Recently on my rural placement i was taking an exercise class aimed at seniors. The class aims to get seniors to keep moving and doing exercise and is called 'Stay on your feet'. I was asked to take the class as it would be a good experience for me. I was looking forward to running the class as i hadnt instructed a class on my own before. At uni we had taken a class in groups but it was a lot different being on your own.
The main problem was that i didnt know the exercises that the group usually performed. The exercises were like an aerobics class and were surprising complicated as there were lots of steps to learn. I felt bad for the patients as it was going to be difficult for them to follow what i was doing because i didnt know the proper steps. My supervisor said it didnt matter what steps i did as long as they were safe. This reassured me somewhat but i still wanted to run the class as close to normal as possible.
I instructed the class and it seemed to go well but i felt i was doing some exercises for too long as they were the only ones i knew. Afterwards most of the patients said they enjoyed the class and didnt mind that i didnt know the proper steps. However, one of the patients was critical of my instructing and said that i was out of time and should of known the exercises. I told her i would work on it but because i hadnt done this kind of thing before it may take a while.
I was a bit annoyed that the patient had criticised me because i thought i had done pretty well considering it was my first attempt. However, i took the advice on board and worked on my timing. I started to notice how the music was always four beats and so i had to match the steps to the music. I worked on my timing and the next week the class went a lot better. To top it off the same patient who had criticised me the week before then congratulated me on my improvement.
I think its good to always take constructive criticism on board because it helps us to become better therapists. Has anyone had any similar experiences with patients providing feedback?
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
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Thanks for this interesting reflection Kevin. You bring up a whole heap of issues including the fact that it is hard to receive negative feedback from others about something that you have put a lot of time and energy into and that client/patients/carers etc don't always frame feedback in a sensitive manner and can be quite harsh (as can students, clinical supervisors, lecturers etc).
What I would like to comment on though is the fact that valuation of your performance as a therapist doesn't stop once you graduate. I remember my first week working in a major teaching hospital where a family of a patient who had suffered a major stroke were spending a round the clock vigil with her including during physio. Their stress over her circumstances resulted in them writing down everything that I did with her and questioning the senior about whether this was adequate or not. I would have preferred that they spoke directly to me about it, however I'm not sure how I would have reacted if it was framed in a way such as Kevin has described. Having received feedback for the last 4 years on your performance what do others feel is the most useful way to receive it?
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