My Dislike List
Everyone has complaints about their job. It doesn’t matter how much you love your coworkers, love your office, love your career… Everyone has something that irks them, and I am no exception. This list is by no means comprehensive (I’ve worked in many settings for many companies, so to be super specific, well, this would be a rather lengthy document!), but allow me to tell you a few things that make me want to bang my head against the nearest wall:
1. When a fellow healthcare professional doesn’t know what occupational therapy is or what an occupational therapist does. Seriously? When I was in school, it was part of the curriculum to learn the other specialties we might encounter in different settings. It’s both insulting and horrifying to think that any school educating doctors, nurses, therapists, social workers, etc. would not, at some point, tell their students what OT is. But still, let’s say they didn’t learn it in school: you now work in a hospital, skilled nursing facility, or assisted living facility where you’re surrounded by rehabilitation professionals, and you still can’t tell a person what an OT does? That’s just ignorant, and it rubs me the wrong way.
2. When a nurse/doctor/family member tells the patient that OT is here “to take you to the bathroom.”Well, yes, perhaps technically this is true, but there is SO MUCH MORE to my visit than helping you pee. I will teach you how to perform bed mobility with proper body mechanics. I will help you determine the safest way to transfer out of bed. I will educate you on how to lock/unlock your rollator brakes. I will provide you with the cues you need for mobility. I will teach you compensatory strategies for performing hygiene. I will make recommendations for at-home adaptive equipment. So no, I’m not just here to take the patient to the bathroom. Let’s have a little respect for the process.
3. When I see a healthcare worker transferring a patient without the proper safety precautions. We’ve all seen the statistics that gait belts don’t work 100% of the time in falls prevention. That does not mean, however, that we should completely abandon them. And even if you’re not going to use one, why aren’t you having the person use a walker? A substantial portion of the time, if the person is on therapy services, they’re having some difficulty with transfers and ambulation. Why not take all the proper precautions to prevent a fall? Just one fall costs so much, both in terms of loss of productivity and medical costs. It also costs you that patient’s and their family’s trust. Put the belt on, grab the walker. It’s never not worth it.
4. When an overzealous doctor orders therapy for a completely independent patient. This can be due to many different reasons: for instance, a lot of medical students order them for all their patients. I believe they do this because a) they are just checking boxes, or b) they don’t fully understand what rehabilitation does (circle back to the first dislike on this list). If an otherwise perfectly healthy 21-year-old comes in with vomiting due to acute alcohol intoxication, occupational therapy is NOT indicated. If they’re walking funny, it’s probably because they’re drunk. Just saying! I’ve been consulted on broken noses, broken toes, and scalp lacerations. While you might say, “But Emily, they might have needed therapy!” Trust me, they didn’t. They. Did. Not. I appreciate that OT is being consulted because it used to be the opposite, but one needs to use their best judgement when placing orders. There is a finite number of therapists at a hospital and only so many hours in a day, and I can safely speak for us all when I say: use common sense.
Whew! That felt good to vent. If you’ve made it this far, thanks for sticking with me. And if you have any of your own complaints to add to this list, hit me up! I’m always interested in commiserating.