Our final intervention was to implement a daily exercise session every morning to contribute to establishing a better routine at the centre . We facilitated different forms of exercise each week , inspired by clients ’ interests , including line dancing , tai-chi and cheerleading .”
Our final intervention was to implement a daily exercise session every morning to contribute to establishing a better routine at the centre . We facilitated different forms of exercise each week , inspired by clients ’ interests , including line dancing , tai-chi and cheerleading .”
address this , we decided to provide dementia awareness training for all staff to build on their knowledge and confidence .
At the end of the placement , we also presented staff with case studies on clients with complex needs and dementia , from an occupational perspective . These sessions provided staff with strategies to support clients and encouraged productive discussions .
Our final intervention was to implement a daily exercise session every morning to contribute to establishing a better routine at the centre . We facilitated different forms of exercise each week , inspired by clients ’ interests , including line dancing , tai-chi and cheerleading .
We encouraged clients to participate , either by watching or actively moving , in a standing or seated position , depending on ability and preference , ensuring that no-one felt excluded . Some even ended up leading through their own motivation .
We trialled a range of outcome measures to gather feedback from the service users , from a Likert scale to indicate mood before and after the sessions , to asking clients to put tokens into a ‘ good ’ or ‘ bad ’ pot following the sessions .
Finding the appropriate method proved challenging at times , due to diverse communication needs , inconsistent feedback , or clients declining to feedback , which impacted the reliability and validity of data gathered .
We used observations of clients ’ attendance , engagement and mood to inform evaluation and planning of the sessions . Staff also contributed to this and , when they saw the positive effect of the sessions , supported clients who were more apprehensive to engage initially . It was hoped that by handing over a diverse range of resources and ideas for staff , that these sessions would continue after the placement had ended .
Our tips for future students in similar placements with service users who have a range of needs include :
• Try to remain friendly and approachable , without making demands on existing staff .
• Spend time getting to know and building rapport with service users , to ensure delivery of person-centred interventions , while maintaining an occupational focus .
• Use a range of outcome measures to allow for monitoring , feedback and determining changes to interventions .
• Use a model to critically appraise and reflect on situations .
• Remain as flexible as possible and expect the unexpected .
The educators ’ experience
As the long-arm practice educator and practice learning leader ( educator ), what became clear to us over this experience was that the students benefitted from being placed in a pair and supported each other through difficulties and challenges within the setting and in particular situations in groups and one-to-one work .
They were able to critically challenge each other , but also offer personal support and draw on their own particular resources and differing backgrounds and experiences to enhance the overall experience .
Both students recognised that asking the staff team to adapt to change could be challenging and sometimes demotivating . The students were supported to work around this by being offered emotional and practical support by both educators ; staying focused and ‘ on task ’, being as objective as possible , and not getting too involved in the day-to-day politics of the service .
There was a sense that students needed to be confident enough to manage feeling overwhelmed and balancing the demands of service users and staff alike . There was also an opportunity to role model ways of working with service users with staff in a non-confrontational manner .
As the students began to see confidence build in staff , it became clearer to them that their role was really valued and appreciated .
Working with diverse service user groups with differing abilities was clearly a challenge . It was important to support the students to focus on the occupational therapy process with whomever they were working .
This helped to provide a clear occupational framework for their daily work and gave the students confidence to challenge their own abilities and be creative in ways they may not have thought possible .
30 OTnews April 2024