Reflective Journal 3

PTH932: Clinical Education V

Darie Kirschling
03/30/21

Looking back at my last two reflective journals, I always discussed how I have enjoyed

this setting. I believe that I have lucked out and had the clinical opportunity to work in the setting

I can see myself working in after graduation! I know this setting may be overwhelming to some

individuals, but it is a lot less stressful than other settings I have worked in. I am someone who

brings the stress of work home with them, so, working in an outpatient setting where I knew

exactly who I was going to see the next day set me up to constantly bring work home with me. I

would constantly think about what exercises would be good for tomorrow’s patients the night

before when I finally had an opportunity to relax. In the acute care setting, I have no idea who I

will be seeing the next day so it decreases a lot of stress for myself.

I have also officially transitioned from having Emily as my CI to having Omar as my CI.

I learned a lot very quickly from Emily and I am glad I had her as my CI in this setting. She did a

very good job of explaining Epic to me, what to look for in chart reviews, where to look, and

progressed me in a way I felt comfortable with. I am selfishly sad she won’t be my CI for the rest

of my time at Spectrum, but I am very excited to have the opportunity to work with a PT that

graduated 2 years ago. Omar will be a great resource to ask questions about transitioning from

school life to work life.

I am still working independently at Spectrum. I get to the main office a little bit before

my CI, review our list for the day and “give” my CI 4-5 patients for the day and I take 6-7 to

prioritize/treat. I see 5 patients most days and would eventually like to work up to treating and

documenting for 6 a day consistently within the next week. Because I have worked my way up
and have become completely independent, I have had the opportunity to shadow different units,

and will be able to fill out a document to see different surgeries. I was able to shadow in the

trauma unit and in the ICU; I enjoyed shadowing the trauma unit because there was focus on

many different areas of the body. I am used to consistently seeing CABG, NSTEMI/STEMI,

lobectomies, etc. so it was nice to have a different caseload. The ICU was a little bit too low

level for me. These patients are obviously not as medically stable so that increases the stress and

pressure working in the ICU as well. I am hoping to sign up for some cardiothoracic surgeries

because I think this would just be another opportunity to learn more in this area. As you can see,

I am really enjoying my experience at Spectrum and it is very bittersweet all of this is coming to

an end.