Initial Entry

My third clinical placement for the year is cardiorespiratory at Fremantle Hospital and I am looking forward to it. I am half way through my four placements for the year and the finishing line is getting closer and closer, which is very exciting. I feel my preparation for this placement has been much better than the previous two, which I am hoping will serve me well through the five weeks. After the two previous efforts I feel that I was able to prepare more effectively and thoroughly this time round and made use of past student, university and facility revision recommendations to aid in my study endeavours. Having said this though, I am still very nervous about what the next five weeks will hold, because I think this placement will be very different again to what I have encountered previously.

I am not entirely sure about the nature of this placement, because the orientation outline provided by the facility has suggested six different areas that I could possibly be involved with while on my cardiorespiratory placement. These are General Medical, General Surgical, Cardiothoracics, Intensive Care Unit, Ambulatory Care and Haematology and Oncology, certainly a wide variety of possibilities. No matter which area I am working in, I do expect it to be fast paced and at times hectic with the number of duties I will be expected to fulfil. In terms of placement structure, I have read from the orientation outline that Fremantle Hospital placements use a “peer-coaching model,” which I am assuming involves working pretty closely with another or other students that are also on placement. I am expecting that initially I will be working alongside another student and a supervisor, but as the placement progresses the degree of supervision will decrease as we become more familiar with the facility, then to the point where I will be operating without a partner. I expect that as time goes by my case load will increase as I become more proficient with my duties. I feel that there will also be greater expectations on me to be able to perform these duties effectively and efficiently and that despite being a student I should be a contributing member of the multidisciplinary team. I believe my role as a student will be to learn and progress my skills, knowledge and capabilities as much as possible, but also to be an effective team member and contribute as much as possible as I previously mentioned.

I mentioned at the beginning of my previous placement that I was concerned about my time management skills and I would have to admit I still feel the same way now. At Osborne Park Hospital I was given my daily timetable which had my patients sorted into allocated time slots and I just stuck to this as best as possible. Despite the convenience of this system, it didn’t really challenge my time management skills, which is why I am still a bit concerned about it heading to Fremantle Hospital. Particularly the patient prioritisation aspect of time management, which Shane has told us can be very difficult in this area, especially with a large case load, is something that I would like to discuss with my supervisor pretty early on in the placement, so that I am able to cope with the demands placed on me and be as efficient as possible.

Another concern of mine is my ability to perform some techniques and treatments that we have learnt about and practiced at uni but I have never performed on a patient. I am nervous about things such as percussion and vibrations, suctioning, mechanical ventilators and just the management and awareness of attachments like ICCs and different lines. I hope that with these treatments and other aspects that I will get some guidance from my supervisor when I am initially performing or administering them, but if not I will just have to rely on my previous teachings and readings to get me through. I am hoping that after five weeks of these sorts of treatments I will have the techniques all sorted out, but the practical performance on a patient is something that is a bit of a concern to me currently.

Finally, I am very much hoping that I quickly develop a tolerance to the sputum, vomit and other bodily fluids/contents that I am sure I’ll be seeing quite a bit of on this placement. I’m fine with blood and have seen surgeries in the past and been fine, but I realised on my last placement that I’m not the best with some of the other secretions that we as physiotherapists are exposed to. It sounds pretty silly, but it is something I’m genuinely concerned about at this point in time. I’m going to have to train myself to toughen up and deal with it pretty quick, otherwise it’s going to be a long five weeks!

Despite these concerns, I am looking forward to getting this placement underway. From the information I have read from the facility and feedback from others this does seem like a good environment to be in as a student. I realise there is added expectations surrounding me as this is one of my final placements, but I’m sure I will be able to handle it and will perform well. I definitely intend to get as much as I possibly can out of this placement and hope I can enjoy it too.

Ready, Set, Go!