Student Blog

2010 NBA Champions ⟩
September 1, 2017, by Bryan

Fieldwork Living in LA

The first question Joe (pseudonym) asked me was whether or not I thought the Los Angeles Lakers would win the NBA championship this year.

“Not a chance” I replied before noticing his purple and gold 2010 NBA CHAMPIONSHIPS LOS ANGELES LAKERS shirt.
“That’s whack man,” Joe said.

He did not talk to me the rest of my first day at my very first Level 1 Fieldwork.

My first Level 1 Fieldwork placement was at Mychal’s Learning Place in Hawthorne CA. Mychal’s is a clubhouse setting that offers day programs for adults with developmental disabilities, equipping them with self-care and job skills in order to foster independence. Mychal’s has an onsite washer and dryer, fully functional industrial kitchen, as well as other opportunities to teach and practice ADLs. There was, however, no OT onsite, so my colleagues who were also placed at Mychal’s and I had to be proactive to see how OT fit into this setting and population.

After a whirlwind first day of orientations and getting to know the facilities, I volunteered to assist with an awesome opportunity at Mychal’s, their Howl at the Moon café, which functions as a mobile coffee and pastry retailer. Howl has partnerships with MATTEL headquarters nearby and sets up shop twice a week to sell and serve coffee to the employees. The coolest part of Howl was that Mychal’s participants did almost everything from taking orders, making drinks (fancy lattes, cappuccinos, everything!) and even cooking the pastries. It was incredible to see how much Mychal’s believed in its participants. While I loved my experience there, throughout the semester I was still unsure of an OT’s role in this setting.

Joe and I were both assigned to Howl a couple weeks into fieldwork. We did not get the opportunity to converse since our first meeting and I was a little nervous to break the ice again.

“So . . . do you like basketball?” I asked before noticing the same purple and gold 2010 NBA CHAMPIONSHIP LOS ANGELES LAKERS shirt (PSA: Use your clinical observation skills people).
Joe nodded while preparing a pumpkin spice latte.
“Who do you think is going to win this year?” I asked.
Joe paused midway, while pouring the steamed milk and let out a sigh. “Probably the Warriors,” he responded.

I was confused at his overtly disappointed response and had to ask what was wrong.

It is amazing how a simple question diving deeper can help us understand our clients, and each other, better. In school they teach us two valuable concepts that are foundational to our OT practice: mindfulness and therapeutic use of self. While conceding my lack of mindfulness in noticing Joe’s apparent interests from his attire, I saw these two abstract concepts produce concrete fruit as Joe shared about his background and how the Lakers were an uplifting part of his life growing up. He looked up to Kobe (the GOAT) and Pau as heroes, sad to see them disband and the team rebuild. It was so interesting that Joe and I could connect on something as so seemingly simple as shared sports interests.

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Back to School Excitement ⟩
August 30, 2017, by Caroline

Life Hacks

I love the excitement that comes with a new school year! Growing up, I always looked forward to the annual tradition of back-to-school shopping with my mom and sister — pens, notebooks, and flashcards galore! At the start of a new year, I delight in filling my planner with color-coded assignments, due dates, and obligations . . . though looking at everything I have to accomplish over the semester can be slightly stress-inducing. One week at a time, Caroline, one week at a time.

These first couple weeks back at school were particularly exciting, as I got to reconnect with all of my classmates after we’ve all completed our first 12-week Level II Fieldwork experiences. It was very cool to hear about all of the different settings my classmates were working in: hospitals, pediatric clinics, schools, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, skilled nursing facilities, community mental health sites, inpatient psychiatric sites, home health, and more! My classmates have shared about their challenges, their successes, and (my favorite) their A-ha! moments. I have noticed a newfound confidence my classmates have gained after spending 12 weeks in the field, moving towards the comfort level that an entry-level OT practitioner has.

Because some of my friends chose to do their fieldwork placements out of the area for the summer, we decided to do a potluck brunch on the first morning of school to celebrate our reunion and the beginning of another school year! One of my friends lives in Currie Hall, a student apartment on our Health Sciences Campus, so it was incredibly convenient! We also got to check out the Solar Eclipse from her balcony (though to be honest, not sure what I was looking at. Good thing I went into OT and not Astronomy). It was a fun morning catching up, reflecting on our summers, and getting excited for the upcoming school year.

I am in Cohort A, so this fall semester, I’m taking OT503 the Pediatrics immersion course, which I am really looking forward to. In addition to Pediatrics, all of the second year students and I are taking the following courses: OT 534: Health Promotion and Wellness, OT537: Occupation-Centered Programs for the Community, and OT 538: Current Issues in Practice: Adulthood & Aging. Pediatrics, aging, programming, and wellness — if that isn’t a testament to the diversity of our profession and its scope, I don’t know what is! Check out our course sequence if you’re interested in the rest of the courses in the program, and follow along this semester as I work my way through these courses and all of the assignments in my fresh new planner!

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Love at First Sight: Finding Occupational Therapy ⟩
August 28, 2017, by Kaitlyn

What are OS/OT?

The most common question I am asked is how my path to pursue occupational therapy began. I have always found it extremely rewarding to hear the narratives of my peers because we all ended up being where we were meant to be: en route to become occupational therapists. Here is my own narrative.

When thinking about what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I had the following criteria: I wanted to be in health care, I wanted to improve the well-being of people, and I wanted to be able to look back on my life and know that I dedicated my life to serving others in the best way that I could.

For my undergraduate studies, I attended the University of Southern California (my dream school since I was a young girl!) but was very much undeclared and undecided. It was not until I took a class under USC’s Occupational Science minor in my sophomore year that I even knew what occupational therapy was. I like to say that my encounter with OT250: Introduction to Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy is the closest I have ever been to “love at first sight.” I was extremely invested in the material that we were learning in that class. I loved the idea of improving people’s lives based on their own personal goals and seeing each person as a whole instead of in parts. To make things even better, I absolutely admired my professor, Dr. Kate Crowley, who I still keep in contact with to this day.

From that point on, the road to becoming an occupational therapist became clearer and clearer. I began to take more classes under the Occupational Science minor, volunteered and shadowed practicing occupational therapists at numerous hospitals and clinics, and worked at a camp organized by health practitioners for disabled and at-risk children. I learned and saw the power of OT in each experience and enjoyed every minute of it.

Occupational therapy is an amazing profession that I wholeheartedly believe in and I am so excited to be able to share my experiences with you here on this blog. I hope that you enjoy the ride with me and that maybe, just maybe, you’ll fall in love with OT just like I did too.

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OT, you are everything I never knew I always wanted ⟩
August 28, 2017, by Erika

What are OS/OT?

Hello Friends!

Erika here, reporting for my first blog post. Welcome and thanks for reading!

Let me tell you how I discovered OT [cue Drake’s “One Dance”].  Occupational therapy is a second career for me. After graduating undergrad from USC in 2008 in communication, I packed my bags and moved to Brooklyn. Without much focus or intention, I found a job in advertising and worked on accounts that include P&G and Disney. I quickly learned that I had a passion for learning about human behavior. I enjoyed sinking my teeth into consumer data and developing human insights on what motivates people to take action. While learning about why people purchased Swiffers or bought tickets to watch Disney movies was thrilling for the first few years, I knew advertising was merely a stepping stone for whatever was next.

Throughout my seven years in the industry, I would periodically meet up with old friends at SC tailgates or reunions who worked as occupational therapists and I was dumbfounded by the stories they told me about their work. How did one of them work in a hospital with clients with spinal cord injuries, another work with children in a sensory clinic, and yet another work with a client at their home coping with depression? I couldn’t understand the common factor but as I investigated more, I quickly learned that it was actually very simple: meaningful occupation is what unites us as humans. Whether it’s dressing oneself independently to a child being equipped with the means to play safely with peers to being able to play your favorite song on your trumpet again, meaningful activities are what motivates people to take action and live healthier and more fulfilling lives. Talk about human insights! My mind was blown.

With that said, equipped with my love for learning about human behavior, and this time around, with full focus and intention, I’m back in school for my Master’s in OT at USC. I am one year into the program and I can honestly say that I can’t see myself doing anything else. I’ve found a profession that requires me to see and value every client as a distinct and unique individual, challenges me to think creatively, and empowers people to live happier lives in the process. OT, “you are everything I never knew I always wanted” (as quoted from 1997’s romcom hit, “Fools Rush In”).

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Finding (and falling in love with) OT! ⟩
August 24, 2017, by Caroline

What are OS/OT?

I really enjoy studying occupational therapy at USC, and am so excited to share my experiences with you this year. For my first blog post, however, I want to share a little bit about how I got here, starting with how I learned about occupational therapy (OT).

In the eighth grade, I was assigned a big, scary research project, appropriately named the “Eighth Grade Project.” I was to choose any topic, conduct research on it, and write a paper on what I learned. I chose to research Autism. While learning all about Autism, I stumbled upon occupational therapy as a profession that could help individuals with autism. My research described occupational therapy and how it could help individuals with autism with social skills, sensory processing, development, and so much more! My eighth-grade self thought that was super cool, and decided right then and there that’s what I wanted to do in the future. Believe it or not, I never changed my mind!

Through high school and college, I learned more and more about occupational therapy as a profession. In high school, I conducted my “Senior Project” (also quite appropriately named) shadowing an OT at a pediatric clinic, seeing what I had read about for so long. In college, I observed OT in a nursing home and at an outpatient clinic for adults. Throughout my observation experiences, I was amazed by both the breadth and depth of the profession, and knew that OT was for me. I also liked that it was a helping profession, would allow me to work with people, and that every day at work could look different.

I could write a novel about what I love about OT, and I hope you’ll see a lot of that come through in my blogs this year. One thing that stands out to me, though, is that after a year of studying OT, I haven’t yet learned about a practice setting, diagnosis, or subset of OT that I can’t envision myself working in or with. All of the studying, projects, and presentations don’t feel like a chore, because I genuinely enjoy what I’m learning, the professors I’m learning from, and the experiences I’m having in the program. I love learning about OT, and, in particular, I love learning about OT at USC. I’m so happy to finally become the OT that my eighth-grade self dreamed of, and I’m looking forward to sharing my experiences and my love for OT with you over the next year! Thanks for reading!

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