Senior Project Speech

Occupational Therapy Assistant

Emily Simons

What is an Occupational Therapy Assistant?

An Occupational Therapy Assistant treats patients with injuries, illnesses, or disabilities using the therapeutic use of every day activities.

They help their patients develop, recover, and improve the skills they need for daily living.

Occupational Therapy Assistants work under a certified Occupational Therapist.

Work in Geriatrics

Geriatric care involves the care of the aged or those who live in a nursing home or hospital.

OTA’s generally work with people who have suffered both mental and physical impairment from issues such as strokes, Alzheimer's disease or dementia. They may re-teach patients speech, movement and coping skills that are needed for everyday survival.

For patients who act out in public environments, an OTA may teach behavioral skills and show them how to improve communication skills with nurses, physicians, family members and other residents.

Why I Chose This Topic

I chose occupational therapy assistant as my topic because that is what I’m going to college for at Lake Area Technical Institute.

I feel deeply for this topic because this is what I will be doing for the rest of my life after college. My goal is to work with the elderly or Alzheimer’s patients. The reason why I want to work with Alzheimer’s patients is because of my grandma. She has severe Alzheimer’s and I want to be able to do more for her and others suffering from the disease. I want to help them recover from injuries or just be able to help them with every day tasks.

Cont.

I learned that OTA was the career for me by the job I’ve had during my high school years.

I worked at Bethel Lutheran Nursing Home as a Dietary Assistant for the past two and a half years. I loved working with and helping the residents and wanted to find a field where I could keep doing that as well as spend more time with them since I don’t get that now.

Cont.

This process has taught me a lot about myself. It has taught me the type of people I have a soft spot in my heart for and it has also taught me that soon this will all come to reality.

After researching and making a product for this project, I have acquired new skills such as knowing more about the career, the Alzheimer’s disease, and my goals for the future.

My Research

After telling about OTA’s and what they do for their patients, I started to research the Alzheimer’s disease.

There are many symptoms of the disease such as being confused about daily tasks, problems speaking, understanding, or writing, forgetting words, or where they are. People affected by Alzheimer’s also have poor judgment, misplace things, changed behavior, and lack of interest in activities that they usually enjoy.

I learned that if 4 million people have this disease, at least 200,000 get it before the age of 65 which is horrible. There are medications Alzheimer’s patients can take but they have different effects on different people and sometimes have side effects that make the medication not worth it.

Alzheimer’s is an incurable disease right now and if you have a loved one suffering from it like I do, all you are able to do is go day by day and try to make them comfortable, which is exactly what I want to do for them.

Research Cont.

Alzheimer’s patients may need help with many things such as bathing, dressing, communicating, eating, doing activities, home safety, driving, visiting the doctor, coping with holidays and many others. There are caregivers that can help with this and find ways to make your loved one more comfortable and confident in doing all of the activities I listed.

Medications

A person who has this disease should be under a doctor’s care and might see a neurologist, psychiatrist, family doctor, internist, or geriatrician.

The medicines for Alzheimer’s are Donepezil,

rivastigmine, galantamine, and memantine. The side effects of these medicines may include your stomach getting upset, diarrhea, vomiting, muscle cramps, fatigue, or anxiety. The benefit from these drugs usually isn’t much. Sometimes, they don’t change a thing. Before using the medicines, you need to ask your doctor if it’s worth the risk and how often or when the medicine needs to be taken.

Try things to prevent this disease.

Even though you can’t prevent the disease, there are some things you can do in your everyday life that would be worth doing and could make a difference.

If you consume a low fat diet, that would make your body healthier. Eating cold water fish such as tuna, salmon, or mackerel are rich in omega 3 fatty acids and it would help to eat them at least 2 to 3 times a week.

Cont.

Reducing how much butter, margarine, and dairy products and increasing antioxidants like carotenoids, vitamin E, and vitamin C by eating dark colored fruits and vegetables.

Maintaining a normal blood pressure is very important too. Staying mentally and socially active every day can also make a difference as well as taking drugs like ibuprofen, sulindac, and indomethacin.

Activities with Alzheimer’s!

When working with patients who have this disease, you need to figure out what time of the day your patient is the most alert and energetic, what type of cueing strategies your patient responds to, and will have to wait until they adjust to the environment most likely each time you work with them.

Working with Alzheimer’s patients can be difficult at times, but the activities you want to do are activities that include memory, vision, and hearing.

Job Shadowing

I have job shadowed quite a bit within the past year.

Last year I followed an Occupational Therapist at the Good Samaritan in Sioux Falls and loved it! I felt like I fit right in and it was easy for me to make a connection with the residents we worked with which was great!

Job Shadowing

In the beginning of the year when I still went to school in Madison, I interned for a few weeks at the Madison Community Hospital with a couple of the OT’s there.

I found out that working in a hospital was something I wasn’t too fond about because the elderly weren’t always involved so I realized a nursing home was the place for me!

Job Shadowing

When I transferred to Chester I job shadowed with Natalie Olson, the Chester, Tri-valley, and Baltic OT.

I went with her to the Tri-Valley school and worked with many elementary kids and a couple middle school students which was fun but also not my thing!

Job Shadowing

My most recent job shadowing was the best!

I followed an OTA that works at the hospital and the nursing home. We met up at the nursing home and I followed her for a few hours.

Since I worked there, I already knew the residents we worked with so it was really fun for me.

Cont.

After working with two residents, she sat me down and went through a therapy plan and therapy notes. She showed me how different things should be organized and taught me what certain abbreviations that she uses mean.

I then started to make my own therapy plan and notes from looking at her examples.

I learned so much just from those three hours and I really appreciate her working with me and helping me with my product.

Cont.

For my product, I created a therapy plan and therapy notes for an elderly woman who had a hip replacement, so even though I did not use an Alzheimer’s patient as my example, I still used a type of person I will be working with in my future.

Product Explanation- Treatment Plan

Cont.

SOAP Notes

Occupational therapists use a technique called “SOAP Notes.”

All notes should be brief, to the point, and concise, using positive findings.

Notes should also be consistent.

“S”

The “S” stands for what the patient tells you; any complaints; brief pertinent quotes; and what a patient talks about.

“O”

The “O” stands for therapist’s observation; reports from standardized evaluations; % of accuracy; attendance; participation; and objective information.

“A”

The “A” stands for formulation of assessment as to what is going on with the patient; therapist’s reaction to physical progress and functional skills of the patient.

“P”

The “P” stand for the method of treatment or approach; state if short-term goals/ long-term goals were met.

Therapy Notes

Therapy Goals

Week 1 of Therapy

Weeks 2,3, and 4

After the patient is released from OT, she will go back to her home and possibly set up a caregiver or doctor coming to check on her every once in a while unless she feels she is well enough to not need that help.

Reflection

If I had to do this all over again, I would possibly mix in the elderly with Alzheimer’s in my research paper since I plan to work with both now.

I feel like I will take a lot of information from this project with me to college. I believe what benefited me the most was job shadowing and learning how different OTA’s do their jobs.

What I learned about myself is that I can see myself doing every part of the OTA career and I’m so glad I found my calling!