It is a truth universally acknowledged that Midterms, and
all the associated stress, causes much despair amongst fledging therapists. Our
midterm treatment demonstration, presentation and case study are used to guide
our learning, provide us with direction for Finals, and are used as a baseline
for how we’re functioning as therapists thus far. My experience of Midterms was
generally a positive one, I feel like I’ve accomplished quite a lot with my
clients and, most importantly, that I’ve displayed some growth as a therapist.
The most difficult aspect of midterms for me was planning my
treatment demonstration. It is an aspect of our fieldwork that is greatly
different from what we did last year, which was pure assessment of your client’s
ability to perform a task. My demonstration was not challenging enough for my
client, and as a result there was minimal therapeutic actions and treatment of
the factors I was hoping to address. My supervisor recommended that for finals
I put more thought into what skills I can demonstrate as an OT through the
activity, displaying that I have a good understanding of my client, their
limitations, and what I can do at that moment to improve their functioning. This feedback was vital, as it translates over to all my subsequent treatment sessions, and had me asking: have I done enough? Receiving feedback is never easy, according to Telio, Aijawi and Regehr (2012), this is because "the desire for feedback is in tension with the fear of critical or negative performance appraisal". My feedback has been beneficial because I've been able to identify my challenges and make progress towards improving, and often it takes an external voice to make the way forward clearer. In hindsight, there were so many more therapeutic opportunities for
me during my sandwich-making demonstration with my client. The good
news is that I can see them now, clear as day, and that is the benefit of Midterms.
Overall, I was satisfied with my case presentation and case
study. These taught me how to go about obtaining collateral information,
relevant information, and how to compile intervention plans. I have extensive
feedback on how to improve, and plan on incorporating all of this from the
early stages of treatment with my Finals clients. My approach to Finals is to
improve my treatment technique, allowing for maximum education and therapeutic
value in all my actions, I cannot afford to be passive, as this is of no
benefit to my learning or my client’s treatment. The inclusion of treatment
planning was a giant leap from second year but it’s made easier when you apply
logic, a lesson I was slow to learn throughout Midterms. What can my client do?
My assessments paint a clear picture. What do they need to do and what is stopping
them from doing so? That’s intervention planning. Lesson learnt.
So yes, it is a truth universally acknowledged that
Midterms, and all associated stress, causes much despair amongst fledgling
therapists. However, we’ve made it! It’s over! We’re better prepared. We have knowledge
about our shortcomings and plans to improve. We have more experience. We have
opportunity. Now, we need to implement those plans and conquer fieldwork.
Until next week,
Kaylee
References:
Anderson, P. A. (2012). Giving feedback on clinical skills: are we starving our young?. Journal of graduate medical education, 4(2), 154-158.
Telio, S., Ajjawi, R., & Regehr, G. (2015). The “educational alliance” as a framework for reconceptualizing feedback in medical education. Academic Medicine, 90(5), 609-614.
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What a wonderful opportunity to become a better version of who you are. Growth is proof that you are living so onward and upward!
ReplyDeleteOne of the ways you can improve your treatment handling and implementation is to practice your treatment session prior to the session to see how you may need to apply the specific principles you have chosen to help you achieve the aim for your particular session. Good luck