Hi all, I am currently at gerontology placement and I want to share some experiences with you about what I saw in this placement.
In the first 2 weeks of the placement, I was a bit shocked initally in regard to the workload and treatment approach. The philosophy of physio approach is entirely different from other placements I had before. Obivously, the patient population group is usually frail elderly who had previous history of fall and they comes here for treatment and consultation. I have a patient who had falls and history of OA knees, I was thinking of balance exercises to get him better and more stable on his feet. However, my supervisor adviced that the patient should get a 4WW for ambulation instead. I was confused initially because normally we as a physio want people to be independent as possible so that , I was not very convinced as the notion being delivered into my mind. Basically, the treatment approach is conservative and as I spend more time in this placement I realise that all we do for the patient not only does it prevent falling, it also prevent any aggravation of their concurrent conditions (e.g. pain, fatigue etc). Therefore from this placement, it is good to understand the patient in the other perspective.
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Yes I have had similar experiences with gerontology falls patients. It seems as though some physios are very keen to avoid issuing a walking aid to those not previously using them, whereas other physios do not see an issue with it. I took a view somewhere in the middle- I think we should do all we can to avoid it, but ultimately if we judge that their balance is unlikely to improve to an extent where they will be safe, they can be great at preventing falls (and related hospital admissions) and increasing confidence. In the end though, the patient should be presented with all the info, pros/cons, etc and make their own informed decision
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