Don't Ignore the "Gut"

Using your “gut” and best instinct can sometimes take you very far in life! Within the profession of occupational therapy this is known as clinical reasoning. Clinical reasoning involves figuring out how to address client issues and interventions by evaluating the clients. This takes both thinking and feeling to make the proper decision for the client. There are several different types of clinical reasoning: scientific, procedural, narrative, interactive, pragmatic, ethical, and conditional. However, the end goal is the same for all – providing the foundation for making choices and helping improve client’s ability to function and engaging in occupations. Clinical reasoning is important in occupational therapy because we want to keep the client safe and happy. I’m not sure about you, but my “gut” feeling is always there when I’m stuck in a dilemma and it is usually right! So don't ignore the gut because the body is a powerful intuitive communicator. 

The Fundamentals of Caring

I decided to do my first neuro note on the movie The Fundamentals of Caring. I chose this movie to be apart of my neuro notes because in the description it talked about a relationship between a caregiver and client. I wanted to gain knowledge on how to build better relationships with people.

The Fundamentals of Caring was a very warming, enjoyable movie about a teen named Trevor and his caregiver Ben. Trevor suffers from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) and it limits his mobility. However, Ben was not going to let DMD stop Trevor from living his life to the fullest. The two sought out an adventure to road trip across the country to visit American famous roadside attractions. This journey brought the two closer together while meeting people along the way to their final destination. Just as Ben was helping Trevor, Trevor was also helping Ben in many ways.

As an occupational therapy student, the movie was very eye-opening to the role that I should have with my clients.  Ben’s main goal was to get Trevor to step outside of the norm and live life. It is important for occupational therapy practitioners to look past the disability and build relationships with the clients. Trevor was able to trust Ben in a manner that he never imagined because of the relationship that they formed. This movie shows how important a positive relationship is. Not only did Ben act as Trevor’s caregiver, but he was his friend. If we build these type of relationships with our clients they might be more willing to participate in therapy, open up about occupations they want to do, and trust us in our role as occupational therapy practitioners. At the end of the day, we are all humans with emotions, and we all want someone to understand how we feel.

Before watching this movie, I was clueless about Trevor’s disability Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. To further my learning, I researched and gained knowledge about DMD. The movie also indicated limitations and precautions associated with DMD. I recommend this movie to all health care professionals, not just occupational therapist, because it really shows how we should want out clients to make the most of their time and live past their disabilities!

Burnett, R., Gigliotti, D., & Spies, J. (2016). The Fundamentals of Caring [Streaming video].  
            Retrieved from https://www.netflix.com/title/80097349

Take Note!

Clinical documentation is necessary in all health-related professions! It is extremely important for our profession of occupational therapy. Documentation provides a justification for OT service and an accurate record. It gives an insight of what we done, where they are, and a plan. This records allows common communication with other practitioners who might also be working with the same client. In our profession, it is common the use the SOAP method when writing documents on a client. The SOAP has four main parts: subjective, objective, assessment/ analysis, and plan. This plan makes sure we cover everything that is needed for documentation. If you don’t document, it didn’t happen!