Personalized Care
In rehabilitation, we have the luxury of spending more time with our patients than most practitioners/professions can spend. We can get to know them over a period of time, and continue to personalize care with the knowledge that we have. Do we (personalize care) though? Recent developments in neuroscience and rehabilitative medicine have provided more insights into optimal motor learning approaches for persons with different diagnoses and presentations (phenotypes). Blocked practice for some, external focus for most, visual cues for others – these and many more variables can and should be considered with regard to the information that we have about the condition. Despite efforts to personalize care based on lesion or diagnosis, we have not made similar advances to incorporate information about the person before their injury or diagnosis. Treatment planning around personal preferences, life experiences, and psychological tolerance (errors, challenge) should (arguably) inform our care as much or more than the location of a lesion seen on MRI. Take the time to read a chart. Take more time to learn/read about the person.