In today's class, we discussed "clinical reasoning." Clinical reasoning is basically your instincts as a professional in the medical field, and in my case, as a future occupational therapist. As a first year student, the whole concept of clinical reasoning is a little intimidating and overwhelming to think about. It is hard not to worry about future situations in which I simply hope my instincts and decisions as a practitioner are right. That feeling you get when you are not quite sure what to do is referred to as "gray space."While observing, I often found myself wondering just how the OT knew what to do or how to respond to a situation. My professor today explained that often there is no one true answer to a situation, and you must use your clinical reasoning skills and instincts gained over time to make the best decision possible. I have faith that throughout my time in school and on fieldwork, I will gain more confidence in my own clinical reasoning skills. My goal as a future occupational therapist is to make decisions that are in the client's best interest, so that he or she may be as successful as possible.
Pat Summitt is well-known for being an exceptional basketball coach for the Lady Vols at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, as well as being a coach for the women's USA olympic team. In 2010, Pat began showing subtle signs of dementia, but she ignored the signs for another year. In 2011, she was diagnosed at age 59 with early-onset dementia. She went to Mayo Clinic when she began experiencing symptoms including showing up to a game while leaving her car running and calling the wrong terms during the game. She also reported signs such as feeling disoriented when waking up in the morning. She reported that numbers were especially difficult to understand and deal with at this point. After her diagnosis, Pat was determined to continue coaching at UTK; however, after about a year she was encouraged to retire from her position as head coach. She then started the Pat Summitt Foundation to raise money and awareness for research about early-onset dementia. During the middle stages of de...
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