INITIAL ENTRY-FREMANTLE HOSPITAL

Initial Entry
For my second placement this year, I have been assigned to go to Fremantle Hospital. This is my cardio-respiratory rotation, and I am excited about going on this placement because cardio-respiratory was one of my favourite units during my physiotherapy course. I’m hoping that the practical side of cardio-respiratory will be as interesting as the theoretical side of it.
I will be at Fremantle hospital every day from 8:00am to 4:30pm.
I have been told by other students that I will have my own caseload. I’m happy about having this responsibility as I think it will give me more opportunities where I can learn and therefore gain more confidence in my own abilities and skills.
I have also heard from other students who have been on this placement that you are placed on a number of different wards, including general medical, surgical and ICU wards. I hope I get to experience the general medical and/or the ICU ward as I think I will be able to use a few more of my skills on these wards. I think the surgical ward could be a bit repetitive, as I think you may be using the same methods to treat patients.
I’m a bit concerned about how I will get to Fremantle hospital. The car parking is very sparse and expensive in Fremantle so I think I will have to take 2 different train lines and then walk from the station to the hospital. It may take over 1 ½ hours just to get to the hospital. I will have to be going to bed very early each night!
I hope to see a range of different conditions as well while I’m on this placement. I’m hoping that I will get to see patients who have COPD right through to patients that have pneumonia, asthma, and bronchitis.
Another expectation I have is that I hope I will be able to help run a few pulmonary rehabilitation classes. I feel as though I need to have more experience working with groups of people and I think working out exercises for a pulmonary rehabilitation class would stretch my knowledge in the cardio-respiratory sector of physiotherapy.