Sim #1 Report

    As a part of my Neuro Aspects course I am taking OT school, I participated in a clinical stimulation encounter. I administered a cognitive screening to someone who recently had a stroke after being diagnosed with Covid-19. Cognition is a person's awareness of oneself and things around them. My client had a stroke so therefore the role of an occupational therapist in this scenario would be to evaluate their cognition and help them meet their goals for when they leave the hospital. This also applies to clients who have other cognitive deficits. The role of an OT is to help them maintain, adapt, and/or prevent further cognitive decline. We formulate goals centered around the client's needs/wants, so they can continue living their life to the fullest no matter what that looks like!

    My client scored a 21 on the SLUMS assessment. This shows he had mild cognitive impairment. I noticed he had left discrimination due to the recent stroke. He struggled putting numbers on the clocks and putting the accurate time. I realized all of the numbers were on the right side of the clock not the left. He might struggle with memorizing to do things when he is discharged from the hospital. He might struggle with using his left side which could impair his daily activities or his favorite occupations. Prior to the assessment, he was telling me how much could not wait to leave the hospital to get back with his grandkids. When he did not know what OT was, I tied in my elevator speech with what he had told me in conversation. I made sure he knew that I was there for him and his goals like getting back with his grandkids. 

    During this encounter, I feel like I did really well with transitioning the conversation to the assessment to ensure we completed it within the allotted 10 minutes. He told me he did not like apples so I made the assessment geared towards him liking bananas instead of apples on a certain question. If I could redo the encounter, I would make sure to use hand sanitizer before and after the session. Instead of handing him the pen, I would lay it in front of him and let him grab it so I can see certain abilities. I really enjoyed this stimulation. I was not super nervous going into this because I felt prepared. I also enjoy connecting with people on a deeper level and even though he was a paid actor, it felt real. I enjoyed catering my elevator speech towards his needs and the assessment as well. The debrief with everyone was interesting and hearing how everyone's takeaway was different from mine. As in, not everyone felt how I felt after the encounter. I feel very motivated and the reason why I chose OT was again confirmed during this stimulation. Going forward, I will always remember to sanitize, sanitize, and sanitize! Every stimulation I want to get better and improve my skills from the last. Overall, it was a great experiencing and I loved the hand-on "realness" of it!