Student Blog

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!

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Enjoying my peeps!!! ⟩
February 6, 2014, by Ryan

Beginnings and Endings Community School/Life Balance

I am starting to realize that these will be my last moments with my classmates that I love so dearly . . . so I have been taking advantage and spending some quality time with my peeps! I feel so lucky that I am going to be an OT soon, that I got into USC (which has inspired me to everyday), and to have been in the program with the most amazing people! I have made great friends and am so proud of the amazing OTs my classmates will become. I will miss them so terrible when we graduate.

Went golfing with some peeps, yesterday . . .

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The Olympics Are Here! ⟩
February 5, 2014, by Kate

Community School/Life Balance

As of tomorrow night, the 2014 Winter Olympics have begun and I am SO EXCITED!!! I love sports competitions, and I love everything the Olympics stands for. I feel as if people from so many different races, cultures and backgrounds come together with a common goal: to represent their country and do the best they can. The Opening Ceremonies are one of the most magical events to watch because you can see this pride on the faces of all the athletes who come to compete. The Winter Olympics mean so much to me too, since I grew up in Colorado! I always wanted to be an Olympic-level ski racer, and I watched U.S. skiing greats like Picabo Street and Johnny Mosely when they both won Olympic Gold. Furthermore, one of my favorite movies of all time is Cool Runnings, the classic tale of the Jamaican bobsled team that went to the Calgary Olympics. Well, good news for me — the Jamaican’s are once again sending a bobsled team to the Olympics!!

I’m planning to watch the Opening Ceremonies tomorrow night with some friends and show my pride for Team USA!

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Occupational Therapy and Science Council ⟩
February 4, 2014, by Jen

Getting Involved

This time of year gets very busy with the Occupational Therapy and Science Council (OTSC), which means as Council Co-Chair I have quite a lot of responsibilities. OTSC provides students with an opportunity to network, interact, fundraise, and develop leadership skills. Some events we have planned that are coming up include the International Forum, philanthropic activities during OT Month in April, and the End of the Year Party. These events take a lot of planning and would be impossible without the effort of the entire OTSC board. Positions on the board include the co-chairs, treasurers, secretaries, GSG Senators, fundraising chairs, social chairs, professional development chairs, international relations chair, historian, philanthropy chairs, faculty liaisons, AOTA representatives, and OTAC representatives. I am so proud to be a part of such an awesome organization.

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Out with Cohorts, in with Electives! ⟩
January 30, 2014, by Clarissa

Classes What are OS/OT?

For the first 1.5 years of this program, I pretty much had my schedule set for me with required classes. The way it works is that we are split up into 3 cohorts at the beginning of our program (A, B, or C) and each cohort rotates through what we call immersion courses which are in the different practice areas of our profession — Physical Disabilities, Mental Health, and Pediatrics. We grow really close to our cohorts because we pretty much see them all day, every day. We still see classmates outside of our cohorts as well, though, because we have courses outside of our immersion.

Our final semester is different because we no longer have cohorts and now have electives! I wish I could take all the electives that existed! I ended up selecting Hands, Dysphagia, Early Intervention, and Motor Control as my elective courses. They’re all great courses and I love all the application. In dysphagia, we learn about treating patients who have difficulty swallowing. Last week, my partner and I looked at one another’s oral anatomy and tested each other’s gag reflexes (while my friend Kathy photobombed us). It was cool! Just not so cool when it was my turn:

Twice a week, I also go to Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center for my motor control course — once to learn in a large classroom setting and practice techniques on my classmates and once for lab where I share my instructor with just one other person and apply what we learned on a patient. We’re currently learning on the stroke unit and I’ve so far found this class really valuable. The instructor is so good and I’m learning so much! In this picture, I’m mobilizing my friend/patient Judy’s scapula. Later on, I cuddled up to my friend Angela (aka patient who had a stroke) so we could practice educating patients how to manage sleeping in their home with their spouse. Lastly, the picture includes my friend Megan who put together a wheelchair BLINDFOLDED! Yup, we are definitely getting the wheelchair management techniques down cold!

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