3rd Year Placement

September 29^th – end of first week

It has been a tough week but I made a good start, and got stuck in quickly!

This placement is very physical, a lot more than I was expecting and so I have found it very tiring.  There is a lot of walking, but I am able to sit frequently when on the wards to write up notes etc.

I felt very self conscious being in the team using sticks and especially when going onto the wards.  I felt my confidence was lowered a little because I was going into the workplace a little ‘vulnerable’ and people were aware of why I was using walking sticks. 

I feel because I am in the orthopaedic team, and I have an orthopaedic ‘history’ this may be a little close to home and a lot of the patients I have seen have brought back some memories from when I was in hospital.

I felt a little awkward when patients asked why I had sticks – but found my own ‘’story’’ often comforted and interested them. 

I was hoping people did not notice or ask questions but quite a lot did!

Yesterday my R hip started playing up, but I think it is just because it is not used to all the walking.  It should settle down.

I haven’t had the time or energy to go the gym this week, I wanted to settle into work and not overdo it.

October 5^th – end of 2^nd week

I have felt so exhausted this week.  Last week seems to have caught up with me well and truly!

I have been having a lot of trouble this week with my R hip, to the point where I was off sick one day.

Did not go the gym this week, my hip was too sore and I was too tired.

October 12^th –end of 3^rd week

I am having real problems with my hip now, I have had to reduce my hours which I was not happy about.  I am really enjoying placement and it is very frustrating having to finish mid week.

October 20^th – end of 4^th week

I have been managing on placement much better with the reduced hours.  I was finding that by Wednesday I was ready to sleep for a week and my hip was really giving me trouble when walking to/from the wards.  Now my hours are reduced I am physically coping better with the placement, although I am still frustrated about having to reduce my hours as I wont get as much from the placement or dealing with clients because my week finishes in the middle!

I am managing to go the gym about twice a week now, as I don’t feel as fatigued as I did initially.

I am managing to conserve some of my energy by having the reduced hours.

My self confidence has lifted greatly

Overall summary of placement

After having reduced my hours I didn’t have any further problems!  I was able to better cope with placement in terms of physical health and I really enjoyed this area of practice.

My self confidence and confidence to be with patients was initially low because I had walking sticks, but this confidence lifted quite quickly when I felt integrated into the team and settled in easily and quickly.

By the end of the placement my self consciousness about the sticks lifted and it did not bother me any longer.  I found it was quite helpful sometimes to have the sticks, as patients would question me (something I hated initially) and when they found out my situation they would be very interested.  It proved to be a sort of ice breaker when making contact with clients and for those having/had a THR themselves they liked to talk about different issues.  Those with any worries could voice them to me and I could show empathy and offer support.  I found this very rewarding.