My first entry (pre placement)

I feel very excited about my up coming placement. I am looking forward to being able to apply the musculoskeletal knowledge and practical skills i have learnt on campus to a clinical setting. I will be on the outpatient musculo ward in fremantle. I expect to see a variety of patients with both acute and chronic presentations. For example patients who need post surgery for rehab, patients with acute musculo injuries such as ligament strains or tears (shoulders, knees, ankles...) , chronic back pain patients (maybe some on campus staff). I am expecting as a 3rd year student to be assessing and treating patients independently whilst reporting to a supervisor for asssistance and questions. I will need to write patient soapiers and refer to patient records, refferrals, reports... i also suspect that i will be writing referrals, sending patrients to the appropriate wards within the hospital and also off campus to the appropriate facilities. I expect to be given a research task in which i will need to give a presentation on. I think my role as a student is to perform to the best of my ability and ask for help on anything in which i am unsure of. The only concerns i have for this placement are that i am able to effectively apply my musculo knowledge to the clinical setting, using effective clinical reasoning for each scenario. It is the first time i will be in the situation where i am responsible for providing a musculoskeletal patient with the optimal assessment and treatment and knowing when to seek help if i can not do so. I hope i can form a good relationship with my clinical supervisor so i can acheive this.