Student Blog
Getting To Know Our Fellow Students ⟩
October 2, 2012, by Amber
The Occupational Therapy and Science Council (OTSC) is a student organization that focuses on social interaction and helping USC OT students to achieve the work-life balance that we know is so important. The purpose of OTSC is threefold: 1) to represent student interests within our division and the university as a whole, 2) to provide opportunities to network and socialize, and 3) to create volunteer and fundraising opportunities. At the beginning of the semester we elected a new council. Our first event of the semester was a tailgate in conjunction with the Physical Therapy department. This weekend, we had a bonfire at the beach for the purpose of introducing the new students to the rest of the class. We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire, played games, and got to know each other. Leave me a comment if you have any great bonfire or campfire experiences!
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Rancho Los Amigos ⟩
October 1, 2012, by Paula
Last week for our Adult Rehabilitation course, we had the opportunity to visit Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, CA. Rancho first began serving in rehabilitation services in 1888 and has since been a nationally known and respected facility which leads practice in rehabilitation. Lucky for us, Rancho has been affiliated with USC since 1972 and we are able to fully appreciate this relationship as students of the program here. Rancho provides and excels in rehabilitation services with directed focus on the needs of an individual who has experienced a stroke, brain injury or spinal cord injury, as well as services in pediatric, orthopedic, amputee and outpatient rehabilitation. Beyond these rehabilitation programs, Rancho also provides has many innovative patient programs which promote self-esteem and involvement including art programs, performing arts, wheelchair sports, horseback riding, fashion shows, and many more.
One of the main facilities we had a chance to see was The Center for Applied Rehabilitation Technology (CART). CART began in 1989, and utilized advanced technology to provide assistance to individuals with physical disabilities. This program employs a team of physical, speech, occupational, and recreation therapists and engineers to evaluate and provide assistive technology to clients in order to enable them to lead more independent lives. On our tour, we were able to see different assistive technology from augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) used for individuals with speech impairments to the full Model Home which is completely decked out with modifications and assistive technology to display the true potential of Universal Design. The functional yet subtle changes to the environment which can enable an individual in his or her own home to practice more independence were abundant and being surrounded by it all made me realize that the possibilities truly are endless.
To end the afternoon, we visited the Rancho Driver Evaluation and Training Program which provides clients throughout the age-range who wish to return to driving. The program enables clients through simulation exercises, education and preparation for DMV procedures and also consultation pertaining to vehicle modifications. We were lucky enough to hear from Jay Cramer, an actor, a comedian and a part of the Rancho family. Jay sustained a spinal cord injury while bouldering in 2006 and became a patient at Rancho where he later met his wife. Jay showed us the modifications to his van with his service dog, Goliath, while he shared with us his view of life after his injury saying that he has experienced more now than he ever had before. His attitude, his humor and his enthusiasm for life was so refreshing. I encourage you all to read more about his story!
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My first day of fieldwork ⟩
October 1, 2012, by Kendra
I began my mental health fieldwork this week at AF Hawkins, the LA county psychiatric hospital. OTs got their start working with people with mental illness during the Progressive era in the early 20th century, but in an effort to define ourselves more medically, a lot of the arts and crafts aspect of our work was put aside for biomechanics and diagnostics. And here I was going back to our roots.
But while prepping for my first day I became very nervous reading about ‘arm’s length’ rules and ‘locked wards’ and ‘involuntary commitment.’ So despite my desire to be open minded and calm about working in a psychiatric hospital, my mind was filled with media images of bars and vacant eyes and inhumane conditions. What I saw was very very different.
Yes the doors are locked and yes you must take certain precautions to ensure yours and the patient’s safety. But what I didn’t predict was the sincerity and kindness with which the practitioners treat their patients. I didn’t imagine the laughter of adolescents echoing through the halls. So much of what I’d heard about psychiatric inpatient care was regarding role strain and the way therapists and nurses have to ‘turn off’ their emotions in order to deal with the weight of working with so many sick people. When I talked to the OTs at AFH many have worked there for over 15 years and every one I spoke to loved their job and the work they do. What is it about this place that makes the relationship between therapist and patient so effective?
Introducing the Cognitive Disabilities Model. It was created by Claudia Allen in an effort to properly pair a person’s cognitive functioning with appropriate activities. People’s cognition is rated on a 1.0–6.0 scale as are certain crafts. What this allows the OT to do is then offer activities (e.g., a greeting card or a tiled box) that properly match what the person can actually do therefore increasing the likelihood of success and satisfaction in performing that occupation. There are a lot more details that go into than that, but it works. I see OTs that know their role in the hospital and know how to help people on an individualized basis. That is the most important part, at least to me, because what they are doing is preventing the glossed over effect in which practitioners fall into the trap as viewing every person with one diagnosis as the same. They see everyone differently and suit their treatment to meet their specific needs, so OT!
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Take a day . . . ⟩
September 27, 2012, by Ricky
Life Hacks School/Life Balance What are OS/OT?
So I was faced with a dilemma yesterday. I woke up feeling under the weather — it seems the cold I had been fending off had started to get the best of me. It was my second day of fieldwork, though; still in the trying-to-make-a-good-impression-phase. What was I to do? I wasn’t full on sick, but my body was pretty beat. I got all did-up and was about to walk out the door, but then I did something that was out of character for me: I went back to bed. After going back-and-forth in my mind, I decided to take a sick day. I reasoned that it was in all parties’ interest if I just stayed away. I think what really did it, though, was how bad I’d feel if I were to get one of the little kids at my clinic sick (even though they might be the ones who introduced the bug to me). I mean, how messed up would it be if I was working really hard in session to help these little guys enjoy more independent and meaningful lives, and then go and give them a cold. Anyhow, I took sick day, and it was GREAT!
Usually, when I take a sick day, I feel like a bum for not going to work and I try to make up for it by running a bunch of errands and/or trying to catch up on school work. I don’t really rest. However, yesterday was different. I thought to myself, “enough!” I told myself that this was the real deal, and that I would treat this as if I was at a resort for nothing more than relaxation and “me-time.” I slept until my body said no more. I meditated. I did yoga (yes, guys do yoga). I limited TV-intake to just 2 Friends episodes for a lil comic relief. I ate right to support my immune system (except for those 2 Chips A’hoy that snuck by). And I still managed to get some errands and school work done, and go to bed at a decent time. Come to think of it, it may have well been the most productive sick day ever — and it was possible because I told myself not to worry, and I put myself and my health needs first. I think it’s like hitting the gym at the end of a long day — you really don’t want to, but end up going and feel better and more alert for doing so. I guess that’s how it goes with all things. You gotta pay attention to what your body’s asking for and maintain a healthy balance.
If any of you feel like your life is hopelessly out of balance, you may want to enlist the help of an OT and fill out an Occupational Questionnaire or Balance Wheel. A neat thing I’ve learned recently in my OT 504 course (Health Promotion and Wellness) is that balance will look different for each of us. What does your occupational day-to-day look like? Do you need to take a day?
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Cognitive Disabilities Model ⟩
September 27, 2012, by Alisa
This week in class was very interesting. I learned about the cognitive disabilities model, and the guest speaker was Catherine Earhart, one of the developers of the Allen Diagnostic Module. As part of the assessment, clients get to make a greeting card! The assessment allows us to quantify the data using the Allen scale of levels and modes, which provide a specific activity analysis identifying the cognitive and motor requirements of meaningful activities that clients desire to do. This can give us a baseline of where and how you want to treat the clients next. It is important to know that there might be various factors that affect clients’ performance; therefore, the assessment data has to be collected throughout time before a pattern can be detected. Another assessment, Allen Cognitive Level Screen-5 (ACLS-5), clients perform three visual-motor tasks of leather lacing stitches with increasing difficulty. I did not have difficulty with the running stitch or the whipstitch, but I had great difficulty with the single cordovan stitch. Overall, it is an interesting assessment used can be used in mental health settings and other settings, too!
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