Busy being a shadow

Over the past two days I've been observing/shadowing over at the Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network in the Physical Therapy department and I've loved every second of it! So far all I've done and all I am legally allowed to do is watch and learn, and I'm doing plenty of both! So far my shifts have been from 8am to 4:30pm which seems like a long time, but it goes by reasonably fast! Each Physical Therapist's appointments are scheduled hourly so every time a patient walks in, you realize that an hour has went by and it felt like the last patient just got there! But even when the PT I am shadowing isn't busy with a patient, I get a chance to roam around and watch other PT's do their job and help out on a rare occasion if someone drops a pen or I need to get out of the way. Again, legally I'm not allowed to do anything pertaining to physical contact with the patient or any equipment, and nor would I want to attempt to know, say, or do anything because, to me, it would seem like an insult to the PT. They probably wouldn't think that, but I don't even want to take a chance at any liability claims or problems. Anyways, I have had a BLAST just watching and learning. It's absolutely insane how much these people know. Two of the PT's are probably some of the smartest people I know. It just seems like they both have answers to every single problem or patient that comes in the door.

Today involved a lot of evaluations ("evals") which is by far my favorite part to watch. Not that I have any knowledge of physical therapy, but with each patient I tried to figure out what I thought the possible diagnosis was based on the symptoms that I am knowledgeable of. For the most part, I was in the same ballpark and when the PT described the problem in physical therapy jargon I got the main idea. Grabbing an occasional anatomy and directional term here and there helped me grab an idea of the problem. As to be expected, in comparison to the PT's I felt like I was a new born baby just trying to walk while these guys and gals are zipping past me lapping me a couple times. But I tend to thrive on that type of "fight or flight" response. Sometimes the only way to learn is to throw yourself in the situation and figure it out.

My favorite part was definitely the evals though. I loved the fact that, to the PT, the patient that was in the waiting room was a complete stranger and they had to figure out what the problem was. And you don't realize how many different problems there are until you get into a setting like this and every single person has a different problem that requires different and specific stretches,exercises, and/or programs to match their problem. It's mind boggling. But also, it's the thrill of the new challenge every time a new patient walks in the door. Some people with chronic back pain, others with post-operation therapy, neck pains, shoulder pains, foot imbalance, total body balance issues, some learning how to walk or run again, others looking to retain normal or better qualities of life. You name it, they probably see it. But seeing that patient on the initial eval and watching as the PT tries and usually succeeds in diagnosing the issue. It is crazy that within the first couple of minutes of the PT doing a few stretches, exercises, or palpating the area, they have already concluded what the issue is. I can't wait to have that knowledge and perception of physical therapy to help patients get back to normal life. That is why I love physical therapy. Within the first couple of hours observing, I knew that this solidified my love for physical therapy. I want the day-to-day, patient-by-patient challenge to try to help them. I wish you could see the joy on the faces of some of the patients when they here the PT say, "You've come to the right place. I've figured you out and here it is..." For some, after he tells them that with just a few weeks of therapy they will be back to painless, effortless, unrestricted movements, they are filled with joy. They don't stop smiling. They don't stop thanking the PT. I want to make someone feel like that. To give them hope; a fighting chance. I want them to have complete trust that I will help them progressively get stronger, healthier, and back to normal life.

And God's saying the same thing to me and you.

Heal me Lord.