prioritisation of Ax and Rx

Hi guys,

Im on my Cardio placement right now. I had a patient the other day who has been having severe back pain following a fall. While I was treating the patient I thought that it was his back pain limiting his ability to walk and as a result I tried to Ax his back. Half way through the Ax my supervisor stopped in and stopped me. She brought up a very good point. To Ax his back and do a proper musculo Rx for this patient will have probably taken me an hour at least. She helped me understand that I would probably not fix the problem in one Rx and as a result probably be wasting a lot of my time which I don't have. A better way to approach this patient would be to do lots of small walks throughout the day to improve his mobility which is the most important thing for the patients discharge. We can't forget about the back pain and have to keep it as a large consideration for Rx and try to see the pt after pain meds. Also to deal with the back pain we should be thinking of where to refer him to when he is D/C. This small discussion has helped me see what the priorities are for my ward and will help me manage my time much more effectively. I hope that it helps you too.

Shadi