FOXcast OT: Mentor Relationship: A Case Study

This is FOXcast OT. A podcast for clinicians made by clinicians. It’s brought to you by FOX Rehabilitation. Find out more at FOXRehab.org.

Jimmy McKay, PT, DPT: Here with Bret, here with Eric. Bret you were Eric’s mentor when he started with FOX, right?

Brett Herman, OTR/L: Yes I was, two years ago now?

Eric Sheridan, OTR/L: Yeah two years.

Jimmy: How long is the mentorship process go with mentor mentee. How long’s that that work.

Brett: So it’s a six month Mentor Program which is nice slow ramp up the first three months is really the well-structured aspect of it. So we’re having daily phone calls for the first three months once a week we have direct observation sessions looking over documentation doing site visits where Eric will come shadow me or you would go shadow your mentor. Shadowing a PT shadowing and SLP. Learning what the other disciplines are doing that interdisciplinary communication is really big. The last three months the mentor program a little more relaxed. Still having those phone calls. Direct observations are now optional. We want to make sure that communication is still there. I actually think I shadowed Eric at about five five or six month mark because he had a client that I actually I’ve never seen before a really complex client quite a lot of physical assistance. Eric’s role there was to be really caregiver training. It was a wife who was half the size of both of us and she was the primary caregiver for a guy who was Max physical assistance. So it’s really unique experience and we kind of went in and brainstorm together. It’s a great opportunity for both of us to learn from each other.

Jimmy: People look at a model like FOX. They typically will have either graduate or professionals shy away from it because of the lack of the things that you just talked about. People don’t know that those things actually exist. So so what I want to know from each of you is what are two things that you guys learned in your experience of mentor and mentee together in the beginning and FOX what’s what are a couple of things that you learned from Brett in that experience?

Eric: I learned how to think on the fly. Really trust yourself and really try to hone in on what are the most important things for that patient or that patients or the caregiver. Caregiver training and really try to sharpen your skills in that aspect. Identifying the deficits that are most prevalent for their patients roles or their other families like roles.

Jimmy: You talk about that patient that Brett had just mentioned. What was that like when you had to turn to Brent me like OK so I’ve got something. You’re still news are you still trying to impress your know you’re your mentor and make sure you look like you know you’re doing. But. How did it feel bringing a really really complex client to Brett and saying hey listen I really need help on this one I’m not sure what to do.

Brett: Well I think it’s important to say you know realize that’s not a bad thing to ask for help you’re you know. I think that FOX really fosters that comfort level to be able to do that. And it was one of those things I identify that you know I could use another set of eyes on on this particular patient and. You know he came in and gave me a lot of good advice and I was kind of really focused on that patient and he was like What about the caregiver? What can we do? You know it’s really trying to minimize her burden?

Jimmy: You obviously still remember that you’re going to ember that going forward. What was it like being a mentor and having to walk in and go Oh here’s something I don’t even I don’t know what? All right well let’s let’s talk it out.

Brett: Yeah I think at the end of the day the nice thing is we’re both clinicians. So we’re having a clinical conversation. It’s not a conversation of one of us is better than the other. It’s sitting down and let’s brainstorm and let’s talk it out like looking at you like OK what can we do functional? How do we get this client better if maybe his better is from a total to a max. Like how do we get that aspect better? Maybe positioning is better? I think Eric said a really good of thing. Ask questions have that comfort level to say I’m here to help. This is the point of a mentor program you’re there to ask the questions. It’s sometimes it’s not the easiest conversations. OK I need help. That’s a hard thing for a lot of people to say but I still ask it and I’ve been doing it since 2011. I still reach out to people say I need help like this is a new client this is a new documentation thing things are going a little harder than I expected with this guy what can I do differently?Keeping up with the research I think is really huge as well to better ourselves.

Jimmy: When you’re a mentor how is that allocated in your schedule? Because as a mentee you don’t want to feel like a burden and you want that support but you also don’t want to feel like man. Should I ask Brett this question? I don’t want to bother him, I know he has a lot to do. So how does that affect it on you so you can you have the time in your schedule?

Brett: The nice thing is FOX really values that relationship. So as the mentee is given a ramp up period a slow steady ramp up. Us as the mentors are actually given a reduction in our productivity each and every week for the first three months to give that extra time. And that’s one of the complaints we hear a lot about other practices, there’s no time you know. You’re at a 7:30 to 3:30 place 3:30 comes you’re out you’re out the door. Here at FOX I’m always available be it my cellphone I’m always available via email. So kind of setting those times and having a discussion again saying let’s call out 4:30 you know during the day we’re both treating let’s maybe save it to emails and text messages or we’re gonna dictate that phone conversation. And you’ve got to have the autonomy of creating your own schedule figure out what works best for you. Some of my mentees were every night phone calls. Others were first thing in the morning. So it just kind of figuring out what works best for our relationship.

Jimmy: When you have that on the books. I’m going to talk to Brett at 4 o’clock tomorrow. It starts to let you foster that okay. What are the things I want to talk to about? Cause I know I got him for an hour. Instead of do I want to bother him with this email? Or do you think he has time? That’s not a that’s just not a great feeling to have. Is that fear. You said it’s great. It fostered that that ability to ask for help. It’s not great when you feel like you’re a burden. So knowing that that kind of changes it changes the game for people.

Eric: It’s very much like an open door policy.

Jimmy: What are you going to feel like when when Eric starts to be a mentor? Is it like your great grand mentee or how’s that work?

Brett: Yeah. So actually Eric just started with his first level two students just finishing two weeks ago. And the funny thing is she was just be my student. But there were some changes in the region and Eric got her and it is pretty cool because he’s going to see the things that he liked. That was part of our experience and maybe things that could have been changed. I think thatany relationship there’s always things that could probably be better and improve and knowing now he’s been out for two years. How much more he knows. And I think once you’ve become a field work educator mentor you start realizing how much we do know. And you’re really learning the importance of just paying it back. Giving it back the future of our profession is all these thousands of students that are here now at AOTA. And we have to give back and grow and I think it challenges us. It’s a great way for us to become better clinicians.

Eric: It shows that FOX is invested in the person invested in building their leadership. You know it’s like that’s like me becoming a mentor now after having one. That’s a great model of becoming clinically excellent.

Jimmy: Allows you to feel fulfilled as well. Exactly. I mean that’s that’s part of our our craft as we mentioned craft cause and community. That’s your craft is building that community to fight that cause that’s the way those relationships. It’s a trick question when we ask you know kind of really what your main driver is because it really is all three that allows you to do something fulfilling. All right. So if there’s someone listening right now who’s thinking about maybe suggesting a student let’s get really specific with someone in academics. What would you say to that person and why they should actually suggest or push someone who wants to work with older adults for working with a practice like this?

Brett: I think because we are given our full work educators the tools to be successful. We are training them. They could have hours of training prior to becoming a field work educator. They are some of our strongest clinicians. Not every clinician here at FOX is a field work educator and a mentor. And we value that. They want to be here. They want to be a field work educator. They want to be with students. I think we’re also going to really challenge you take you out of your comfort zone. You’re going into a client’s home that doesn’t have one diagnosis there’s five or six diagnosis. You’re not going to a client who even may understand why you’re there. You know you may go into a client’s home and that client has two daughters a son a cousin a caregiver a granddaughter and their spouse. Those are all your clients. And I think you’re going to see that unique experience. I think also the documentation piece is huge. You’re going to learn how to document appropriately you’re going to learn to document skilled care. You’re going to value it. You’re going to learn from each other and in a practice that really supports that active of growth as a student. So we encourage universities to reach out to us. We accept students throughout our footprint being in all different states we are in. We encourage those to go from maybe they’re in a PA school but they want to go to South Carolina in the summer. Let’s do it. Well maybe the winter or get away from the cold.

Jimmy: Smart move. What would you say someone who might be suggesting a student work with the practice?

Eric: I’d say it’s a great great idea. And then you’re going to be given the tools to learn a lot. Be challenged but not put in to situations that are overwhelming. You’ll be put into a just right challenge.

Jimmy: Which is what we typically hear of why you know individuals and academics would normally say oh no that’s not something you wanted to right out of school or deputy not for a placement. And that’s why I wanted to highlight that is we’re set up for it. We want to foster that relationship because no one benefits if you’re thrown into a situation where you’re not prepared or you’re not nurturee.

Brett: And I think to go off of that it’s important for students to ask those questions what is your mentor program. The nice thing is here everything is transparent. There is emerging professionals manual. You as the newly graduated clinician are going to see the manual. I’m going to see the manual. Your regional director is going to see the manual. Everyone sees it quite literally on the same page. There’s a book. Yeah everything’s good. No there’s no surprises. It’s not like oh Brett told me I’m only going to see X amount of clients my first couple weeks. That’s all you can say. And if you’re seeing more we want to hear about it. We want to know what’s going on. If you’re not getting those direct observations we want to know about and we want to improve. When I started 2011 as a new grad the program has changed since then which is what should happen. You know it’s different big time than it was in 2011.

Jimmy: Gentlemen last thing I’ll ask you best food that a client has ever given you?

Eric: My favorite part about living in South Philly is I got all my Italian ladies that I work with. My one patient really valued her making her cannoli’s always. So we spent about you know doing some IDL meal prep making cannoli’s and they were the best connolies.

Jimmy: Game over. All right. Same question.

Brett: Yeah. Mine is my actual Turkey meatball and tomato gravy I guess we should say in South Philly. Gravy was taken from one of my clients. She told me you have to squeeze the tomatoes with your bare hands. You have to and you have to cut the garlic holding the garlic in one hand and the knife and the other like a razor blade. And that’s I got to end. And as you was looking at that a safety. But you tried teaching an eighty year old who’s done that for 40 years. That’s what they’re gonna do it. So let’s just work on dexterity and let them do it. They had a turkey meatballs and gravy is probably my favorite recipe. I learned.

Jimmy: That’s the stuff you get when you’re working in clients homes. Appreciate you taking the time to talk to us about you.

Brett: Thank you Jimmy.

Thanks for listening to FOXcast OT. A clinically excellent podcast. It’s brought to you by FOX rehabilitation. FOX clinicians work hard love their work and get the respect they deserve. Sound good. Then you’ll love the autonomy to work in your own style and the support you get to achieve excellence. Plus freedom and flexibility to have a personal life whether it’s your first day or you’ve been around for a while. Your contribution is acknowledged and rewarded. That’s what makes FOX a success. Happy well-trained clinicians make great health care. Are you a fit for FOX. Find out now at Fox FOXRehab.org.