Neuro Aspects Simulation 1 Reflection
 |
| Retrieved from: General Cognitive Ability Tests as Organizational Leadership Assessment Tools (linkedin.com) |
As part of the Neuro Aspects course I'm taking in OT school, I participated in a clinical simulation encounter during which I administered a cognitive screening to a person with a recent history of stroke. This assessment was called the Saint Louis University Mental Status Examination (SLUMS). As I mentioned, this assessment screened the client's cognition levels. Many people believe cognition is just "how a person thinks", even though that is part of cognition, there is so much more. Cognition is the mental process of how someone organizes, perceives, and manipulates information in order to allow the person to process information (Lancaster, 2023). It is important to screen or assess a client's cognition because it can help determine if the client is having problems with memory, thinking, or other brain functions. Determining if a client has cognitive problems is also important for occupational therapists. An OT's role in working with individuals with cognitive disorders includes helping clients with strategies to compensate for cognitive loss, adapting to an environment, improving participation in ADLs and IADLs, etc.
Before giving the assessment on the client, I introduced myself and asked her was she familiar with OT. She said she wasn't familiar with it at all. I proceeded to give my elevator speech on what OT is and I explained that it as " Occupational therapy or OT for short is a health profession that focuses on the therapeutic use of occupations or daily activities to help clients that may have trouble with daily tasks." I then gave examples of daily activities to help the client further understand what OT is. I feel that I did well explaining to the client what OT was. I made sure to explain what occupations were. I could have added that OT can work with clients of all ages and diagnoses. After the client completed the SLUMS assessment, I calculated their score. The total score was 21. Because the client scored a 21 and has a bachelor's degree for the level of education, the cognitive status scoring indicated they had an indication of mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Because the client indicated that she may have MCI, I would suspect that she would have some types of challenges. These challenges would probably include forgetting things more often, losing train of thought, poor judgment, finishing tasks/following instructions, etc.
Overall, I feel like I did well. I feel like my elevator speech and my performance on giving the actual assessment went well, given the fact that I was super nervous. If I was given the opportunity for a re-do I would have changed 3 things. The first thing would be actually listening to the client more. I realized when I first walked in I introduced myself and asked how she was. She explained to me that she had a stroke and was experiencing some memory loss. When she was telling me this, I was listening to an extent but also thinking about what exactly I was going to say next. When it came time to do the assessment, I asked the question " are you having any trouble with your memory", she said, " as I said earlier...". If I would have given her my full attention instead of thinking of my next move, I would have caught this. Because of this, she might have thought that I wasn't listening to her concerns. The second thing would be slowing down a little when speaking and while asking questions on the assessment. By talking fast, the client might have thought I was rushing her when in reality I just talk fast when I'm nervous. I would have also worked on my communication after giving the assessment. At times I felt like I was just fishing for questions to ask the client to waste time. I consider myself to be an introvert, and don't really know how to keep a conversation flowing smoothly however, I am currently working on getting out of my comfort zone and talking more. One of my professional development goals is to work on my personal and professional growth. I've been practicing social skills like assertiveness, conversation, and confident body language. These things will help me going forward! 😊
Comments
Post a Comment