A N N A DAV I S

ROGER C. PEACE REHABILITATION HOSPITAL INTERNSHIP

ABOUT

• RCPRH is a 53 bed hospital that offers easy access to emergency care, diagnostic services, and the latest technology and innovative techniques through research and development.

• RCPRH offers outpatient, inpatient, and acute care services. • There is an interdisciplinary team approach consisting of physical

therapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, recreational therapists, clinical psychologists, and medical doctors.

• RCPRH is approved by the Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities

GOALS

• Roger C. Peace’s goals are, "To provide the latest rehabilitative and technological services with compassion and encouragement, to help motivate patients and to assist them in re-entering the community as smoothly and as quickly as possible.”

INPATIENT REHABILITATION

• During my internship at RCPRH, I spent my time working with physical therapy on the third floor in the Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Unit.• The TBI Unit treats patients who have

experienced a traumatic brain injury resulting from things such as motor vehicle accidents, falls, brain surgeries, strokes, etc. • Patients admitted to the inpatient TBI Unit are

required to receive 3 hours of therapies per day• Therapies received include: PT, ST, OT, RT, and PSYCH• Each session lasts 45 minutes and may repeat twice in

one day

TBI UNIT PHYSICAL THERAPY

• Physical therapy for TBI patients focuses mainly on rehabilitation of the lower extremities through strengthening exercises, stretching, and gait practice.

• Common goals for patients in PT consist of:• Improving a patients’ overall mobility

depending on their initial level of functioning

• Improving a patient’s ability to transfer from one place to another, for example from their wheelchair to a bed

• Regain ability to walk with or without assistive devices

• Improve balance to reduce fall risks

MY ROLES• There were several roles I

consistently performed daily:• Disinfecting items after use by

patients during their sessions• Assisting therapists in patient

transfers• Retrieving items for therapists for use

during patient treatment• Following patients with their

wheelchair while they’re practicing gait

• Deep cleaning of discharged patients’ wheelchairs for new patients’ use

• Disposing of linens after patient use• Keeping the therapy gym stocked

with medical equipment

IN-SERVICES

• Comfort Company In-service• Drive Medical In-service• Awareness In-service

THE COMFORT COMPANY

• The Comfort Company provides a variety of wheelchair cushions and backs. This in-service served to educate the therapist on the newest products available. It’s important to assure patients are getting quality comfort and the proper support by their chair.

DRIVE MEDICAL COMPANY• Drive is a company that provides a wide variety of pressure relief

mattresses, wheelchairs, wheelchair backs, and wheelchair cushions. The main focus of this in-service was to educate therapists on how to qualify their patients for the best products through insurance. A common problem therapists run into is not knowing how to code a patients’ condition properly in order to get the appropriate assistive devices and accessories.

PTS + WHEELCHAIRSBefore my internship, I had no idea what went into fitting a patient to the proper wheelchair for their condition. The physical therapists are responsible for choosing the most appropriate wheelchair for each patient. I learned that wheelchair fitting depends primarily on a patient’s mobility, presence of bed sores, ability to support oneself, height, and weight. Between working on the wheelchair closet organization, observing patient fitting, and attending wheelchair company in-services, I was able to gain more knowledge about the complex nature of wheelchairs and their importance in patient well-being. Without this knowledge, I would not have been able to successfully retrieve specific wheelchairs and wheelchair accessories requested by the therapists.

TBI PATIENT AWARENESS• This in-service was conducted by an outpatient ST. The main goal of

her presentation was to educate therapists of methods and strategies that can be used to help patients become aware of their deficits in order to strengthen and improve. This turned into an open discussion between STs, PTs, OTs, RTs, PSYCH, and other staff members. As an observer listening to the information presented and the feedback from staff, this in-service seemed to be very informative and helpful for all of the staff who attended.

SUPPORT DEVICES EDUCATION• Lori Godbee, the physical therapist I primarily worked with,

was asked to educate nursing assistants on proper use of braces and supportive devices commonly used for TBI patients. I was able to participate in the learning demonstration and learn a lot about the various devices.

PROJECTS

• Case Study• Wheelchair Closet• Home Exercise Program• Stroke Support Block Construction

• All projects are included in their entirety on portfolio

CASE STUDY

• As a physical therapy intern, I was required to complete a case study. For this study, I chose a patient to follow throughout their course of care from admittance to discharge. The main focus of this study was to identify the patient’s medical status, write weekly goals for physical therapy, keep record of daily exercises and activities performed, and evaluate the progress made throughout the patient’s care. The complete case study and illustrations can be found on my portfolio under projects.

*Patient consent given for pictures*

WHEELCHAIR CLOSET• One of my main active roles during my internship was to

clean discharged patients’ wheelchairs, return the wheelchairs and their footrests back into the closet, keep the closet organized by number and type of wheelchair, and occasionally retrieve footrests, chairs, headrests, and other various accessories for therapists.

HOME EXERCISE PROGRAM• In order to actively learn about how a therapist decides

which type of rehabilitation exercises to send a patient home with, I decided to create a sample home exercise program for the patient I did my case study on. The therapist I was with provided me with a booklet of exercises commonly used by TBI patients, and I was able to choose from that booklet which exercises I thought would be most appropriate for this particular patient.

STROKE SUPPORT BLOCKS • The therapy gym was running low on support blocks used

by stroke patients during their sessions, so I was given a sample block and asked to construct additional blocks using given material. These blocks are used by hemiplegia patients to support their weak arm during sitting so they can have adequate support to maintain an upright position during certain exercises.