Katie Sutcliffe
Clemson Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation Projects
The goal below is just one of five goals that I wanted to accomplish during my time at Clemson Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation. Both of the following projects were created after discussions with my preceptor, the certified occupational therapy assistant (COTA), and some patients. Please feel free to review both of my projects and see why they were an important part of my internship.
Skill Goal:
By the end of my field experience, I will be able to assemble a tool or tools that my preceptor can use as an option for hand therapy treatment.
Objectives: I will accomplish this by:
1. Discussing the needs for hand therapy treatment with my preceptor (such as increasing
dexterity, improving sensory needs, etc.)
2. Reviewing samples of other previous interns’ projects to get an idea of a useful tools that
are possible to make
3. Using the Internet to learn about helpful hand therapy activities and how to
create/obtain equipment needed
Project #1
For this project located below, I searched for something that would help patients in particular need of hand or shoulder therapy treatment. Due to spatial limitations, I had to search for something smaller to create a wrist or hand exercise activity that would not take up as much room. During my discussion with the COTA, she mentioned Pintrest as a great resource for occupational therapy ideas. I immediately started researching possible equipment that I could produce while in conflict with a limited budget and space. I finally chose to use bathtub appliques and marbles to assemble an activity. The bathtub appliques had a combined total of 55 suction cups on the bottoms, which is a great number for practicing hand/wrist exercises.
I have come to find that this project is versatile in its uses. The exercises could help a patient with supination/pronation, dexterity, fine-motor skills, concentration, and strengthening. This project also received great feedback from my preceptor and the patients. A final copy of this PowerPoint is kept on the equipment shelf near the bathtub appliques and marbles for anyone to view while participating in the activity. This project has taught me how creative your mind has to be for occupational therapy. I enjoyed the challenge of finding an activity that would be useful to my preceptor and his patients. Due to his project, I feel that I now think more like an occupational therapist. After this experience, I cannot go to a store without finding objects that would be good for a patient to use in therapy.
Project #2
The project located below was developed through many discussions with patients. A few patients described how they could not move around like they used to or lift objects very easily. By using this Household Weight Substitution handout, patients will be able to refer to a brief guide for common household items and the approximate weights of those items. While trying to create this project, I wanted it to be something that would be helpful for many of the hand therapy patients and would not just sit on a shelf never to be looked at again.
When I brought the final copies to the clinic, I received positive feedback from my preceptor and patients about this project. This handout also allowed me to be creative in that I had to find objects that fit into the appropriate weight categories. I never paid much attention to weights before this project. By seeing patients struggle with common activities, which often involved weight, I realized how large of a role that weight plays in our daily lives. I have now gained a better understanding of the difficulties that patients go through after an injury or surgery. Please feel free to look through my PowerPoint, which is the same handout that was placed at Clemson Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation.