I just finished my first week of my first long clinical rotation (OP ortho). Is it normal to feel overwhelmed and a bit dumb at first, especially since I haven't had an ortho class since December?
First long clinical
- Thread starter nangus
- Start date
Definitely normal!! I felt physically and mentally drained, and definitely overwhelmed, for the first 2-3 weeks of my 13 week OP rotation. There is a lot to pick up in the OP setting treatment wise, and there are so many different schools of thought on therex and manual techniques that I think it is normal to need a little time to acclimate to the pace and thought-proces of the clinic you're working in.
It depends on what aspects you feel most overwhelmed with, but I found it helpful to look at the diagnoses for my new evals scheduled on the following day, and to then brush up on info for that body area/diagnosis the evening before said evaluation. That way you aren't trying to loosely review too much musculoskeletal content without a context, which can be overwhelming IMO. Ask lots of questions to understand things early on, and make sure you communicate early on if you're having trouble picking up techniques. Good luck!
It depends on what aspects you feel most overwhelmed with, but I found it helpful to look at the diagnoses for my new evals scheduled on the following day, and to then brush up on info for that body area/diagnosis the evening before said evaluation. That way you aren't trying to loosely review too much musculoskeletal content without a context, which can be overwhelming IMO. Ask lots of questions to understand things early on, and make sure you communicate early on if you're having trouble picking up techniques. Good luck!
