Situation: On Monday morning both my supervisor and fellow prac student were on sick leave, the physiotherapy management were unable to find a relief for the morning so I was on my own on the ward and was able to page another physio if I needed help.
Task: My task was to represent physio for the ward's morning handover with the multidisciplinary team and then to see as many patients as I could manage.
Action: Not suprisingly there were 8 new patients on the ward that morning so I found it was essential to prioritise my case load. Conveniently 4 of them were not indicated for physio. I knew that I wasn't expected to see every patient that morning but I felt it was important not to just stick to my patients but see to the priority patients of my supervisor and my fellow prac student as able.
Result: As a result a few of my own patients were a low priority so I managed to see 6 priority patients of my supervisor, fellow prac student and mine collectively. I had the help of a physio with one of the patients as they were an acute stroke with a GCS of 9-10 and I didnt feel comfortable seeing them on my own.
Evaluation: I think I handled the situation well as I didn't get overwhelmed with the initial 16 patient case load I also enjoyed having the independence. I felt confident representing physio in the handover meeting and voicing my opinion in relation to patient management and discharge. I also learnt how to use a pager!
Strategies: I found that patient prioritisation was essential to manage the case load and it is obviously a vital skill required when I will be managing a ward independently once graduated. Good communication is important when liasing with the nursing staff and medical team to ascertain whether physiotherapy is a priority for the patients management.
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