This month, our Clinician Who Inspires is John Smith, Champion Level I Therapist, DOR and SLP at Diversicare of Tupelo. John enjoys cultivating a supportive atmosphere for the therapy team to excel in enhancing patient outcomes and attaining a rewarding professional journey. One of the biggest tips John shared is the importance of therapists finding their niche. He believes therapists excel in their careers and make a big impact on improving patients’ lives and functional outcomes when following their clinical interests and striving to enhance their knowledge and skills. John reports he isn’t the only one encouraging his team to embrace lifelong learning. Each member of the Tupelo team encourages and pushes each other to achieve their personal goals as well as goals for the whole team. As an example, John and the Tupelo team have begun climbing Reliant’s Clinical Advancement Ladder – a majority already achieving Champion Level I Therapist.
John also shared that attending July’s Lunch and Learn, Interdisciplinary Fall Prevention Across the Continuum of Care, was very beneficial for the therapy team and residents in their facility. He shares that by recognizing the importance of speech therapy in fall prevention and safety awareness, the team is able to address fall prevention more holistically resulting in reduced falls and an improved quality of life for their residents. John now works hand in hand with the physical and occupational therapy teams utilizing interdisciplinary groups and co-treatment. John enjoys creating real life situations for those patients who are at-risk for falls to problem solve through.
The team also enjoys coordinating other interdisciplinary groups, including obstacle courses with challenges to maneuver wheelchairs and walkers around, addressing multiple functional areas at once. John revealed a major benefit to interdisciplinary groups has been the real-time communication between disciplines, sharing insights, and collaborating on care to ensure the group session is holistic with all areas are being addressed.
Thank you, John and the Tupelo Team, for demonstrating your dedication to providing the best care possible!
