Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Heavy Duty - October 2016 - Subscribe to Outpatient Surgery Magazine

Outpatient Surgery Magazine, providing current information on Surgical Services, Surgical Facility Administration, Outpatient Surgery News and Trends, OR Excellence and more.

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The Long and Lonely Road to Recovery When our job's done, the patient's work is just beginning. T hat's Mishka, my tough and unrelent- ing physical thera- pist, in the purple polo. Aside from her annoying habit of increasing the weights and doubling the reps whenever I told her that I loved a particular exercise or machine, I liked Mishka. During my thrice-weekly torture appointments after my knee replacement, she worked very hard to get me to where I am now, walking without assis- tance and driving, 3 months post-op. I'm the not-so-tough one on the right with the new knee. I've got the scars from surgery and the tears from PT to prove it. I've also got a new-found appreciation for what our patients endure when they recov- er from surgery. We may think it's over once we've wheelchaired our patients to the front door, but oftentimes their job is just beginning. Sweat and tears Patients must often endure physical therapy — or pain therapy, as I call it — after surgery. The pain of PT often goes overlooked from our side of the OR table, where outpatient rehabilitation is packaged like a leisurely benefit. You get to recover in your own home! I cried doing PT in the hospital ... and when the therapist came to my house ... and on my first day at rehab. 1 2 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • M A Y 2 0 1 6 Behind Closed Doors Paula Watkins, RN, CNOR • HURTS SO GOOD Paula Watkins, RN, CNOR, (right) and her physical therapist, Mishka. Paula Watkins, RN, CNOR

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