First impressions on the internship

Sheesh! One week down 11 to go! It feels like it's already been about a month. Just not used to actually being up and moving all day. In school we sit on our arses all day. (he he he...arse! I'm irish already!) Anyway, when I was signed up for the internship my supervisor was a lady named Linda Penny, which was amazing cuz Linda is Kurt's mom's name and Penny is my mom's name! She specializes in Emergency Room OT and outpatient hand therapy. Well, when I got here I find out she is out with a back injury for at least two weeks...and the other therapists say they doubt she'll be back even then. So I was assigned a temporary supervisor. Well, actually I got to choose between two. One was acute neuro and the other was care of the elderly, aka nursing home. Anyone who knows my therapy preferences knows I hands down chose the acute neuro! So my supervisor is now Bridget. She is from South Africa and is really laid back. Laizze Fair type of leader. I'm really not to keen on acute care either to be honest, but I do like neuro. Acute is just frusterating b/c I feel like I can't do anything with the patients due to their present status of having just recently had strokes or brain injuries. Its pretty much passive range of motion exercises, assessing cognition, and making sure they have proper seating programs throughout the day. Right now my favorite patient is J, who recently suffered paralysis of his legs and also has Down's Syndrome. Our basic goal in therapy is to help increase his coping because he is severedly depressed about being in the hospital and being paralyzed. All this means that I get to help him do crafts, which he loves to do! Fun fun fun! Some time I'll do a little write up about the socialized medicine they have here, but don't want to bore you at the moment with too much healthcare mumbo jumbo!

Anyway, I think I'm doing pretty well fitting in with the staff...feel a little like envy sometimes when they're talking about something I have no clue about and feel left out. But the staff is pretty much all young, except maybe two, and are really friendly and easy to work with. They have all offered to help me if I need it and also will tell me when they're doing something exciting or might be interested in. Today I went on a home visit with Michelle from the stroke rehab unit (where I might transfer to in a couple of weeks if Linda doesn't come back...would LOVE to. I really like rehab hospital setting), and then went with her to a meeting with other OTs who treat stroke patients from Dublin and the surrounding areas. They're starting a sort of support group amongst themselves, which I think is brilliant! Its kinda funny cuz they are going to start a journal club to keep current on the latest research. Made me appreciate Dr. Decker b/c a few of them said they would need help understanding how to read an article! Good ol research!

Now I'm home and am probably not gonna do much this evening because a) I have no friends or plans and b) I am going to get up early tomorrow, rent a car and go exploring around the country!! Picture me rollin in a tiny car, driver seat on the right side of the car, driving on the right side of the road around a round about!! Yikes! Hopefully I live to update you with some pictures of what I find out there :)