Fulfills commitments to the professional community
Occupational therapy highly values utilizing research in our daily practice so as to provide the most evidence-based services to our clients. Research allows us to stay current on effective and efficient interventions to use in our sessions. When our interventions are effective we are able to treat the client in terms of mind and body, or holistically. Likewise, when our interventions are efficient, we are able to treat the client with as few treatment sessions required, as well as fewer financial burdens incurred to the insurance companies per fewer sessions. As an occupational therapy student, I had several opportunities to present on topics that I researched heavily throughout my fieldworks in order to provide additional education to other team members at my fieldwork sites.
Although it wasn't a hand clinic, my first site required a lot of therapy for my clients with arthritis or contractures in their hands. The hand is a very complicated structure because it's comprised of 34 muscles and roughly 123 ligaments, which help move our fingers to perform daily tasks. If a person can no longer move their fingers then it limits his ability to do the laundry, cook for himself, and bathe and toilet himself, among other activities of daily living. This will eventually impair his quality of life. My first presentation was about common hand injuries found in older adults who are living in a skilled nursing facility. Many of the injuries were based on the ones I had worked on during my time at this facility; the others were based on information I found in textbooks (Bonder and Dal Bello-Haas, 2009; Radomski and Trombly, 2014) and websites (MedicineNet.com, n.d.; AidMyCarpalTunnel.com, n.d.; PTSIowa.com, n.d.; Bell & Gaillard, n.d.; Goel & Desai, n.d.) I had gathered information from. I felt this information was pertinent to share with my teammates because putting someone's hand in a splint required a solid understanding about hand anatomy and pathology, and I know personally that it took me one to two weeks before I was able to apply the splint without my fieldwork educator providing feedback to correct my placement of the splint. I constantly reviewed hand and forearm anatomy as well as proper splinting techniques to help me better understand what I was doing as I was applying the splint to my client. Correct placement of a splint on the hand is important in order to prevent tissue deterioration and improve proper hand hygiene. Another reason I felt this was important to touch on was because incoming occupational therapy students may want a refresher on splint application since practicing this skill in class is totally different than using it in the real world. Nevertheless, I was able to fulfill educational commitments to the professional community at my fieldwork site by researching information related to hand injuries in older adults, relaying that information and how to correctly splint based on a certified hand therapist's recommendations, to my teammates.
Although it wasn't a hand clinic, my first site required a lot of therapy for my clients with arthritis or contractures in their hands. The hand is a very complicated structure because it's comprised of 34 muscles and roughly 123 ligaments, which help move our fingers to perform daily tasks. If a person can no longer move their fingers then it limits his ability to do the laundry, cook for himself, and bathe and toilet himself, among other activities of daily living. This will eventually impair his quality of life. My first presentation was about common hand injuries found in older adults who are living in a skilled nursing facility. Many of the injuries were based on the ones I had worked on during my time at this facility; the others were based on information I found in textbooks (Bonder and Dal Bello-Haas, 2009; Radomski and Trombly, 2014) and websites (MedicineNet.com, n.d.; AidMyCarpalTunnel.com, n.d.; PTSIowa.com, n.d.; Bell & Gaillard, n.d.; Goel & Desai, n.d.) I had gathered information from. I felt this information was pertinent to share with my teammates because putting someone's hand in a splint required a solid understanding about hand anatomy and pathology, and I know personally that it took me one to two weeks before I was able to apply the splint without my fieldwork educator providing feedback to correct my placement of the splint. I constantly reviewed hand and forearm anatomy as well as proper splinting techniques to help me better understand what I was doing as I was applying the splint to my client. Correct placement of a splint on the hand is important in order to prevent tissue deterioration and improve proper hand hygiene. Another reason I felt this was important to touch on was because incoming occupational therapy students may want a refresher on splint application since practicing this skill in class is totally different than using it in the real world. Nevertheless, I was able to fulfill educational commitments to the professional community at my fieldwork site by researching information related to hand injuries in older adults, relaying that information and how to correctly splint based on a certified hand therapist's recommendations, to my teammates.
Another opportunity that I had to fulfill commitments to the professional community at my fieldwork site was during my pediatric rotation when I provided the staff (teachers, OT, speech therapists, and principals) with information about bruxism in children with Down syndrome and how to curb the habit. This topic came to my attention while I was working with several young children and they were making a noise with their mouths. I asked a teacher what that was and she explained that they were grinding their teeth. I inquired if she knew why they did that but she said she did not. From that moment on, I tried to find information regarding the topic and how OT could help with it. Bruxism relates to the scope of practice for OT because it is often related to hyposensitive oral thresholds in children with low muscle tone, including children with Down syndrome (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009). This is important because it affects a child's ability to attend to task and therefore disrupts participation in daily occupations (i.e. classroom activities, feeding, leisure, etc.). Unfortunately, OT does not have a lot of research on bruxism specifically, which limited the amount of information I could find to provide solutions to the staff. Nevertheless, I discussed what I did find with my fieldwork educator and we were able to conclude key points that highlighted how OT could help reduce the frequency of bruxism. Much of the information I found was from a speech therapist who had a lot of experience with bruxism, especially in children with sensory needs. Although my information comes predominantly from the SLP, my fieldwork site's SLP, my fieldwork educator and I concluded that carryover was pertinent to reduce the amount of teeth grinding. When I conveyed this to the staff, they agreed that carryover was necessary. For my LEND training competency, I had provided a short survey to be taken before and after the presentation to determine if each person learned something from my informational session, and if so whether they would apply it going forward. Majority of participants stated they learned something new and hoped to follow through with more application in the future. Based on the results, I provided information to the professional community at my pediatric fieldwork site.
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Resources:
Aidmycarpaltunnel.com. (n.d.). Common wrist injuries. Retrieved from http://www.aidmycarpaltunnel.com/common-wrist-injuries/sprained-wrist.php .
Bell, D.J. & Gaillard, F. (n.d.). Smith fracture. Retrieved from https://radiopaedia.org/articles/smith-fracture .
Bell, E., Kaidonis, J., & Townsend, G. (2002). Tooth wear in children with Down syndrome. Australian Dental Journal, 47(1), 30-35.
Bonder, B.R. & Dal Bello-Haas, V. (2009). Functional performance in older adults (3rd Ed.) Philadelphia, PA. F.A. Davis Company.
Goel, A. & Desai, P.K. (n.d.). Colles fracture. Retrieved from https://radiopaedia.org/articles/colles-fracture .
Lopez-Perez, R., Lopez-Morales, P., Borges-Yanez, S., Maupome, G., and Pares-Vidrio, G. (2007). Prevalence of bruxism among Mexican children with Down syndrome. Down Syndrome Research and Practice, 12(1), 45-49.
Lowsky, D.C. (2013, December 11). Oral sensitivities and low tone in children with Down syndrome. Retrieved from https://www.arktherapeutic.com/blog/oral-sensitivities-and-low-tone-in-children-with-down-syndrome/ .
MedicineNet.com. (n.d.). Falls and fractures in seniors. Medicinenet.com from WebMD. Retrieved from http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=7774&page=1 .
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2009). Practical oral care for people with Down syndrome. Retrieved from https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/sites/default/files/2017-09/practical-oral-care-down-syndrome.pdf .
Ptsiowa.com. (n.d.). Elbow, wrist and hand. Retrieved from http://www.ptsiowa.com/body-diagram/elbow-wrist-and-hand/ .
Radomski, M., Trombly, C. (2014). Occupational Therapy for Physical Dysfunction. (7th Ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
Aidmycarpaltunnel.com. (n.d.). Common wrist injuries. Retrieved from http://www.aidmycarpaltunnel.com/common-wrist-injuries/sprained-wrist.php .
Bell, D.J. & Gaillard, F. (n.d.). Smith fracture. Retrieved from https://radiopaedia.org/articles/smith-fracture .
Bell, E., Kaidonis, J., & Townsend, G. (2002). Tooth wear in children with Down syndrome. Australian Dental Journal, 47(1), 30-35.
Bonder, B.R. & Dal Bello-Haas, V. (2009). Functional performance in older adults (3rd Ed.) Philadelphia, PA. F.A. Davis Company.
Goel, A. & Desai, P.K. (n.d.). Colles fracture. Retrieved from https://radiopaedia.org/articles/colles-fracture .
Lopez-Perez, R., Lopez-Morales, P., Borges-Yanez, S., Maupome, G., and Pares-Vidrio, G. (2007). Prevalence of bruxism among Mexican children with Down syndrome. Down Syndrome Research and Practice, 12(1), 45-49.
Lowsky, D.C. (2013, December 11). Oral sensitivities and low tone in children with Down syndrome. Retrieved from https://www.arktherapeutic.com/blog/oral-sensitivities-and-low-tone-in-children-with-down-syndrome/ .
MedicineNet.com. (n.d.). Falls and fractures in seniors. Medicinenet.com from WebMD. Retrieved from http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=7774&page=1 .
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2009). Practical oral care for people with Down syndrome. Retrieved from https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/sites/default/files/2017-09/practical-oral-care-down-syndrome.pdf .
Ptsiowa.com. (n.d.). Elbow, wrist and hand. Retrieved from http://www.ptsiowa.com/body-diagram/elbow-wrist-and-hand/ .
Radomski, M., Trombly, C. (2014). Occupational Therapy for Physical Dysfunction. (7th Ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.