Neuro Outpatients

During my previous placements, I was able to apply most of the techniques/skills that we learnt at university however in my current Neuro Outpatients placement, I have not been able to practice what we were taught at uni including basic skills to transfer patients. This is simply because my supervisor uses a more integrated approach (Bobath etc) and most of his skills are very different from what we learnt. During the first week of prac, I was very overwhelmed with all the new treatment techniques and handling skills that my supervisor has demonstrated and became confused in choosing the appropriate approach, not knowing if I should apply what I have learnt at uni or what my supervisor has taught in a day. In most occasions, I had to choose what my supervisor preferred.

In order to solve my confusion, I approached my supervisor to find out more about his expectations in this placement and I was told that most importantly I must be able to rationalize my treatment choices/techniques, four-week placement will be too short for me to learn everything and a lot of it will really come with experience. I should also choose a treatment approach that I feel most comfortable with as long as I make sure the patient is safe. Constant evaluation is also necessary. Knowing my supervisor’s expectations has helped me to know where to focus in order to pass this placement. In this placement, I think I will only be able to practice what my supervisor preferred. Even though I really hope to practice the skills that we learnt at uni on “real” patients, this placement will definitely be a good opportunity for me to learn more different approaches/skills that were not taught at uni and to have more options to choose what is best for myself and my patients.