Student Blog
Gearing Up For Ghana! ⟩
February 19, 2014, by Kate
As I may have mentioned, I will be going to Ghana for my Leadership Externship, alongside about 30 of my classmates and 10 occupational therapists/professors. I’ve known since last November that I was going on this journey, but it is so crazy to me that I will be leaving exactly 2 weeks from today! There have been many items on our “TO DO” list that I have accomplished just in the nick of time; there are also many items on that list that I still need to conquer! Today I bought my insect repellent in order to fend off the mosquitoes, a couple bandannas to help with the dust, and all-important sunscreen. I still need to purchase materials for my activities with the students and get my school materials together for when I am there. I will be able to journal each day to reflect on my experiences, and I bought a camera for pictures and video. I’m so excited for this journey and to learn more about myself and my own capacities as a future clinician. I can’t wait to come back after my 3 week trip (Ghana in 2 weeks and then Spring Break for a week in Germany) and share all about my experiences. My fellow ambassador, Clarissa, will also be on the trip, so I’m sure between the two of us, we will have MANY pictures and stories. HOORAY!
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Ode to Ambassadors ⟩
February 14, 2014, by Rob
There are many great reasons why being a Student Ambassador is such an awesome job. One of the highlights is working with such a tremendous team of peers. All five of us are so different, with such diverse backgrounds and experiences, but we get along pretty well and have a lot of fun. The past year has been even more special because I got to share it with Clarissa, Jen, Kate and Ryan.
I have to give a big thank you to Clarissa. I got sick one Friday morning and was scheduled to work that day. With little notice, she volunteered to take my shift, which included a presentation at the other campus that she did admirably. Clarissa is one of the quirkiest and helpful people you will ever meet (you know this if you read her blog and look at her pictures) . . . I really owe her one! Also, I initially began writing this blog several days ago and somehow accidentally published it only half done — whoops. Clarissa was the first one to text me and let me know what happened.
(Hola! This is Clarissa making a guest insertion into Rob’s blog. I felt left out that he didn’t have a picture of me so I decided to take matters into my own hands and post one myself. This is us being weird together at a Friendsgiving dinner we had last year! Okay, I’ll leave Rob’s blog now.)
Also, I think I need to address a celebrity on our Ambassador team: Jen. For those that haven’t heard, Jen’s face has been featured on one of the new photos that grace the Division hallways. I’m surprised she hasn’t written a blog about it yet — she talks about it all the time! I used all my celebrity photo resources to get an exclusive photo for this blog:
While I’m spreading the love, Kate and Ryan are pretty special too. I met Kate on the first or second day in the program and she was so sassy, we became quick friends. Ryan was in my group during my first summer class in Kinesiology — she had the most infectious and distinctive laugh. She has a talent for bringing a smile to people’s faces and her enthusiasm lights up a room. Here is a picture from one of our theme days during Kinesiology:
See if you can find Kate and Ryan, we all dressed up like ice cream flavors. Can you tell what flavor I was? I think I was pistachio and Ryan was peppermint. I have no idea what Kate was!
All together, these fine individuals have made this experience something I will remember and treasure for the rest of my life.
Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!
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USC OTs in Vegas! ⟩
February 14, 2014, by Clarissa
Community Living in LA School/Life Balance
As promised, I’m updating about USC OT’s annual Vegas trip! As the second year social chair of the Occupational Therapy and Science Council (OTSC), I planned our trip with my first year co-chair Kristin. The planning process started 2 months before our trip and, let me tell you, coordinating for 30 people isn’t easy but it was all so worth it!
We got rooms all on the same floor, which was great for meeting up before heading out to the clubs. With the excellent girl to guy ratio in our classes, we had no trouble getting into the nightclubs XS and Light for free on both Friday and Saturday nights. During our down time, some of our classmates went hiking (much admiration to them), ate delicious food at the Wynn buffet, and just slept in preparation for the coming night’s festivities.
It was such a fun trip, filled with late night bonding time, pillow fights, 5-hour meals at buffets, a legendary story with a wheelchair and transfer involved, and dancing!
My favorite part of being social chair is having events like this to get to know my classmates outside of class and also to build a relationship with the first years! Making these memories with my peers makes me love my time in the program that much more. OTs are such a fun crowd!
Here’s a picture of a group of us the second night!
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Aloha (Unmet) Goals! ⟩
February 13, 2014, by Clarissa
We talk a lot in OT about the importance of maintaining a balance between work, rest, and play. All y’all know from my blogs that I’m very busy — I’m a student ambassador, the social chair of the Occupational Therapy and Science Council, and I’m on the Student Run Clinic board. I love all my activities and wouldn’t take back my involvement with them for anything. I do tend to neglect restorative occupations, though. Sensing this imbalance, I wrote a paper for my Health Promotion and Wellness class where I set goals to incorporate more restorative occupations in my life.
I think it’s safe to say that I did NOT meet my goals over winter break! It’s so true what my professors say — habit change is difficult and takes time. It sounds like common sense but I didn’t realize exactly how hard it is until I tried it myself =(. This gives me perspective on how my future clients will experience habit change.
I went to Hawaii over winter break, which was supposed to include a lot of laying around on the beach but, according to my friends, I am “incapable of chill time.” It is so true. I really did try to relax but there were just too many cool things to do! I went scuba diving for a whole day, I did a lot of snorkeling, went cage diving with sharks, and did 3 hikes — Diamond Head, Kokohead, and the Haiku Stairs. I actually had to wake up at 2:30AM to hike the Haiku Stairs! Yup, there definitely weren’t any restorative occupations going on there.
So I didn’t exactly relax in Hawaii but it was still awesome =). Here’s a picture taken when descending the Haiku Stairs. Speaking of non-restorative activities, I also went on an OT trip to Vegas (I have a problem — I really just can’t stop being active). Cliff hanger for a future blog post soon!
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I Love the Student Run Clinic! ⟩
February 6, 2014, by Clarissa
Getting Involved What are OS/OT?
The Student Run Clinic (SRC) is run by students in the Pharmacy, Physician Assistant, Medical, and OT programs at USC. I think the interdisciplinary aspect is so cool and the fact that students run the entire organization amazes me. The clinic operates on Saturdays in the Eisner Family Medicine Center in downtown Los Angeles, which is a primary care clinic. Currently, OTs do not have a strong presence in primary care, which is so unfortunate because OTs have a lot of potential to impact patients’ lives upon their first encounter with health care. We’re working on bringing OT into this new field though! Being part of this emerging practice area is really exciting!
My position on the SRC board is Care Team Coordinator (CTC), which means that I act as the team leader. Each team consists of representatives from the occupational therapy, pharmacy, physician’s assistant, and medical schools. Each individual discipline goes in to see the patient before we all huddle together for a treatment plan. Our preceptors are also there to assist with the learning process. My job as the CTC is to guide the team through the protocol with the patient and facilitate discussion between the team members. On certain clinic dates, I also have the opportunity to volunteer as the OT instead of the CTC. Acting in both roles has been great because I’ve been able to work on different skill sets with each.
I’ve learned a lot since my initial involvement with the Student Run Clinic! When I’m the OT volunteer, I practice treatment planning with the interdisciplinary team, collaborating with the patient about their goals, proper documentation, and how to educate other professions as well as the patient about OT. When I’m the CTC, I learn how to put together various pieces of the puzzle. Multi-tasking is a key aspect of being a CTC — I need to ensure the team has a good learning experience, the patient receives the care they need, and that the team moves efficiently. I definitely am learning how to be assertive! It’s been a challenge and I’ve had my share of uncomfortable “I don’t know what to do” moments but who doesn’t while learning?
To sum it all up — Student Run Clinic rocks!
Here’s a picture of my team and our preceptor from the last time I was in the clinic:
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