Discharge, goals met.

Towards the end of last year, one of the girls I work with announced at a meeting “After two years working here, I’ve finally discharged my first client as within normal limits”. We applauded, sympathised, and reflected on our own caseloads.

When I started as a new grad therapist, I inherited a caseload that hadn’t been seen in six months. Half form one therapist who left and the other half from another who went on maternity leave. Most newbies have a similar story. The first couple of weeks are spent sending out review letters, receiving phone calls back from some (some happy that you’re there, and some suddenly remembering that their child should have been in therapy, and getting angry). But Some you don’t hear from, and you discharge them, getting good at that task.

I wish I had a percentage of people I’ve discharged just because I hadn’t heard back. Or perhaps I don’t…

Yesterday, I got to close a case. His speech sounds weren’t 100% there (still working on shaping the s and r to sound a bit more accurate) but after 5 years in the service, he’d come a huge way, and there wasn’t anything I was doing that his mother wasn’t completely capable of doing. He’ll miss skipping school for appointments, but he’ll live.

The other weird thing is with our service structure, I’m now getting kids back who were in that initial lot or just after who are starting to go to school, still with speech or language issues, but with a lot less to work on than back then. Nice to see them grow up – but I wish they could all be fixed by school.

Where’s my magic wand?

Tagged as: magic, work