Student Blog

Rehabilitation with Motor Control ⟩
February 19, 2016, by Heather

Classes What are OS/OT?

Hello Springtime!

Apologies for my blogging absence these past few weeks – I have been extremely immersed in my classes. I am absolutely thrilled about my course load this semester. I am taking two required courses, Advanced Seminar in Occupational Science and Leadership Capstone. The electives that I am taking are Motor Control, Physical Agent Modalities, Hand Rehabilitation, and an Independent Study in Human Anatomy. The classes overlap very well, and I find myself learning a great deal in the areas of practice that I am most passionate about.

The Motor Control course takes place at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital, or as we call it, “Rancho.” Rancho is well known for its rehabilitation program, especially its occupational therapy programs. Many of the case studies that we have learned about in class have come straight from patients at Rancho, or from our professor’s clinical experience working at Rancho. Many of USC’s OT doctorate candidates and doctors practice at Rancho, and are actively involved in the Motor Control class.

The Motor Control class is focused on stroke rehabilitation in Rancho’s inpatient unit. This is very meaningful for me because of my history of working with my grandma after she suffered from a stroke. My experience of working with her is what led me to occupational therapy in the first place. It made me realize that I liked being in the position of helping others as I witnessed her recovery. Sometimes it takes a crisis to realize what you are good at.

So far in Motor Control, I have drawn upon my knowledge of human anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, and body biomechanics. We are largely focused on getting certain muscle groups activated in our clients. (Side bar: we practice on each other for a few weeks before we are introduced to actual patients in the second half of the course). We are taught that before we can work on ADLs/IADLs with a patient, we need to ensure that they can move in certain ways for functional performance. We begin by facilitating movement at the pelvis, and then move on to the trunk and scapula. If we cannot facilitate movement easily, we mobilize these certain areas which requires a more hands-on approach. Additionally, we learn how to use orthotics and tools that have proven to be effective in stroke rehabilitation. With practice and clinical experience, we will begin to realize what treatment techniques will be most useful for our patients to regain function.

I have learned from Motor Control, and from my Grandma’s recovery, that the basic tenet of stroke rehabilitation stems from the idea that all activity should be purposeful in recovery. I look forward to working directly with the patients in the second half of the course.

This class has truly united my vocation with my avocation, and I am so thrilled to be even further along my road to becoming a licensed OT in just a few months!

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Spring is HERE! ⟩
February 16, 2016, by Ariel

Life Hacks Living in LA

It’s February! Los Angeles is looking B-E-A-utiful, with 80-degree weather on the regular and spring flowers already making an appearance. The beaches are beckoning and everyone is gearing up for spring break.

When I first moved to Los Angeles to start OT school at USC, I had no idea what I was in for — although parts of LA are quite urban, there are lots of not-so-hidden gems to explore outdoors in Southern California that help offset some of the cons (ahem-traffic-ahem). Here are a few of my favorites:

The Beaches
Okay, so this one is pretty obvious. LA is known for its beaches, which are some of my favorite features of this area, by far. They’re great for decompressing after full-time fieldwork week, bonfire-ing with fellow trojans from the health science disciplines, and surfing (for therapeutic purposes or otherwise!).

The Hiking
With beautiful weather comes opportunities to get out and explore the trails. LA is home to some great hikes!

The Gardens
A post like this would be incomplete without a nod to the many stunning gardens LA boasts.

As Rachel Carson reminds us in Silent Spring, “Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. . . . There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature — the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”

To anyone considering a move to Los Angeles, I encourage you to check out some of these stunning spots, and expect to see many more!

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Hands-On Learning! ⟩
February 4, 2016, by Jodie

Classes What are OS/OT?

This semester I am taking Occupation-Based Adult Neurorehabilitation, Hand Rehabilitation and Occupational Therapy in Acute Care as my elective courses. Although we are only four weeks into this semester, I have already learned so much and am fascinated by all my classes! Each elective course provides such a comprehensive review of the course topics and allows for very hands-on learning opportunities. Throughout our program we get to see course content applied in practice through both our Level I and Level II fieldwork experiences however, this semester we get to apply course concepts on ourselves and our classmates and really hone in on our skills as practitioners before we graduate!

In my acute care class, we have the opportunity to shadow occupational therapists at Keck Hospital of USC, our world-renowned academic medical center. These clinical experiences coincide with lecture content and significantly enhance the learning experience. In my occupation-based adult neurorehabilitation class, we have both a lecture and lab portion. During lab, we get very hands-on practicing various neurorehabilitation techniques that we learn in class that day. Again, this opportunity to practice what we’re learning and clinically apply concepts from lecture has really made this semester so enjoyable and enriching. This week in neurorehab class, we practiced kinesiotaping and dynamic taping techniques on each other. Here are a few pictures from all the fun we had while learning and practicing this technique!

How did we do??

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Where Should I Live? Part 2: University Housing Edition ⟩
January 29, 2016, by Joe

Housing and Transportation

Earlier this week, Ariel wrote a great post about housing and her deciding factors when looking for a place to live. Her post is very thorough, so click that link to check it out. I’m chiming in to give the flip perspective as someone currently living in USC housing near the University Park Campus (UPC).

I’m originally from NY, but I’ve been living in LA since 2003, and pretty much lived all over it: West Hollywood, Silverlake, Downtown LA, and Monterey Park/San Gabriel Valley . . . and now back to USC housing. I don’t live in the OT house, but I live in another graduate student apartment building across the street from it. This gives me all the same benefits that Ariel mentioned (gotta love sharing books!), but I also get my own space in my one bedroom apartment. You can read up on more of the university housing options and amenities, such as internet, premium cable, etc, on the housing website. UPC is ~15 minute drive to the OT building (or take the USC shuttle, which is really convenient!), and is conveniently located next to several public transit options as well as freeways to connect to the other parts of the city.

I went to USC for undergrad, so I’m already very familiar with the campus and its resources. I first came back into USC housing last year as an RA (Resident Assistant); I really enjoyed doing the whole RA-thing with my sophomore kiddos, and the free housing and meal plan were a nice bonus. However, I decided to stay in USC housing for a few specific reasons:

#1 Easy Access to the University Park Campus

I love living close to the University Park Campus and all of its resources. There’s tons of art & cultural events, free movie screenings, sports matches, and all sorts of great events. I also volunteer on campus with the Office of Wellness & Health Promotion as a Wellness Advocate, facilitating meditation workshops; I also volunteer with the Lambda LGBT Alumni Association where I mentor undergraduate LGBT students in all areas of life, particularly professional development.

I just love the energy on this campus from all the different types of people (students, faculty, staff, etc), and the different disciplines/fields that people are a part of. Football tailgates and other social events are a great time, and we often walk over from the OT House en masse to the free events on campus. Through the Visions & Voices arts initiatives on-campus, I’ve seen spoken word performances, Ira Glass do a live podcast, live broadcasts of the Metropolitan Opera in NY, and seen free shows at the LA Philharmonic, Pantages Theater, and Ahmanson Theaters.

Oh, and I love swimming and the various athletic options at UPC. I’ve gone dancing with the salsa club, gone shooting with the archery club, and taken free yoga classes.

#2 Leasing Follows the Academic Calendar

This is a big bonus for me. Since I’m from out of town, I knew coming into the program that I would want to do my Level 2 Fieldwork experiences outside of LA. Since the USC apartments are tied to our academics, I don’t need to find subletters for the months that I’m out of town on fieldwork. They simply ran my lease August-May when I was in class, then let me out from May-August when I was at Level 2 Fieldwork. The same thing will happen this year, and for my OTD year, I don’t know where I’ll be because I haven’t confirmed a residency site/dates just yet . . . but whenever I do confirm it, the university will adjust my lease accordingly (whether that means staying shorter or longer).

#3 The Trojan Family

USC students & alums form an incredible community known as the Trojan Family, and being near UPC is a great chance to feel a part of this larger Trojan network. Whether you’re near campus or out in LA, you’re a part of this amazing family alongside A. Jean Ayres, John Wayne, Shonda Rhimes, Neil Armstrong, over 400 Olympian athletes, among others. Make the most of your time at USC, and . . .

Fight On!

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A Sneak Peek into our SChedule and Classes! ⟩
January 28, 2016, by Rashelle

Classes School/Life Balance

Here’s a visual representation of our semester class schedule!

To break it down for you:

Mondays
We are typically all together in the lecture hall, learning core elements that are essential to our profession (ex: health and wellness, behavioral neuroscience, adulthood and aging, clinical reasoning & therapeutic use of self).

Tuesdays
You meet with your cohort in your semester-specific practice immersion (either Adult Physical Rehabilitation, Mental Health or Pediatrics), in a room that holds about 1/3 of your class, or about 45 people.

Wednesdays
Last semester, when this screenshot of my schedule was taken, I had my fieldwork day on Wednesday! We spend a full day at a site, relevant to our practice immersion, which offers us a chance to observe treatments with people in real life.

Thursdays
Every week for 3 hours, you will be enrolled in a lab that matches your practice immersion. This lab contains ½ of your cohort, or about 22 people, and gives you hands-on experience to practice certain assessments or techniques on your fellow classmates! You will also have another core class emphasizing the importance of research, so that we may incorporate evidence-based practice in therapy.

Fridays
Days off! People use this time to work, research, or relax. This past Friday was actually our annual OT Vegas Trip! It was so nice to participate in ALL my favorite occupations as we hiked, ate at buffets, danced, and socialized throughout it all!

Shout out to the MA-I students who are from various countries, and taught me so much about international OT practices! So happy I got to bond with you all this trip!

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