Sensory Processing Post-SIM Lab Reflection
I think the SIM encounter went fairly well overall. I was really nervous going in, but I left a little more confident. Going in, I was prepared to use humor in my explanation of what sensory processing is, but as soon as I walked in the room, I knew that this kind of approach was inappropriate due to the state of the "mother" in the room. I think I used a good therapeutic use of self and sympathized well with the mother as well, using lots of eye contact and sitting beside her to try and provide comfort to her. Overall, I still believe I have a lot of things that I need to improve on, but after leaving today, I feel like I'm continuing to grow each day, and that's very exciting to me!
If I was given another opportunity for a do-over in this SIM lab, I would try to ask the mother more questions. I feel like I did most of the talking because I had a checklist of things I needed to talk about and get through before the 10 minutes was up, so I didn't give the mom a lot of time to explain her feelings about her and her family's situation. I would also want to take my time and answer questions more thoughtfully, rather than quickly. When thrown a curveball question from the mom, I immediately started talking and got a little rattled. I wish I would've stopped to think about how to answer her question so I could've answered it better. I learned that repeating the question back to her, or even giving a slight moment of silence can be helpful for me to gather all of my thoughts before speaking.
Some examples of how an attitude of caring can be communicated to a client/caregiver by an OT student is to one, ask how the caregiver is doing as well as the client. We know as OT students that not only is the client impacted by whatever they are receiving services for, but also the family of the client. By showing concern to the family and asking them how they are doing or if they need anything, we can build rapport and trust with them, showing that we really do care, instead of pretending like they aren't in the room or that they aren't affected by the situation in any way. Another example of how caring can be communicated is by using layman's terms when explaining difficult subjects to our client or caregiver. If we were to go into a room and use large words with all sorts of medical jargon that only an OT or medical professional would understand, that is showing the client or caregiver that we don't really care if they understand anything we are saying. If we come into the room and try to relate to their situation and explain things more simply, we are showing that we genuinely want them to understand so they can feel empowered with knowledge and let them know that we're not there to be superior to them.
For future experiences, I have many takeaways that I will incorporate into my clinical situations. I will make sure to empathize with the client or caregiver no matter what my views on the situation are. I want to also be sure to use my therapeutic use of self to judge the way I approach and talk to each client or caregiver, remembering that each person is different and they have their own feelings and needs. The last thing I will takeaway from this experience is to remember that I'm human too. I tend to beat myself up after SIM labs because I want to be perfect and seem like I've got it all together, but I will continue to tell myself each day that I'm still learning and growing. As long as I'm giving it my all, everything will continue to fall into place.
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