MSK FINAL ENTRY

I can’t believe prac is completely over! The year has gone by too fast.
Mandurah was a fantastic note to end on, I feel that I really experienced true working life, and I loved it!

NATURE: I saw outpatient MSK referrals (as well as a few cardio and stroke patients!!). My supervisor was correct, I think I saw 90% back, neck and shoulder complaints, and about 95% of these were chronic complaints. (It showed me how well versed you need to be in chronic pain management in a community setting). I was involved in many classes, up to 3 a day. It was nice, almost a bit of down time before your next patient.

STRUCTURE: I was very independent!! I even had my own treatment room! My supervisor really left me to do my own thing, but I knew he was just in the next room. If I had a complex patient, needed advice or just wanted to talk through my reasoning he was very approachable.

ROLE: I did see a full caseload, and I feel I worked as if I was a new graduate. Sometimes we saw 9 patients/day including classes. If was great to know I could do it!! And it did involve good time management. The classes were very ‘client run’, we just supervised. The patients attend 8 weeks of class work and running it themselves gives them the confidence and skill to continue to do so independently.

CONCERNS: It was really hard to clinically reason in such a short time frame, but I’m glad I had to do it. It became easier and easier as the weeks went on, and now I have the confidence to do it in the workforce. Generally, as I was writing my patient notes, I had time to clinically reason and reflect on my chosen treatment. If I had missed something I would immediately put it in my plan for the patients next appointment.

All in all, I had a truly fantastic time. This last prac gave me the confidence to know that I can work independently and as part of an allied health team.