Alumni Dinner Success!

I had this idea earlier in the year about having a group of recent MGH IHP alum come to the institute and talk to our class about their experiences. In undergrad I felt they were always having different speakers or various networking/ career building opportunities, and I thought it a shame that MGH didn't do something similar. So, what did I do? I asked for help from other students to help plan an alumni panel dinner here at the IHP. 5 students agreed that my idea was worth putting into action, and we were able to get 2 very enthusiastic alumni to agree to come.

There was a ton of planning for food, and other logistics and the typical last minute freaking out. I almost cancelled the event a week ago because I feared 2 alumni would not be enough. Boy was I wrong! They were very engaging and had great answers to our questions and suggestions on what we could do for career development.

I am now feeling very relieved and excited about it. Apparently the first year students want to keep this as something we do every semester. Perhaps in a couple of years I will be an alum at this semi-annual event!

Clinical Placement at Spaulding

I've been at Spaulding Rehab Hospital for 2 weeks now doing my neuro rotation on the brain injury floor. The first week was difficult as all my patients were younger than me: all in their late teens, early twenties. I talked to my advisor about it and apparently that is the demographic: males between the ages of 18 and 24. It's sad to see someone who was headed off to college one minute and then a freak accident caused them to loose it all. We have one patient now who has a poor prognosis and it is hard to look at all the pictures of him and his friends that he mom brought in, because he is no longer that guy in those pictures.

This is an area of PT that I applied to schools hoping to end up doing when I graduate. So far, I am really enjoying the work that I am doing, but I may have to develop a thicker skin if I'm going to go this route.

Sad News from VT

I got an email yesterday from my clinical instructor this summer telling me that a patient of ours passed away. He was a war veteran who saw us 3 times a week for treatment of chronic low back pain. At first he was difficult to work with, but by the time I left he was telling us how much he appreciated his time in therapy. He would thank me repeatedly for caring about him, something he felt not many people did these days.

According to Alison (my CI), he didn't show up for a couple of appointments and so she contacted his MD to find out what was going on with him(he didn't have a phone). The doctor's office informed her that there was a note in his file from the VT Committee on Temporary Shelter stating that he was found dead in his apartment 3 days earlier. I don't think she knows the cause of death.

The email was very matter of fact and kind of lighthearted to the end, when she wished me a happy halloween, and I didn't know how to take the information. I guess she has had 8 years to adjust to patients not getting better or even dying. Well, this is my first patient to pass away, and I'm still a bit shaken up about it. I guess that makes me human, right?

Well, I'm glad I was able to make him feel better about himself and about life (which he told me often towards the end of the summer) in his last months.