This semester I completed my first clinical rotation! At first, I was extremely nervous to be in a rehab facility assisting patients and putting my newly learned skills into practice. My nerves quickly went away (not completely, but enough to be comfortable) when I met my clinical instructor and the staff on the unit I had been placed. They were all very supportive, explained how my nerves are expected, as they were once in my shoes, and shared words of support and encouragement. The clients on my floor were also, for the most part, very supportive of my learning which helped me to feel more comfortable to hone my skills and provide some basic patient care. At first, I was not sure how much I would be able to do for my clients as my scope of practice is limited, but I felt like I really connected with one of the clients on the floor during my 4thweek of my clinical experience. I felt like I made a difference or at least made their day a little brighter. This particular client was much younger than the rest of the clients on the floor, and they had suffered from a stroke. Due to the clients young age, I felt like we were able to relate to each other a little better than most. The client was having a particularly hard day and was struggling to cope with their diagnosis and the complications as a result of their stroke. They did not have the best therapy session and as a result they had to adjust the client’s schedule and move a second physical therapy session to later that afternoon, because of the schedule change the client was not able to have any visitors that day. The client was extremely upset because the visitor would not be able to come again for another couple of days. The client was upset at the world and was having a hard time accepting their limitations as a result of the stroke. I made myself available to this client. I offered to get them water, ginger ale, ice, anything they needed, and we talked. We were able to strike up a conversation and joke about different social media outlets, talk about funny pictures the client had posted in their room, and the client also shared how they were feeling regarding what had happened to them, which really meant a lot to me. Being able to be there to comfort the client that day was really eye-opening for me. I feel like all the stress I was carrying about doing every little skill I have learned perfectly, which had been consuming my mind, very quickly went away. It was at that moment that I truthfully realized I was consumed with worry about me, when I should have been more concerned about the client’s current emotional state and well-being. For me it was a significant learning experience and for my client it was a welcome distraction from all of the emotions they had been experiencing that day. I felt like I truly made a difference by being able to sit with my client and be the visitor that was not able to show up that day, and I say that because we only had clinical once a week so I often only saw my clients once before they were discharged or continued their treatment plan on a different unit, or hospital, etc. I felt like the client needed to laugh, and talk, and have a “normal” conversation not related to their care and I was proud to be able to provide that level of support at the exact moment it was needed.
