rehab rounds

Lately I have been talking a lot about going with the flow of your pt. and being flexible. There is one place where things are a little bit different: rehab.

I am currently on my rotation in inpatient rehab. If a kiddo is in this unit, it means that physically they are not able to go home safely yet. It is mainly comprised of kids with TBIs (traumatic brain injuries) and SCI (spinal cord injuries). Rehab is also an incredibly structured unit. Every kid on rehab gets 2 hours of PT and OT each day, as well as ST and MT, which gives them a pretty full schedule. Sometimes those sessions may get started a little late, but they will happen unless a kid is really sick or another clear cut medical reason. Being tired is not an excuse to not have therapy because the purpose of all this is so that the kids can get stronger and go home.

One very cool thing about this unit is "rehab rounds". This is where the doctors, a representative from nursing staff, Child Life, PT, OT, ST, MT, social work, nutrition, psychology, and chaplaincy all get together once a week during lunch and go over their goals for the pt. for that week and what they have accomplished, etc. It's really interesting to listen to the other disciplines talk about each kid and what works well, progress they have made, and it lets other disciplines know any issues they might be having. This is all so that the kids we see can get the best care possible. THIS week we had 7 kids to talk about. That is a beyond huge number, and we are going to be getting more, soon. So with an hour and a half to talk about all these kids, everyone had to be super succinct and quick with their goals and notes.

On rehab services we have very specific goals that we work toward, so the sessions tend to be more structured than in other areas. Instead of choices between tasks, the choices are between what we do first or last. We also do LOTS of co-treats with other disciplines! This week I have had 2 co-treats with ST and OT, and I have observed a few more with OT, ST, and PT.

Anyways... rehab is tons of fun, and is very different from the other areas I have seen so far!