Reflection on Interaction with Patients and Physiotherapy

Reflection on Interaction with Patients and Physiotherapy 1
REFLECTION ON INTERACTION WITH PATIENTS AND PHYSIOTHERAPY
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Reflection on Interaction with Patients and Physiotherapy 2
Description:
I encountered a range of patients during my placement. In this case, I encountered a
patient called Smith (inpatient stroke patient staying in stroke ward). He was 58 years old and
came down in wheelchair to the Therapy GYM. He came so that the physiotherapy could do
some stroke exercise with him. This is because he had right facial weakness with dense
hemiparesis in his right arm and leg. Smith could not speak in English as he only spoke Polish.
My mentor tasked me to undertake a subjective assessment of Smith. I had to do some lip read
and show my hands to communicate with Smith about his physiotherapy. This encounter was
different from my previous ones. It was hard to ask Smith questions because I did not know how
to speak in Polish or use signs nor visual aids. I only had to get info about Smith’s health and
physiotherapeutic interventions through examination.
Feelings:
I feel that albeit initially the scenario never felt and seemed novel and challenging, my
ability to converse with Smith was never possible. This is because I never managed to think of a
novel means of phrasing queries. Smith kept looking at my mentor (trained physiotherapist) for
guidance and reassurance with the language being utilized. This influenced me to look also
towards my mentor for assistance (Roberts and Bucksey 2007). When the physiotherapist took
over the assessment and questioned the patient using signs, it aided Smith’s understanding.
However, I felt I had let down both myself and my mentor after being unable to conduct the
assessment. I also felt I had let the patient down because of my inability to converse with him.
My mentor asked him questions by maintaining eye contact with him. This helped Smith to
understand (Potter, Gordon and Hamer 2003).
Evaluation: