Report on Simulation #1
As part of our Neuro Aspects course in OT school, we participate in clinical simulations. For our first SIM we completed the SLUMS (Saint Louis University Mental Status) Examination on a client (actor) who was being admitted into a rehab facility after having a cerebrovascular accident (stroke) due to COVID-19. The SLUMS examination assesses a person's cognition which is how someone takes in information and is able to process it. As an occupational therapist there are times where we will work with clients who have cognitive disorders. For example, like in the simulation we could work with a client who has had a stroke and is having problems with their memory and loves cooking. As an intervention we could have the client work on memory by the therapist reading a recipe aloud and the client having to cook without reading it.
The client I had for my SIM scored a 21 on the SLUMS examination which indicates mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI means that the client will have problems with short term memory, social participation, spatial neglect, and/or finishing a task, just to name a few. For example, when in a conversation they may drift off and forget they were talking to someone or tell someone the same story more than once. I feel that I explained what OT is in an okay manner to the client. I did not explain it as good as I could have, but I was stressed about how how much time I had and did not want to run out of time before completing the examination. I tried to adapt my "elevator speech" as well as I could, but I've never had to explain what OT to someone who isn't at all familiar with it at all.
I feel that I went through the assessment well. I talked in a calm, clear voice as I wanted the client to be able to understand what I was asking of them. If given the chance to redo the SIM I would take the time to explain OT in a better way as I rushed through it, but had plenty of time. My big take-away from this whole process is that I feel more confident in my ability to be an occupational therapist. I will use this confidence to help me excel in fieldwork as well as other simulations we will do in the future. Overall, this was a great experience and has aided in my learning to be the best occupational therapist I can be.
