An Update from Hands

Happy August, everyone!!

I hope the eighth month of the year is finding you well.

I haven't written much about OT life recently, so this one goes out to all of you Wash-Uers who want to hear about things like dynamic wrist extension splints.

Last week, I started my second chunk of fieldwork in the outpatient hands clinic here. Technically, I'm supposed to have a rheumatology placement, but the majority of the people who come in have hand issues, so I'm pretty much immersed in hand therapy all day.

I definitely feel a lot more comfortable this time around. I understand the hospital culture and I know how to write notes and fill out paperwork. These two skills have helped me immensely! I like the therapists I am working with; they are very kind people and have been intentional about speaking English when I am around. (I can't tell you how thankful I am for people who speak English. It is so frustrating to be around people who can speak English but still choose Afrikaans, even when they know that I only speak English. Grrrr!)

While I have had many opportunities to do splinting (and let me tell you, I make one mean resting hand splint) and other treatments, I am finding that work in hands is either feast of famine. I hate the fact that I often have down time in the afternoons and have to occupy myself by reading the hand therapy protocol manual or cutting Velcro.

Even though I am working in outpatient, clients don't really have appointments--the hand clinic just has "clinic days." This means that people come on a certain day and wait to see a therapist. As a student, this set-up is slightly frustrating. I never know who is going to come in and I can't prepare by reading clients' medical charts ahead of time. (But hey, even if I had the chart I probably wouldn't be able to read it anyway because most of them are in Afrikaans...) The thing is, outpatient kind of has to work this way, though, because the majority of the people we see don't have reliable transportation or the means to come in at a set time. Also, being "on time" isn't a really a priority for a lot of people here. Things are just generally more laid back. It's quite a switch from the productivity-focused therapy departments back home.

The clientele in hands is also different from burn. The hand clinic sees a much broader variety of people and there are also more people who speak English. This too is good. When I can independently communicate with someone, I find I have a much higher probability of being able to independently treat him or her. I like the variety of hands. It is interesting to see people with different diagnoses and treatments; it's like a new puzzle every time someone walks in the door.

Even though hands is interesting, I don't see myself becoming a hand therapist anytime soon. As hard as I try, I still don't get very excited about flexor tendon repairs or Duran splints. But hey, I've only got four more weeks.