these guys to wear underwear when they come or if they don't at least wear pants that fit. Secondly I need to go back to school or at least to a Spanish of physical therapist class so I communicate and possibly make more money.

P: Hope that tomorrow bring people who aren't going to flash me and speak fluent English.

Recap of the week that was

S: This week marked the mid-term of my second clinical affiliation and thus the review of my performance thus far. I was constructively criticized on somethings I did wrong and complemented on things I had done well thus far. The biggest highlight or event of this week was a "flatulent" pre-employment screenee. While performing a routine evaluation that is done on several health individuals prior to going and working for various companies, the person I was evaluating began passing gas. This was not the one accidental slip while performing a task, but instead it was a stream of gas that came while he was standing still and I was writing measurements down 3 feet away form him. Lucky of me I had completed the portion of the examination that required me to have contact with the low back and buttock region, so I quickly pressed along maintaining a professional demeanor.

O: This week I got 2 new patients and continued treating the 4 patients I have acquired during my time there. I have also performed more pre-employment screens than I can count.

A: I am still surviving and the days are flying by and I feel that I have learned some valuable lessons this week and the previous 3 weeks as well.

P: Press on to the goal. Finish up in 3 weeks and continue my journey to graduation.

D. Collins, SPT

Today...Just like any other day

S: I felt tired this morning waking up. I didn't really feel up to the challenge of work today, but the midterm evaluation was fresh on my mind so I had no choice but to suck it up.

O: I did a couple of pre-employment screens and those roughnecks always smell of sweat or cigarettes of a combination of both. Today's pateint treatments went well with no major complaints or making anyone cry. I had one new evaluation which was a knee patient who I thought was going to hit me for pulling on his knee. He didn't and I survived another day at OPT.

A: I think I am making good progress in becoming a good physical therapist, but I'm going for great. We'll see how that turns out.

P: Keep getting better everyday and never stop learning.

D. Collins, SPT

For those who read my blog

For those of you who read this thing I am going to present information for the remainder of my clinical affiliations in a SOAP note format. For those of you who don't know what a SOAP note is it is a method of documentation employed by doctors and other health care providers to write out notes in a patient's chart. The "S" stands for "subjective", which is the feelings or complaints a patient expresses during a visit or any other information they provide. The "O" stands for "objective" or the things that take place during therapy and are measurable. The "A" is for "assessment" in this portion of the note the healthcare provider gets to express what he or she saw during therapy and whether of not the patient had any problems during treatment. The final section "P" is for "plan" which is pretty self explanatory, but I'll tell you anyway. In this section we write what we're going to do the following visit.

So my SOAP notes will go something like this:

S: I really am looking forward to work today because I get to see my favorite patient.

O: Today I treated said patient for 30 minutes and almost made he or she cry in the process. I didn't mean to but hey it happens.

A: The day went by fast and all was well. I am a little tired but it could be worse.

P: Wake-up go to work again and see what the day has in store.

D.Collins,SPT


That is about how it's going to go, some days will be more eventful than others so stay tuned to see what goes on in my life.