ITR304 evidnce 2

1. By: Danielle Beauchesne
‘A DAY IN THE LIFE’ OF AN
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST

2. Background
• There are many settings
an Occupational
Therapist can work in
including:
• Hospitals (focus of
presentation)
• Rehabilitation facilities
• Homes of patients
• School systems
OTs can work part time (24hrs/week) or full time (32-
40hrs/week)
• There are many specialties for
Occupational Therapists including:
• Orthopedics(Focus of
presentation)
• Geriatrics
• Neurology
• Medical
• Pediatrics
• Hand
• Vision
• Cardio/Respiratory
• Ergonomics

3. Background
• Necessary Skills Include:
• Empathy
• Organization
• Interpersonal skills
• Compassion
• Time management
• Flexibility
• Enjoyment in learning
• Schooling includes:
• Bachelor’s Degree in health
sciences, kinesiology, or
biology depending on grad
school requirements
• Master’s Degree (2 years) in
Occupational Therapy
• Rotations
• On site training
• CEUs (continued education)

4. Job Description
• Occupational Therapists treat injured, ill, or disabled patients
through therapeutic use of everyday activities. They help these
patients develop, recover, and improve the skills needed for daily
living and working.
• Occupational Therapy is a health and rehabilitation profession that
allows a healthcare professional to work with people of all ages
who need assistance to live a full, independent, productive, and
satisfying life.

5. My Perspective
• When shadowing an OT during my internship at South County Hospital I
noticed a difference in how OTs interact with patients compared to other
health care professionals:
• OTs address the vital importance of peoples psychological and emotional well-
being as well as their physical needs. They spend quality time with their
patients and help them to improve their quality of life in all aspects.
• OT is one of the most holistic health care professions and requires sensitivity,
understanding, and compassion; all of the characteristics that I value
tremendously.
• OT can also teach a person new ways of adapting to their environment and
become independent again after a stroke, spinal cord injury, or brain trauma.
• OT is a field that will allow me to help others learn how to help themselves.
A quote to live by that expresses my feelings perfectly: “To know even
one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have
succeeded.”
-Ralph Waldo

6. Morning/Preparation for the day
• 8:00AM-8:30AM
• It takes about 30 minutes to get set up for the day, review
patient charts, and take notes about the patients being seen.
It is important to jot down information such as the patients
ages, occupations, if they are currently working, where they
live/whom they live with, or if they’ve had any past procedures
or are suffering from any chronic diseases.
• Knowing what’s relevant to a patient can be worked into a
therapeutic activity which, makes it easier to design
meaningful activities into a treatment plan. This leads to
patients often becoming more motivated and determined to
perform the activities.

7. Meeting with Patients
• 8:30AM-12:30PM
• Typically an OT will see 7-8 patients during the day, 3 in the morning and 4 in the
afternoon.
• With an orthopedic patient it is important to talk to them about home care such as:
• Bathroom Situation:
• What kind of shower does the patient have? Is it a walk in? a tub? Do they have a
seat in their shower? Or a railing to hold on to? Maybe recommend purchasing a
folding shower seat.
• How high is their toilet? Do they have to bend really low in order to reach it? Do
they have a commode? Maybe suggest buying one.

8. Meeting with Patients Continued
• Getting dressed:
• Ask about what kind of shoes they normally wear. Do they
have laces? Are they slip-ons? Maybe suggest a pair that’s easy
to get on so they don’t have to bend to get them on.
• Suggest easy slip-on pants rather than buttons and belts and t-
shirts that are easily put on rather than button downs.

9. Meeting with Patients Continued
• Assess home life:
• Does the patient live alone? Live with a spouse or kids? Who will be helping
them pick up their medications, go grocery shopping, do laundry, or make
dinner? If they do not have anyone with them, suggest getting home care.
• Assess goals:
• Talk with the patient about their mobility previously (before surgery, or
trauma, or whatever the circumstance may be), where they are at
currently, and then set goals for the patient about where they would like to
be maybe 1 month from now or 1 year from now to keep them motivated
and make sure they are keeping up with the treatment plan and focusing
on improving.

10. Meeting with Patients Continued
• If the patient is ready to be discharged, sometimes the OT will help
them get clean and get dressed.
• The hospital has special cleansing pads that are used to make sure
the patient is stripped from any germs they could have contracted
from the hospital. They come with 6 pads in a bag, one for each
arm, one for the back, one for the chest and mid section, and one
for each leg. All 6 must be used. The OT will help the patient clean
off with these pads.
• Then, the OT will help the patient get dressed using 3 special tools.
1. Sock Aid
2. Reacher
3. Long Shoe Horn

11. Tools
• Sock Aid
• Typically for patients who
have gotten knee, hip, or
spine surgery and can not
bend down to put their socks
on. Basically, a sock aid is a
plastic cylinder shaped tool
that has handles or a rope
attached to it allowing the
patient to get their socks on
independently.

12. Tools
•Reacher
• Simply, just a long stick that allows the patient to
grab things that may be too high or too low for them
to reach. This device also helps patients put on pants
and underwear.

13. Tools
•Long Shoe Horn
•This device helps patients
who are unable to bend
down to put their shoes
on. It is a long stick that
goes into the heel area of
the shoe to keep it from
folding down when you
slide your foot in.

14. Patient Charts
• After all three patients have been seen it’s time to update their
charts. The OT will type in the patients progress, any observations
about the patient, anything to look out for, any suggestions, and
future plans for the patient.
• After all patient charts have been updated, the OT can either review
patient charts for the afternoon or take a lunch break.
• If the OT choses to review patient charts for the afternoon it will follow the
same criteria as the morning
• If the OT choses lunch, it will be from 12:30PM-1:00PM (This time varies
depending on patients. Sometimes when the OT is ready to work with a
patient, the patient might not be ready to work with the OT and they will
have to come back at a later time—maybe their lunch time.)

15. Afternoon Patients
• After lunch, if the OT did not review patient charts they will do so. If they
did before lunch they will see patients again from 1:00PM-4:30PM.
• Patient A really stood out to me during my afternoon with the OT. Patient
A was a 90-year-old man who had a total knee reconstruction. Because he
had lost some strength and mobility, he was having trouble putting on his
socks and shoes. The OT worked with him using the sock aid, the long
shoe horn, and even worked on his knee flexion and extensions. The
reason he stood out to me was because of his resilience and motivation. I
could really tell that he wanted to get better and was overly appreciative
of the help from myself and the OT. He was a ‘grandfather’ to the state of
Rhode Island and enjoyed giving back to the community. He was such a
sweetheart and was cooperating with the OT so well. He was the ‘ideal’
patient and I am so grateful I had the opportunity to work with him.

16. Afternoon Activities
• From 4:30PM-5:00PM the OT will complete and update the
remaining patient charts, and assess each patients care. Also
the OT will talk with the Physical Therapists and Doctors
about patient progress, observations, and suggestions to
ensure the best possible therapy is given to each patient.
• Lastly, the OT will prepare for tomorrow by organizing patient
charts, cleaning rooms, and setting up equipment.

17. •No two days are the same when dealing with different
types of patients with different issues, and different
settings, but this is a typical day for an Occupational
Therapist in a inpatient hospital setting on the
orthopedic floor!
Thank you!