Iowa.

Land of rolling cornfields, friendly people, and pickup trucks.

My 48 hour intro has been a whirlwind…

The first day of a new PT job is typically (Ok, admittedly I’ve only had 3 first days of PT jobs) akin to syllabus day in college – no real assignments, but lots of reading and discovering what parts of the class you’ll dread. System policy manuals, documentation software tutorials, facility tours. At least, that’s what I was expecting.

“Training”, which included a facility tour by a higher-up who doesn’t spend much time at this location (i.e. hasn’t learned the tour script – or where anything is) lasted until 10 am, when I was scuttled off to my first eval. A computer, but no login, and no electronic record access. Thankfully I was provided with a paper template to scribble on, and my first victim was cognizant enough to be believable in her medication and medical history report.

I was granted time in the schedule to finish up eval paperwork (literally, paper) and tackle chunks of some exciting reading: RUGs and ARDs and COTs, oh my!

The afternoon rounded my patient total to 8, including one who was described on my handoff communication sheet as “salty language, will try to push your buttons because you’re new”. I quickly gathered that I’m replacing a therapist who has been well-loved in this facility for 11 years, and didn’t inform patients or businesses of plans to leave until the final week; a bit of a bitter taste for most.

I couldn’t find the goniometer. My attempts to print home exercise programs were thwarted by the whirring hourglass of Jessica’s tested patience. I lost the treatment room (and the patient therein) for a moment when I left to find some paperwork.

YET…

I survived. And all my patients did, too. And some – yes, the salty one – agreed to work with me again. I work with friendly people who are willing to help, though I might feel I’d need less of it with a bit more prep time. I’ve got experience that helps me slide into a clinic role and just need to learn computers, not people. I get to learn more every day. And each day that I hammer out is another 4% of my stay complete.

Now, to become accustomed to the grunting of gym monkeys pumping iron as I put the finishing touches on a full day’s documentation…

You’re alright, Iowa. I’ll stick around for a bit.