Bentley Outpatients – Initial Entry

Bentley Outpatients

I am writing this entry after my orientation earlier this week, which changed some of my expectations of this placement. My expectations were initially based on my prac in musculoskeletal outpatients at Swan Districts in second year.
I now expect:
1. To treat 3 patients per day in my first week and to gradually build up to 8 or 9 by the end of prac.
2. To have to do a lot of clinical reasoning and not have the answers handed to me by my supervisor.
3. I expect to be doing hydrotherapy once every week but I’m not sure if it is a group class of if everyone has an individual program.
4. To be able to see referrals or handovers the day before I see the patient so I can start to prepare over night.
5. To do a presentation for the department.
6. To challenge myself (and be challenged by my supervisor) to ask WHY I am doing a particular treatment or assessment (rather than just “this is what we were taught”).
7. I also expect to really enjoy this placement and learn a lot – I even learnt new things just at the orientation when we had a little impromptu tutorial.

I also have some concerns:
1. I am concerned I won’t remember everything I learnt in musculoskeletal over the past 3 years.
2. Public speaking – when I do my presentation.
3. I am also concerned I may get a patient who I cannot diagnose or work out a treatment plan for.