The purpose of this study was to ascertain the current status of the convalescent rehabilitation ward at our hospital and trends according to years of experience of staff by investigating the degree of achieving the “Ten Guidelines for Therapists,” which is a set of behavior guidelines for quality improvement in convalescent rehabilitation wards. We conducted a questionnaire survey of 26 physical therapists and 11 occupational therapists working in our convalescent rehabilitation ward. Items were rated using a 6-step Likert scale. Mean achievement of each item was calculated according to years of experience (1-2 years, 3-5 years, 6 years or more). A multiple comparisons test was then performed to compare the three experience groups. Results showed that, regardless of years of experience, items on the appropriateness of welfare equipment (Guideline 2), data management (Guideline 9), and staff education (Guideline 10) had low achievement levels. For Guidelines 9 and 10, which are related to organizational management, an education system was considered necessary for all experience groups. In addition, the degree of achievement differed significantly according to years of experience for items on collaboration with other professionals in case conferences (Guideline 5), environmental adjustment (Guideline 7), and staff education (Guideline 10). These findings suggest that the cause of the significant difference should be investigated and addressed.

A recovery rehabilitation ward is a ward where aggressive rehabilitation is provided to enable patients to return to their former level of activities of daily living (ADL). Our hospital is actively engaged in rehabilitation medicine as provided by various therapists including physical, occupational, and speech-language-hearing therapists and nurses on the ward. So, management of the patient's schedule and information sharing among members of this multidisciplinary team can be a challenge. We therefore introduced a patient schedule that provides an overview of the management plans for all patients, a rehabilitation schedule board that helps with confirming each patient's schedule and is kept in the bedside cabinet, and the ADL panel where information on ADL status and target is recorded.As a result of using the patient schedule, it became easy to make adjustments in rehabilitation duration for the patient and to reduce the stress from overscheduling.Using the rehabilitation schedule board has enabled us to now check the schedule at the bedside, and the patients can plan activities cognizant of their daily routine.Using the ADL panel allows nurses and therapists to share ADL information and also allows the patients to confirm their present status and targets.Information sharing is vital in rehabilitation medicine multidisciplinary teams on recovery rehabilitation wards where the various roles affect the patient, and using the patient schedule, rehabilitation schedule board, and ADL panel is useful for achieving this.