A down side to my job

Part of being an OT is educating, not only the patient, but also the families involved in the patient's care. For the most part I enjoy educating people on various topics such as: diagnosis, outcomes, transfer training, adaptive equipment use etc. But one of the hardest or shall I say most difficult things for me is educating families on a patient's deficits or impairments and bringing to light the reality of the situation or diagnosis. Often times, families have the pleasure of knowing who that person was prior to arrival at the facility and with that comes a strong desire to get that person back to that prior level. With the geriatric population, achieving that prior level is not always possible or realistic. Conveying that to families is challenging because it must be done with tact and compassion but at the same time they must be aware of the reality of caring for their family member in this new capacity. Explaining this to patient's and family members is an emotionally draining experience for me. I try to put myself in their shoes and how they must feel in this new situation. My heart often aches for the families and challenges they will face. On the bright, I have the opportunity to educate them on resources, equipment, training, and additional support services that may ease the burden of being the caregiver and maximum the level of independence for the patient.