The Return to Physical Therapy

I started my job at University Hospital this week. I was pretty nervous about it since I had not been in PT since January. I worked a half of a day on Wednesday and a full day on Friday. However, my first day was not the typical first day.
I was unable to do the normal departmental orientation because my boss had to be in meetings. So, instead, she had me follow another PT so I could begin to get familiar with the hospital. Instead of getting to see several patients, we spent 2 1/2 hours looking for the right equipment to operate a lift to transfer a patient from a bed to a wheelchair. We called in two other therapists, the floor nurses, and finally had to call our boss out of her meeting. The PT I was following kept apologizing for such a terrible first day. But, the interesting thing was, it was actually the best first day I could have asked for. You see, while they were frustrated with the situation, no one got upset with each other. The therapists who were called away from their own patients were glad to help. Our boss never complained once about being called out of her meeting. They all just worked together to get the patient's needs met. What that told me was that if I need help with something, I just have to ask! I don't have to worry about them getting mad at me for bothering them with questions yet again. It really took a lot of pressure off of me!
Then, on Friday, I followed a therapist half of the day on the Orthopedic and Oncology floor. My confidence was boosted further as I realized that there was not really anything that I had not done before. So, I will go back on Tuesday feeling much better about my ability to do my job. Even though the PTs I worked with felt like they were just spinning their wheels a lot of the time, what they were really doing was making me feel welcome and capable! What a great feeling have as I return to the world of Physical Therapy!

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