Case Study Sessions

Emily is a new clinician and just started her first job at a skilled nursing facility with an attached post-acute care wing. She is thrilled to have this job and excited to begin her new career in rehabilitation therapy. The first few months went really well as she got trained and acclimated to her job, but now she is facing increasing pressure to meet a productivity requirement of 90%. As each week passes, she feels less and less capable of her job because her manager is writing down her productivity percentage on a sticky note and leaving it on her desk each morning. Throughout the day, she struggles to find ways to increase her productivity. She finds that the only feasible way to do this is to fudge the number of minutes that she is spending with patients by billing for time she spends looking for them. This makes her feel slimy, but she doesn’t know how else to achieve 90% without clocking out for bathroom breaks and paperwork sessions. All of the other clinicians seem to be able to achieve it, so why can’t she? After a few months, she starts to dread going into work. Seeing the sticky note at her desk each morning makes her feel frustrated, resentful, and unappreciated. Fudging her billable minutes makes her feel like a fraud, and she starts to notice other slides in ethical decision making, such as ignoring an urgent call light or telling a family she doesn’t have time to talk with them because she knows she can’t bill for that time. She is starting to wonder if she made a mistake with this career choice. After work, she is turning to more and more coping strategies, including drinking more than she ever has each night, binge-watching TV, and venting about her job to whoever will listen. She does not feel that it’s safe to bring up the topic of productivity with her boss because anyone else who has tried to do so only has stories of how badly the conversation went. She feels stuck, ashamed, and burned out.

Anju is a 62 year old female s/p anterior spinal surgery. Per MBSS report, she is aspirating on thin liquids. Various strategies were trialed. The only successful strategy was small sips, which reduced the risk, though did not completely resolve it. The evaluating SLP did try nectar thick liquids, which did resolve the risk of aspiration. The report concluded that the patient should be on a softer diet with nectar thick liquids. Anju is unhappy with this and does not want to drink thickened liquids. She is dehydrated and at risk for UTI.

Brian is a 38 yo male who survived a traumatic car accident resulting in damage to right frontal lobe and a broken leg. He has spent the past three weeks in rehab therapy working on left neglect, insight, impulsivity, safety awareness, and mobility. He is emotionally ready to go home and return to work, but physically and cognitively, there are concerns that this isn’t a good option right now. He is married with two children and works as a programmer. Due to the nature of his injury, he does not exhibit the ability to have accurate insight into his limitations and prognosis. His short-term memory is impaired and there is concern of safety limitations in a home environment when he is alone or sole caregiver of the kids. The therapy team believes he would benefit from an additional 9 weeks of therapy before going home.