I've made it! I'm surviving! Yay. General things I'm noticing, that may resonate with any fieldwork student, I'm not sure, but would love to hear if this is your experience as well...
- I'm tired. All the time. Like drinking more caffeine than usual and getting more sleep or the same amount as usual, and still yawning constantly throughout the day. Constantly. I am forever apologizing to the people around me and excusing myself, because my body is still adjusting to the drastic schedule change.
- My feet hurt. A ton. It's winter here, so it's boot wearing season, and even my more comfortable boots won't do the trick. My feet are complaining and I hear them... shhhh
- My clothes smell. They absorb the smells of the different homes we are in - ethnic foods, smoke, stinky rotting food sorta smell.... uggg. I've never been a huge washing-my-coat person multiple times a season, but I think it's going to be must..
- Week One, I was a sponge. Observing. Writing notes. Silently saying "ohh" and "ahhh" at tricky family dynamics handled beautifully by the team. Silently questioning people's clinical reasoning when their decision making process looks different than what I've learned in school. Picking what I like out of what I see. Asking questions about the history of different clients. I was in this magical learning fog of absorption and monkey-see, monkey-do.
- Week Two, I'm questioning the way things work here. Haha, only been here a few days, and somehow I've morphed into the expert? I think it's also just part of the learning process. Discovering new pieces to the puzzle and turning the pieces around, trying to make them fit so my little brain can wrap around these foreign concepts. Picking up on people's personal styles and preferences which result in different approaches to similar situations. Trying to figure out where I stand, what are my preferences? How can my personality quirks be helpful when treating clients? Which character traits may hinder me or need to be molded in order to be an effective OT?
- Information overload! I'm forgetting people's names, our schedule, patient scenarios. My supervisor told me all about a client on the way to their home, which I completely forgot and stored away upon entering the home. Until some time into the session when it started to click that ohhh, that kid we were talking about is this kid! Oh do the wheels turn slow when bombarded from all sides.. remember the kiddos' names. Parents' names. Siblings' names. Pet's names. Remember the goals the child has in their care plan. Remember the staff's names and roles. Remember what you learned in school. Remember the weather from last week so you can make small talk with kiddo's parents. Remember some Spanish words. Remember what you did last week with this child.. Remember where you take off your shoes and where you leave them on... I just can't remember! ;)
- Emotional waves.... I'm sure this will get easier as we go along, but right now, sad family situations make me really sad. Like almost crying when I'm home kind of sad. And limitations with the amount of services we can provide really bothers me. But, I hope to have less drastic mood swings as the weeks go on, and to be solution oriented and surrender the rest. I'm not in control, I'm not the parent, I'm only seeing a tiny window into these people's lives, and I want to make that window count. Getting worked up won't help.
- Hard to keep up with life. Running errands, preparing meals, doing laundry, cleaning, keeping my car neat, being social.... it's all deteriorating! Like how do people do this whole adulting thing? I'm running out of food but don't even care because once I get home, I don't want to leave. I'm exhausted, and out of it. Phew.... we'll get there. #adjustments
- I love babies! And they are germy. And I am getting sick. But I don't care - their smiles, coos, giggles, sounds, words, games, personalities... all worth it:)
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