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margaretbw

An Early Start to Rehabilitation: The role of occupational therapy in critical care - 0 views

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    I haven't observed any acute or critical care units prior to OTA school or during fieldwork. This article gives a first-person account of what occupational therapy does in this setting.
Kellie Hudgens

Stress Management on ADVANCE for Occupational Therapy Practitioners - 8 views

  • Maribel, 42, shares how she implements this concept: "Having MS and three children has been overwhelming. My kids are only starting to understand what is happening to me. When the kids would arrive home from school, I would just be overwhelmed. Now I break the evening up into units. The kids arrive at 2:30. I am
  • Chronic conditions require tremendous mental and physical effort to manage daily tasks, symptoms and ongoing functional challenges; in essence, managing a chronic condition is chronically stressful.
  • What do I need help with in my daily routine? What kinds of situations lead to needing to be energized, relaxed or soothed? If I need to release stress, what is the best way to do it, in what intervals, and how often?
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  • how stress interrupts the capacity for self care
  • First, identify the sources of stress on two levels. One level is "outside-in" (functional stress management), referring to social supports, living situation and work environment.
  • "Inside-out" (personal stress management) refers to an individual's specific ability to cope with unexpected emotions or situations. For example, it can be helpful to include questions identifying specific individual triggers that impede a patient's ability to carry out exercises.
  • chronic disabilities can continuously cycle through chronic pain or acute relapses, but even when a person is not in acute distress, he or she still faces the stress of managing the daily challenges of any medical condition.
  • brain-storming with patients about the level of energy, both practical and emotional, required to implement the strategy by categorizing the activity as requiring low, moderate or high levels of energy.
  • I instructed her to categorize these strategies by level of exertion, providing her with a range of options to use on low-energy days versus high-energy days.
  • Breaking up the day into units can help alleviate anxiety and stress.
  • Maribel, 42, shares how she implements this concept: "Having MS and three children has been overwhelming. My kids are only starting to understand what is happening to me. When the kids would arrive home from school, I would just be overwhelmed. Now I break the evening up into units. The kids arrive at 2:30. I am
  • Finally, it is critical that practitioners commit to developing their own stress management capacities. It is important for OTs to experiment with as many strategies as possible, so they have first-hand knowledge of the gains, limits and time demands of each technique. Stress management is an interdependent learning process; patients can be put at ease when we can be good role models of successful stress management.
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    Print out our checklist to use with your patients to help them develop individual stress management strategies. Click here to print now! Stress is a commonly under-recognized, untreated dimension of recovery, rehabilitation and medical intervention. While all patients seeking medical care experience stress, for individuals with disabilities the dynamics are not the same.
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    I think we can all relate to this topic. Stress is a commonly under-recognized, untreated dimension of recovery, rehabilitation and medical intervention. While all patients seeking medical care experience stress, for individuals with disabilities the dynamics are not the same.
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    The checklist Richard mentioned is a great resource! Thanks Richard. I plan on using this in the future. :)
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    Great article about how to help our patients with chronic conditions manage stress that impacts their daily activities.  Personal stories of stress management coping skills and how to help our clients identify their personal triggers. This article has some great questions for patients to ask themselves when identifying their personal stress management techniques.
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