Fatiguing out during OP ortho clinical

[Julie S]

Hey guys,

I looked for a thread on this but haven't found one. I just started my first clinical (end of first week), which has been enthralling given that my patients are real (and not on paper/a professor during an extremely stressful practical). I'm learning so much but running into a real problem... by the end of the 8 hour day I am SPENT! My clinic does not include a lunch break. Its not that I don't eat (I can usually grab a bite when I need to) but I think the lack of mental/physical break is getting to me. Its also weird hours for me, where I have to either get up at the crack of dawn or stay until the evening. Has anyone else felt the same way? Have any management strategies? I can feel my energy with patients and skills start to taper off and I want to provide the best care possible for my patients regardless of when their appointment is.

Thanks!!

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[DPT13]

I felt the same way on my ortho clinical and it was my 3rd rotation. Your first clinical will likely be draining regardless of the hours, because there is so much learning and mental processing going on as a new clinician. When I was in OP ortho, we alternated 8 and 10 hour days, coming in at 7 am for 10 hours one day, then staying til 7-8 pm the next, and repeating. I also had no lunch most days and felt completely exhausted every day. I would try bringing a couple of healthy snacks that you can grab quick to keep yourself energized.

Also try reviewing material outside the clinic (probably on weekends is most feasible) in manageable chunks to help better prepare yourself mentally for what you will be doing in the clinic that week. If you have a lot of knee or ankle patients, read up on that body region and therex ideas.

Another thing I did to try and reduce my stress day to day was to try and write small lists of interventions I'd like to try on a patient's next visit (things that you wouldn't necessarily document in the plan). I found that I would think of a lot of things I wanted to work on with a given patient while we were face to face, but then drew a blank at the start of that pt's subsequent visit.