Team meeting

Whilst on my neuro and cardio placement, I was required to attend multidisciplinary team meeting. Those present at these meetings included the consultants, the registrar, the resident, the speech pathologist, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and the liaison nurse. Each patient on the ward was discussed in detail and all staff members were asked for their discipline specific input. I was required to present the physiotherapist point of view on the patients I had been seeing. To a student with limited experience, especially in the field of neurology, this can be a daunting task when surrounded by very experienced professionals. I must admit that I was quite nervous sitting there waiting for the consultant in charge of your patient to say ‘Physiotherapy’ at which point your expected to provide valuable information to all those at the table about the patient’s condition.Despite the initial fear, these meetings were incredibly valuable. It helped me to see how each of the different health professions use their individual specialties to work together to ensure the best outcome for the patient. It also made me think about the real practical value of physiotherapy in these patients. Does physiotherapy have an impact on the other health professionals treating the patient? The answer is a resounding yes, sometimes the physiotherapist ensuring that the patient is safe to walk outside is all the consultant needs to be able to discharge them, other times the physio working hard to get the patient to be able to transfer with one person assist is invaluable to the nursing staff. The thing I also found enlightening from these meetings is how much our opinion as physiotherapists and as health professionals is important to the consultants and other medical staff treating the patient. The consultants really look to us and to the occupational therapists to understand what the patient’s functional status is, and as such make a decision about the discharge plan for the patient. These meetings are also important in the sense that the allied health professionals see the patients every day of the week, whereas a consultant can not, there are times when the physio may notice a slight decrease in strength of a patient or the OT may notice a slight change in their cognitive function. This type of information may not be picked up by the medical staff but may be an indicator of a serious change in condition that needs further investigating.These meetings helped me to understand that even though we may not have studied for as long or have the same rank as a consultant or those others around the table; our input is just as important to the patient outcome. If I was placed in the same situation again, I think I would approach it with more confidence and a personal sense of equality with those around me.