Hello from Jackson, Mississippi!
Wow! I cannot believe that the second of our four 8-week clinical rotations is soon coming to a close. I am definitely sad to leave Mississippi Methodist Rehabilitation Center (MMRC), but excited about the knowledge and relationships gained from an incredible clinical experience working with patients who have suffered spinal cord injuries. This rotation has truly been life-changing! Patients in rehab facilities require physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual therapy. I am so grateful that MMRC encourages this type of care. I also have enjoyed and learned from the team approach involved at MMRC including the physicians, nurses, physical therapists, occupational therapists, recreational therapists, speech therapists, respiratory therapists, and neuropsychologists.
At MMRC, the therapeutic recreational therapists provide many opportunities to take patients on “outings” when they are medically stable. Last week, my clinical instructor and I had joined the recreational therapist and two of our patients on a “movie theater outing”. Through this, I’ve seen how extremely important it is to provide these patients with the motivation they need to regain experience in the environment. You could see it on the patients’ faces how excited they were to be outside of the hospital and enjoying life again! What a blessing it has been to work in this field of physical therapy!