Angela Mendieta
BSHS/201
March 17, 2011
Dr. David Bolton
Upon my visit to The Department of Developmental Services I was greeted by a staff member who then asked me my name I signed the visitors book and told them who I was there to, see I received a visitors pass and was escorted to Ms. Jones office Ms. Jones, who is a Senior Psychiatric Technician, at the Department of Developmental Services for the State of California. This facility is located on more than two acers of land that is located in the city of Diamond Bar
This facility has a private pool for resident a petting zoo with horses, birds, and dogs, non-poisonous, snakes that are sometimes used for therapy with clients. …show more content…
Ms. Jones attended Valley College where she received her Diploma/Licsense this was Approximately, two years course of study.
Ms. Jones is required by law to renew her licsense every, two years to continue to work. In her position as Senior Psychiatric Technician Ms. Jones is responsible for the safety and care of thirty male clients that are located on her unit this unit is an all- male unit the ratio of clients, on this particular unit is 7 to 1 which means there is seven clients to every- one staff member. The total population at this facility is form 300-310 on any given day. There is a certain criteria that must be met these factors include that the client must first go through one of the many regional centers here in California to be evaluated and assessed. The client must be developmentally disabled. from birth or diagnosed to be mild to profoundly mentally disabled to be placed at this particular facility.
Ms. Jones also supervises more than 14 employees, on her unit this includes, planning work schedules, for each employee on her unit making sure that all patients are covered. She also make sure that these employees attend mandatory training assigned by the State of California
Ms. Jones is also required to attend mandatory trainings for those in her …show more content…
position as Sr. Psychiatric Technician this applies to all no matter what facility they work at. She is also responsible for administering medication to clients as needed writing incident reports, and communicating with doctors, about teh patients health and behavior. This is a vital part of her work keeping records and communicating with doctors so that the clients get the best care that can be provided. Some of the services provided are a theraputic envionrment, medical support, psychiatric evaluations and medical assessments (ongoing).
Dental services are also available for clients that are in need of a dentist. These services are provided by way of an in house clinic which operates on a 24hr basis this facility is a hospital setting, that is considered to be an open facility that means that the clients can walk around on the grounds unsupervised from 8am until sundown that was mandated by federal law. The facility has an open nurse station two Doctors offices and three group rooms that are used for quite time for some of the clients that might be in a crisis or for group meetings and therapy this is one of the few twenty four hour facilities that is still operating. This facility is funded by the State and does receive some Federal funding currently this particular facility, is in grave danger of the doors being closed for good. Due to lack of funds and funding. As we all know our present economy is causing cuts in many of our county and State funded programs.
Some of the most common clinical issues faced at this facility are harm to self and harm to others, this behavior can be very dangerous. When a client threatens to harm his/herself or
a staff member one of the most common approaches used according to Ms. Jones is Crisis-
Communication this form of intervention used is to attempt to find out what the client needs or wants in some cases the client is non-verbal so the human service worker should look for signs of pain. In the event that this intervention is not effective the highest form of restraint is physical to be tied down to his/her bed or chemical restraint which consist of an injection of
Ativan or Lorezepam the minimum dose is one milligram given intramuscular or PO this means by mouth unless authorized by the physican
There are also other intervention techniques, used with client to help empower the clients, some of these interventions include Pet Therapy, going to the movies museums, and various amusement parks. This helps to stimulate the clients and also serve as a means for exercise as well as therapy. The mission at this facility is to provide their clients with opportunities that allow each clients to function at their highest level. After my interview with Ms. Jones was concluded, I felt that this was a great experience for me to see how a State facility is run and has given me the opportunity to observe various patients. In a clinical environment.