SIM #1 Report

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 SIM #1 Report: 

Mental Status (SLUMS) Examination


https://otworldandme.wordpress.com/2020/07/01/cognitive-approach-in-occupational-therapy/

    I am currently in a Neuro Apects course in OT school, and I got to participate in a clinical simulation encounter today. Our assignment was to administer a cognitive screening to a patient with a recent stroke history. Cognition is someones ability to understand and interpret information. Something like a stroke can alter someones cognition because it is injury to the brain. As occupational therapists, it is our job to test and understand their cognition so we can figure out how to help them. If we know what level of cognition they have, we can plan intervention accordingly. Let's say someone cannot remember to lock their front door when leaving their house. We can have a note on their keys or in their car to go lock the door every time they are trying to leave. Little things like that can have such an impact on someone who has suffered an acquired brain injury. 

    My client scored a 21, which means she has mild cognitive impairment. I feel this score accurately reflected what I observed. She had some trouble with the story, and repeated a couple of animals. Other than that, she seemed alert and aware of me and what I was saying. With mild cognitive impairment, I would expect her to maybe miss some appointments, be a little bit slower in telling stories, and maybe not be good at super long tasks like following a recipe. I felt as through a did a good job explaining what OT was to my client. I started out by asking her a little bit about what she likes to do, and then I included that into my explanation. She immediately was complaining about her memory from the stroke, so I made sure my definition was short and would not overwhelm her. 

    During this simulation, I thought I did well on keeping my client reassured that we are here to help, and that her memory loss was normal. I'm sure her experience and diagnosis is scary and traumatic enough, so I wanted to be that light that she saw that told her that her feelings are valid and that we are there because we care about her. I forgot to get hand sanitizer before my encounter, so that is something I would obviously fix for next time. I also feel like I could have prepared a little bit more in knowing the exact order of the questions, because between my nerves and not realizing it was next, I had a little setback with getting my phone out for the timer. It was not a smooth transition, and I just now know that when I see the animal question, I need to be ready with my timer. My biggest take away is that I know I am more than capable of doing things like this. This simulation made me so excited for my future as an occupational therapist, and it honestly was just reassurance that I love this profession and I need to keep up my hard work because one day that will be a real client and I will have the real opportunity to change their life. Going forward I will use my video and my knowledge of this cognition test to prepare for my next encounters. I will use my new cognition knowledge to empathize and understand clients who are going through it. I had so much fun with this simulation and I cannot wait for the next one!






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