Halfway done

I'm now more than halfway done with my outpatient orthopedic clinical rotation. I'm learning a lot and I feel more comfortable treating patients in the outpatient setting, but to be honest, I hate it.

I just don't feel like I'm accomplishing enough with my patients. I love inpatient rehab and acute care because I see results quickly. I like that feeling of satisfaction when I've made great progress with a patient. It's not the same in outpatient. Patients make very small gains over a long period of time and sometimes I wonder if they would've gotten better on their own anyway. I don't feel like I'm making as much of a difference in people's lives.

Also, sometimes I just can't stand chronic pain patients. They come into the clinic walking around just fine, then claim they're in 10/10 pain. They say they're desperate to get better, but then they don't do any of their home exercises. During PT sessions in the clinic, a lot of patients seem more interested in talking to you and telling you about their pain than in doing the exercises.

I have no patience for it. I don't want to baby people who always say they're in 10/10 pain. I don't want to go through easy low-level exercises and pretend that it's going to help with core strength. I don't want to sit around and chat with patients about their lives. I don't want to lie to patients about what will help them.

Patients need to realize that if they want to get better, they need to make some lifestyle changes. They need to exercise at home. They need to join a gym. They need to have better posture. They need to control their weight. Physical therapy is not a magical cure. It takes work and time and effort.

There are some patients who do very well in physical therapy. That's because they're motivated to put in the time and effort necessary to succeed. They are the ones who are actually independent in their HOME exercise program. Those patients do great in therapy and progress quickly. Then they're discharged and we're stuck treating the ones who aren't getting any better.

I know a lot of PT's love outpatient orthopedics, but it's just not my thing. Three more weeks till I get a much needed summer vacation!