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University of Southern California
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USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
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Leila

Flying Through Fall Semester ⟩
December 2, 2014, by Leila

Classes Fieldwork Videos

Hi everyone! I hope that you’re all doing fantastic!

The fall semester is quickly coming to an end and time sure does fly by when you are having fun. I want to apologize for the lack of blog posts, but I promise I will be coming back with more! (As soon as finals are over 😊) I wanted to share a little bit about the current immersion that I am in. Currently, I’m in my pediatrics immersion and it has been an amazing experience. Before starting this immersion I had little experience working with children. I mean, I’ve tutored children before and I have younger cousins . . . does that count? 😊

So coming in I knew very little about the developmental stages, the variety of diagnoses seen, occupational therapy interventions, etc. Fast forward 12 weeks, and I’m feeling a lot more knowledgeable. Similar to my other immersions, my fieldwork experience has provided me with the opportunity to apply what I learn! It’s also great to see practicing occupational therapists in action. It’s really amazing what OTs advocate and more importantly what the children can do!

Two weeks ago in our pediatrics immersion we had the opportunity to come up with an adaptive device out of cardboard. Talk about being creative, but it’s okay because we are OTs! Afterwards, we had to present an infomercial in front of the class.

Check out the video below! Warning: Video contains some comic relief and puns.

Kristy

Fieldwork ⟩
November 30, 2014, by Kristy

Fieldwork What are OS/OT?

Last week we finished up our Level I Fieldwork opportunities so I thought I would take some time and give you a little bit more background about what these experiences look like. 😊 One of the unique things about the program here at USC is that fieldwork experience is built into our coursework within the Immersions. As students, we are placed in 3 different Level I Fieldworks, which align with which immersion you are in — Adult Rehabilitation, Mental Health, or Pediatrics. The first two fieldwork opportunities occur in our first year of the program. I started in the Mental Health immersion, so my first Level I was at a Community-Based Mental Health Wellness Center. This was a very interesting experience as it was my second semester of graduate school (can’t forget about summer term!) and there was no occupational therapist at my setting. I was very nervous about not having someone to shadow but part of the experience is just learning about the population you are working with. I was fortunate enough to chat with individuals and hear their life stories as well as lead groups and meet with individuals one-on-one to facilitate lifestyle changes. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity and thought it was a great learning experience! The next semester I was in the Pediatric Immersion and was placed at a local school district. This was fantastic for me since I hope to go into School-Based Practice. I loved being able to work with the children and plan creative activities for them to do. I learned a lot about working with multiple children at one time, planning therapeutic obstacles, and creating educational games. Being in a school district is also a great opportunity to learn about interdisciplinary teams as you work with classroom teachers, physical therapists, speech therapists, psychologists, among others. Lucky for me, this experience confirmed by desire to work in this area of occupational therapy! My last Level I experience was for the Adult Rehabilitation immersion, and was at an outpatient therapy clinic, specifically working with hands. I learned a lot of what it takes to “prep” muscles for therapy, such as why you would use heat or ice. In addition, I learned about different types of exercises and stretches you can do for the joints and muscles of the fingers, hand, wrist, forearm, and elbow. Overall, this was a great opportunity for me to learn about an area of occupational therapy that I didn’t know anything about.

In addition to Level I Fieldwork opportunities, we also are placed at two Level II Fieldwork sites. The first one occurs between your first and second year in the program, after you have completed two Level I experiences. My first Level II was at a Community-Based Mental Health Wellness Center (yes — same type of setting as my Level I if you’re still with me!). I pursued this opportunity as it was a setting I very much enjoyed and thought I had a lot more to learn about! And boy was I right! The Level II experience is for 12 weeks full-time. I was able to lead groups, meet one-on-one with clients, facilitate a workshop on time management, and conduct a relaxation workshop. I was given the chance to create my own experience and sought out many educational opportunities! One included the beginning development of a group intervention for adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but stay tuned for more on this later! I have yet to complete my second Level II fieldwork, but am excited for what experiences that will bring.

Fieldwork experiences are great chances to learn more about the field of occupational therapy and explore different settings that you may not have done before. USC is unique in that we have 5 opportunities throughout our program and they are all different experiences! Everyone’s is a little bit different, but they are all great!!!

Kristy

Soaking up the Sun! ⟩
November 15, 2014, by Kristy

Admissions Living in LA

One of the fantastic things about being in Southern California is getting to enjoy the sun all year long! I love being able to walk outside, go for hikes, and just enjoy the sunshine. 😊

Dogs enjoying the sun while I study

Dogs enjoying the sun while I study

Why you might ask? Well . . . I am from a very tiny town in Northern Minnesota. So while I’m out here soaking up the sun, my family and friends back home are fighting with 1 foot of snow and 20 degree weather! Yup — you read that right! It’s that cold, did someone say Polar Vortex??? Needless to say, I am thankful to be in Los Angeles! So how did I get here? Let me tell you about my journey from a small town to the big city!

Drive across the country

My pups and I on our 2100 mile journey to California!

A few years ago, I decided I was ready for a change from my job working with patients and assisting them through the process of making the appointment, preparation for, and getting the results. I loved working in the healthcare field, but I didn’t feel like I was actually making a difference in their life. More so, I was just helping them along; but I wanted to be apart of the process in their journey of getting better and living life to the fullest! So I started researching different healthcare professions. I came across your standard: pharmacist (tried that, next), nurse (shots, no thanks), doctor (length of school, meh), psychologist (hhmmm . . .), physical therapist (anatomy, too much), occupational therapy (TELL ME MORE). As I began researching occupational therapy, I just kept thinking to myself – this is it, this is me, this is what I’ve been waiting for! So I went to the AOTA webpage and started looking for schools. I knew I needed a change in my life, so what better change than to head to the west coast for graduate school! Then it was just figuring out all the prerequisites and requirements for each school and begin the application process. I was really going to do this!!! I took two courses that summer that I needed to fulfill the prereqs, and then planned a trip to visit a few colleges in California, obviously one being the University of Southern California! I fell in love! It was better than I could have dreamed, everyone was so great and USC had so much to offer! As soon as I returned home I began working on my applications and OTCAS. My goal was to submit them all and be finished by October 30th, since USC had an early deadline of November 30th and said to submit 4 weeks ahead of time! I’m happy to say I met my goal, so next was the waiting game!!! How long could it really take? Let me tell you — awhile!!! Even though I applied to several schools in California and Washington, I had already ranked them in my head, but still I wasn’t sure who I would hear from first. I waited . . . and waited . . . and waited, and then finally on Christmas Eve, I got home from work and checked my mail . . . and there it was . . . an envelope from USC. Now if you all watch TV shows, they always say you want the “big” envelopes, because “small” ones are rejection letters. Mine was a small envelope. Shakingly, I opened the letter, and much to my relief I had been accepted!!! Overcome with feelings of joy, excitement, determination, and fear, I didn’t know what to think! Was I really ready to move across the country, all by myself, where I didn’t know anyone, and pursue my dream? Fast forward a few months, I flew out to California again to find a place to live and attend the admitted student reception and knew this was absolutely the place I wanted to be! I was so excited to begin this journey.

With all that being said, I have never been happier with a decision I made. It has been one of the best thus far in my life! So never think a dream is too big, or too difficult! You can do it! And be successful! Take a risk, make a change, live your life to the fullest! That’s what we tell our patients to do, isn’t it? You can do it too! Dream big! I did. 😊

Jonathan

Pedal Pushers! Pedal to the Medal, Giving Back Shifted to Another Gear! ⟩
November 14, 2014, by Jonathan

Community Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

Hello there everyone! Hope that you’re all doing great!

This past Sunday, some of my fellow classmates and I had the opportunity to help out Pedal Pushers, a Los Angeles chapter of Ambucs Inc., a non-profit organization that helps to provide adaptive tricycles for children and adults through fundraising within the community! The opportunity to get involved with this awesome cause was wheely fun and wheely rewarding 😛 This amazing organization was brought to my attention by Sonserey, a member of Pedal Pushers, who I had the pleasure of meeting at OTAC. I SPOKE (hehe) with Sonserey and she told me all about Pedal Pushers and Ambucs, in addition to the story of what fuels their efforts. Sonserey is an occupational therapist who works in pediatrics. She told me that when she’s doing an evaluation, much alike most OTs, we start off by trying to decipher what the client’s meaningful occupations are. A common response from the kids she works with is to “ride a bike.” However, for some children with special needs, a traditional bicycle may not be the most practical option. Thus, Amtryke therapeutic tricycles were created to offer an adaptable, universally designed option for children with varying levels of physical abilities! The Amtrykes can be custom made to have a number of features, based on the child’s abilities, safety, and family preference. These features include hand or foot operation, rear-assist steering, assistive pedals, in addition to other adaptations. The best part is, everything on the Amtryke can be adjusted, so the child can continue to use their Amtryke as they get bigger and grow older!

What my classmates and I had the opportunity to participate in on Sunday was actually the final phase of the Amtryke process. It all starts off first with raising enough funds to be able to purchase the Amtryke for the child. Committed families, friends, and communities focus their efforts in hopes that they can make the child’s dream come to fruition. Second, the child is then assessed and fitted for their very own Amtryke. Therapists will collaborate with the children and their families in designing a unique Amtryke that best fits the child’s abilities, function, and interests. The final stage in the process was what my classmates and I had the pleasure of participating in on Sunday! There’s a build an amtryke work shop in which therapists and volunteers will actually create the Amtrykes for the children. The children and their families then pick up the Amtrykes, give it a test drive, and then get to take their Amtryke home! The whole process requires a great deal of diligence on the child’s part, as they patiently wait for an Amtryke they can call their own.

The whole building process we engaged in on Sunday was fun, informative, and extremely rewarding. When the children and their families arrived, you could see the excitement on the children’s faces. To see how ecstatic they were when they first hopped on their Amtryke and propelled a couple feet forward was absolutely priceless! The genuine elation that consumed the kids was contagious, and you couldn’t help but feel the same happiness. Thank you so much to Pedal Pushers and Ambucs for letting us be part of this amazing cause! Here’s some pictures of the process, enjoy!

Amtryke 1st years

Amtryke Supplies

hard at work

Putting in work

Almost done

finished product

Family

there she goes!

everyone

If you’d like to learn more and get involved with Pedal Pushers/Ambucs, please feel free to visit them at pedalpushers2014.wix.com/pedalpushers and ambucs.org.

Also feel free to like Pedal Pushers page on facebook at facebook.com/PedalPushersLA

Thank you for reading! Have a great weekend, follow your passion, pedal on, but remember to not lose your balance 😊

— Jonathan

Claire

Learning Handy Skills! ⟩
November 12, 2014, by Claire

Classes What are OS/OT?

This week, our adult rehabilitation course is focusing on hand rehabilitation and making splints! Here are some pictures of the splints that we made in lab.

Before

After

There’s a lot to learn and I could definitely improve on some of the splints that I made, but it was fun to practice the skill! We made a neoprene thumb splint that is commonly used for children with cerebral palsy in our pediatrics lab course last semester. Now I have many more to add to my splint collection!

We will be having a guest lecture from an adjunct faculty, Lisa Deshaies, who also works at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center also (in about half an hour actually), and I’m really looking forward to it! Our textbook reading for this week was a chapter that was written by her as well — we are really lucky to have so many experienced OT faculty members and connections!

Edit: We just wrapped up our guest lecture! I learned a lot about hand therapy and physical agent modalities, and Lisa also helped dispel any fears we might have about pursuing hand therapy certification. We got to try out some of the equipment and therapy techniques. We were told, “If you’re going to use these methods on your patients, you should know what the experience is like!”

Here are some pictures:

Cold Therapy: Instead of buying fancy ice cups, you can make your own by freezing water in styrofoam cups and peeling off the bottom!

Heat Therapy with Paraffin: Taken place in our occupations lab. My classmates and I got to experience what it feels like to use paraffin wax!

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