Talk about a time you had to think outside the box to help a patient or solve a problem. How was your thinking accepted among your team or peers?

"While working as an Addictions Counselor, I treated a patient who had completely devastated their life due to alcoholism. They had lost their job, their spouse due to divorce, and the ability to see their children regularly due to a court order. Throughout my treatment of the illness with the patient, deep regrets were brought to light once they had gone through the initial detox period. As part of my daily sessions, it became quite obvious that the patient's ex-spouse may play an integral role in helping him recover. I had never done this before practice, but I contacted the ex-spouse to see if they would be willing to join us for one of our normal one-on-one sessions, and the spouse readily agreed. It had been almost six months since they had spoken, but right away, the spouse could see that the patient was on a path to recovery. Once recovered and released, the patient returned to our unit to volunteer and work with other patients, and he remains sober to this day. Every time we see each other, he thanks me for helping him turn his life back around and helping to get his children back into his life."

"In my training program, I was on a clinical rotation in a child & adolescent unit working with children with PTSD. After reading several studies about music therapy for people with traumatic stress, I convinced my attending physician and the unit director to let me try using music therapy sessions with the children. After designing a program and getting it approved, the therapy sessions were a hit among the children and their loved ones. As I left my training program, I received special recognition for helping to develop this therapy in the program, and they plan to continue to utilize it after I leave."

"During my time practicing with my current organization, I have taken great pride in my ability to think outside the box for each patient I treat. To help make hospital visits better on our inpatient Psychiatric unit, I advocated over time for a more relaxing atmosphere in the patient rooms. Knowing that our patients were in a vulnerable state while hospitalized, I felt that it was important for our inpatient rooms to feel more like home with nice paint, lamps, and artwork on the walls. After speaking to our board of directors, we were granted the budget for making the changes the following year. After implementing the changes, we received much praise from patients and visitors alike."

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