First day at a SNF

Today I went with three other SLP students to a skilled nursing facility (SNF pronounced sniff). I was completely out of my element. With kids I am completely comfortable, I know how to get them engaged, and am able to refocus their behavior. Elderly adults are another story.

The three students and I will lead a combined aphasia/dementia group this semester. Many of these patients have run out of insurance for speech therapy services so they come to a weekly group to help them engage in communication. Each week we plan a thematic lesson to help them remember and try to get them talking to each other.

This week we decided to have a Classic Film theme. Since my one true love movie-wise is Gone with the Wind, I had to bring in my stuff to share. I printed off pictures, shared a framed photo that my sister got me for Christmas, and played a few important quotes on my audio recorder. It got me really excited about lesson planning and I'm lucky that I get to do this as a job :).

However, like I said, I am completely out of my comfort zone here. I'm still learning the fine line between chatting with them and having them take me seriously. I was telling my friend Shannon that I now know what it feels like to just be pushed into therapy without any guidance. When I stood up to lead the group I was at a loss for words. I'm much better at the one-on-one interaction. Today I sat next to the loveliest woman with Alzheimer's. She got such a kick out of "Frankly my dear I don't give a damn" that she had me laughing the whole time.

I'm really grateful I have this opportunity to work at a SNF because it is a good introduction on working with elderly patients without having to be doing individualized care. Since I am still learning, it is a lot easier having a group there with me for support. Also, since it is just once a week for 2 hours, I have a lot of time to plan and focus on my kiddo. (Speaking of, the lesson went GREAT last night, he loved, loved, loved bowling and the experiment "Fireworks in a Cup")

Sorry if this post was short and boring, I'm off to a concert but wanted to check in! I gotta get my creative juices rolling for next week so hopefully I'll post a few more activities this weekend. Have a great weekend everyone.

*Bragging section* So since I had a pretty crappy week I figured that I'm allowed one bragging moment... right? Especially since I started feeling like I was the worst SLP in the world until today. 1. Today my supervisor told me that I wrote the best SOAP notes (treatment notes) that she has ever seen from a first year clinician. 2. I got 100% on my neuro test. Maybe I will survive after all :)

Gorgeous Gone with the Wind-- loove it!