Student Blog

Feelin Competent ⟩
April 18, 2013, by Ricky

Classes What are OS/OT?

Last night was our practicum in motor control class. A practicum, in this case, is an exam that tests your application of techniques learned in class (and practiced in lab). The techniques we were tested on were primarily mobilizations. You would typically be using mobilizations with someone who has experienced neurological trauma which has impacted their ability to control certain muscles. Mobilizations help align and stretch affected areas and provide feedback to the nervous system. To do a mobilization, you place your hands on respective landmarks throughout the skeletal system and apply force in varying directions. Apparently, our instructor has a great deal of faith in us because he had us do the mobilizations BLINDFOLDED! The anticipation of doing an exam blindfolded was pretty nerve-wracking. However, once we got started, it was as if my body was on auto-pilot. I was surprised by how natural it felt. This was such a confidence-booster. At the end, the clinical instructor provided us with feedback. He had no comments for me! I was pretty ecstatic.

⋯

Wow Wow Wow ⟩
April 11, 2013, by Amber

Classes Getting Involved School/Life Balance

Life has been moving at a million miles per hour since my last post! It seems that EVERYTHING happens in the Spring, and my life has been incredibly full of a variety of tasks and fun activities. I have been learning more about my path through the doctoral program and getting prepared for that transition. Another transition has occurred with the onboarding of the new student ambassadors who will be entertaining you with their blogs starting in a few short weeks! The new ambassadors have already been involved in several events. On April 1st, we celebrated the start of OT Month by hosting a rally with lunch, skits, and some awesome OT swag! Just last week, we hosted the incoming students at the Admitted Students’ Reception at the beautiful Town and Gown venue at USC.

The AOTA national conference for occupational therapists will take place in a couple of weeks. I am so proud to be presenting my research on animal assisted therapy at the conference as a poster presentation! I am also looking forward to Dr. Florence Clark’s farewell address and the special USC Alumni celebration taking place on Saturday night. I was also honored to be a part of our Division campaign video, which will be unveiled at the celebration.

Attending the Occupational Therapy Extravaganza last Saturday was a wonderful experience. It is planned each year by our honor society PTE, and they hosted a day of amazing speakers and creative showcases of our students’ work. In my role as Co-Chair of our student council OTSC, I have also been spending several hours per week planning our students’ end of the year celebration, for which we have chartered a private boat for a night cruise with a DJ, photo booth, and more fun! I am greatly looking forward to that celebration, and the even more amazing celebration a week after when I graduate from this program with a Master’s degree.

With all this excitement it is easy to forget that I still have lots of coursework and projects to complete, not least of all our comprehensive exam which covers material we have learned across the entire program! I can’t believe it will all be over in a few short weeks!

⋯

Education ⟩
April 11, 2013, by Alisa

Getting Involved

On Tuesday I was invited to speak at the Exploring Health Careers Panel at USC University Park Campus as part of Pre-Health Week. It was great to see so many students interested in the healthcare fields. Among those on the panel were students studying to be a physician’s assistant, optometrist, nurse, physical therapist, and of course, occupational therapist. My side of the table was the most festive since it is, after all, occupational therapy month! Yay! Free buttons for everyone. It was great to be back and mingle with eager undergrads again. After the event, I took a box of pizza home for my residents. While walking back, there is this guy who was sitting near the church, trying to get people to enjoy a free movie screening. A simple “hello” turned into a twenty-minute conversation about occupational therapy. I, of course, knew the drill and fed him pizza while pitching OT to him. He was so intrigued by my kindness and equated my act of generosity like what Jesus would do, which I politely declined. Nonetheless I educated him about OT. I feel so lucky to be at USC, meet cool people, and educate those around about OT. Fight on!

⋯

Comic Relief ⟩
April 11, 2013, by Alisa

Community Getting Involved Living in LA

Last night I went to a comedy show on the other side of town, UCLA. I really don’t have anything against UCLA, except that they rejected me for undergrad, which made me found something better — OT at USC. UCLA unfortunately doesn’t have an OT school. Anyway, my friend invited me to see the comedy show, Kristina Wong: Going Green the Wong Way. She has done numerous tours throughout the US and Europe. She chronicled her efforts for a greener, more sustainable lifestyle since middle school until now. She recalled her experiences campaigning with CALPIRG, driving a twenty-five year old Mercedes that completely ran on vegetable oil, and learning wisdom on public transportation. I don’t want to reveal too much, but it’s great to see how the efforts of one woman to save the world could be inspirational yet hilarious. After the show, we were invited to have dinner with Kristina and the crew. While deciding on where to eat, the car that Kristina’s props were in did not start up. We tried to jump it with 2 cars, but to no avail. We spent half an hour flagging down cars to help us on the UCLA campus, but none could. I understand it could be a liability issue, but still. While calling for help to come, a crew member and I went to do an In-N-Out run for everyone. Afterwards, we went to Kristina’s house to enjoy ourselves this meal. From this unexpected adventure, I gained six new friends. I was able to talk to them about occupational therapy, and we all departed with happy stomachs. It was a night to remember.

⋯

Goodwill and OT ⟩
April 10, 2013, by Kendra

Externships What are OS/OT?

These last few weeks I have had several transformative experiences, but more on those later. Last weekend was the OT Extravaganza, an event hosted each year by the Division of OS and OT and put together by members of PTE (the student honor society). This year’s theme was Leadership, and as part of the event students were allowed to enter their Leadership Externship experiences into a competition.

I am thrilled to say my partner Jane and I won for our work with Mujeres Fuertes along with two other amazing gals who went to Costa Rica.

This was such a HUGE honor and a source of immense pride for Jane and myself because we have also been awarded the Extraordinary Engagement Award by USC for our work with Mujeres Fuertes. It feels like here at the end of our education that things are falling into place, that our education has helped us to become not just advocates for OT, but for women, health, and the community. And that’s just one program!

My heart was near to bursting on Sunday, after so much good will from our school, when we returned to the group to lead a stress management session. Every. Single. Time that I work with the women, share with them, learn from them I feel transformed. I forgot in my desire to help others make positive change, that their lives can have a tremendous impact on my own. I feel that I have a new community of support bonded by the simple fact that we are women and we want to feel better about our lives.

Above we are “releasing” the stress we cannot control by tying it to a balloon and letting go. Such a simple exercise carried so much weight and meaning to all of us.

Occupational therapy is so powerful, not just for the client but for the therapist as well. I feel an enormous wealth of positivity surrounding me as I make my transition from school to the workforce.

⋯