Initial Entry - Rotation 1

My first placement for the year will be at Joondalup working on one of the medical wards with a bit of a cardiorespiratory twist. From what I’ve been able to gather so far it is not strictly people with cardio conditions so I will have to draw on my powers from all the other disciplines to make it through in one piece.

At this stage my impression of treating people on a medical ward with cardio problems is that my supervisor will simply determine if they have any cardio issues then decide if they are able to be seen by me. Having only just finished the cardio unit last semester a lot of the information is relatively fresh in my mind but there is certainly going to be a lot of recapping on things covered in university. But in saying that we have learnt a lot from the theory side of things with some prac, but actually putting it into practice with real patients is going to be a whole different ball game.

One of the major factors that makes me slightly anxious is the fact that being on a medical ward means a high percentage of patients will likely have a co-morbidity of some description. This can significantly affecting the treatment given and restrict what intervention strategies I can use. I’m half expecting there to be situation where I assess a patient, decide what the problem list, look in my tool box of possible treatments & slowly cross them off the list due to contraindications as a result of co-morbidities. Despite this I imagine that with time I’ll see that there is always something that a physio can do, it’s just a matter of finding it.

Having been on a placement last year with a small amount of cardio exposure I see my role involving initial & ongoing assessment and treatment of issues determined during these, all under the watchful eye of my supervisor. Initially I would hope there would be a considerable amount of observation to see how experienced clinicians carry out the duties of a cardio physio. I would imagine that there would be a large amount of interaction with the other allied health professionals working on the ward to discuss and determine what the patient’s best course of action is. This will allow me to clearly understand each of their roles within the patient care structure and how to approach things for this placement and prepare me for other hospital situations.

Despite my nervousness ahead of this placement I am looking forward to developing my physiotherapy skills from a clinical point of view as well as professionally. I am also very eager to fine tune my communication and documentation skills so that I may spend more time focusing on aspects that directly benefit the patient such as treatment options and interventions. This will benefit me both now and when I encounter similar scenarios in future.