Home visits

I recently completed a paedeatric clinical placement that provided me with opportunities to experience different treatment environments. Treatment involved using the facilities at the centre I was located at, home visits for clients and also group classes at an external venue. Most of the treatment/assessment sessions occured at clients houses, and this was a change for me given that all placements to date have been inpatient settings. As a result, my day would consist of arriving at the centre and then going on arranged visits to the clients and their families. Between visits on a single day time would then be devoted to travel and also planning for treatment sessions. This type of placement was a big change for me due to having only completed inpatient placements, and I did feel slightly lost initially. I found I struggled to occupy myself during the time between visits, and was not using the time constructively. It was only after the first week had passed that I began to realise how important the time between visits was, as I began to appreciate the importance of these treament sessions. The facility I was attending used the family centred practice model, and the role of the therapists was more of an educated advisors then therapists, as the family were primary therapists. As a result, the one hour or so treatment sessions each family recieved every few weeks needed to be as effective as possible. This required a diversion from the treatment I was used to, as education of the parents was far more important than any treatment benefits the child attained over that one hour. As a result, treatment planning became extremely important, as did prioritising treatment goals for each sessions. I learnt to split my treatment goals and interventions between therapists, for instance, while at school the client was to focus on activities that would address impairment A, while at home strategies were in place to address impairment B. This taught me in a short period of time how important treatment planning was, and also how it is vital to refine the content of your treatment sessions so that any advice offered is understood. Following this I managed to make much more effective use of my planning time at the facility, which was assisted by communication with other therapists (speech therapy, OT) in order to reinforce our individual goals and also decrease any confusion we may be causing the client. Unfortunately, given that the placement was only 4 weeks in duration, I was unable to see if any great changes had occured, and I am unaware of how effectively the strategies put in place were followed in the clients different environments