Below are a few things you can expect at an inpatient rehab hospital! Check it out and I hope this helps you understand a day as a therapist is this setting!

Diverse Caseload: you really will be exposed to various diagnoses! You will definitely see stroke patients, hip fractures, spinal cord patients, amputee patients, and more with all kinds of comorbidities that still need to be addressed.

Team Effort: In order for a patient to make progress, team effort and great communication is needed. Everyone’s skills matter. MDs, Nurses, PTs, OTs, SLPs, dietitians, case managers, nurse techs, family members and everyone else work together to meet the needs of patients. For example, poor nutrition does not allow for patients to perform their best during therapy so informing the team on patients’ poor nutrition intake or involving family can make all the difference! Family trainings are crucial and frequently performed because carryover is normally guided by family. Family members are so important in articulating baseline and transitioning patients to their home environment! Never underestimate your team members. Humble thyself and ask questions! Advocate for your patients by informing the team!

Fast paced environment: from the minute you start working you just won’t stop. Every inpatient rehab is different but there are standard requirements. Treat and document. All rehabs do individual sessions but some do group sessions and concurrent treatment sessions. One is required to move fast, be organized and still make progress with patients!

Weekly Team Meetings: Team conferences occur weekly. Definitely a time where you learn from your team and can express any concerns regarding your patients. Inform the team of barriers and discuss discharge concerns/recommendations.

Lots of fun paperwork: really not fun, but paperwork is needed! There’s a lot of paperwork period! Daily notes, weekly notes, team conference documentation, eval documentation, discharge documentation, discharge instructions etc! Sometimes redundant. Type type type… lol get used to it cause it’s not going away and complaining doesn’t end it too!

Miracles do happen: being a part of miracles is everything. To see patients transform and be more themselves is everything. This setting really does allow you to witness people get better and become more independent.

Learning never stops: when you think you know something, just be ready to be humbled! You are always learning and that’s the beautiful thing! I’ve been blessed to be around seasoned therapists who have been practicing for years and other newly graduated therapists. You can learn from both the young and the old. Then there are CEU’s and journal clubs one can join to continue to grow in your skills! Ask questions and learn! I learned so much from my PT partners just in observation alone, but have a heart to learn!

Planned or unplanned daily ADLs (activities of daily livings) & IADLs: just be ready to assist with ADLs (ex. Bathing, dressing, transfers etc). At some point it doesn’t matter if you are an OT or PT or something else, you will be helping patients with some form of ADL! Normally, OTs have ADLs with patients early in the morning and assess for progress, but unplanned ADLs do happen. That’s ok. Take advantage of teaching them how to perform them as independently as possible! I love that IADLs (Instrumental Activities of Daily Living i.e financial management, cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry) is something we address as well as cognition. We can check those medication management skills and if patients are appropriate to perform. There is so much to discharge planning so do not limit your treatments!

There’s just so much more that this setting has to offer that I am not even reporting. It is a great setting to start in for those who do not mind working hard. You may go home tired, but you will feel like you really can make a difference!