The Memory Unit OT

As someone who really loves structure and routine, it was certainly an adjustment and learning curve for me when I started working in the inpatient setting. Things are constantly changing. You set out to treat your typical 9:00am patient to learn they have an appointment you didn’t know about. Or you set out to grab a patient for a group activity and they’re already working with the PT.

My top strategy to combat this is to quickly jot down 3 treatment ideas for each patient at the start of my day. Usually it looks a little something like this:

Patient A: option 1) ADL, option 2) upper body exercises, option 3) exercise group

Patient B: option 1) transfer training, option 2) ROM of hand, option 3) HEP instruction

This is nothing complicated, just some quick notes/ideas for treatment based on each patient’s goals. Sometimes my first choice for the session works out great. Sometimes I have to resort to the second or third option. Sometimes none of the options work and we’re doing something completely different. But I find this strategy keeps my brain rom scrambling when inevitable changes occur.

If you’re facility doesn’t provide you with a printed treatment schedule each day, or if you’re required to turn in your treatment schedule at punch-out, I’ve created an easy template for tracking treatment ideas.