Student Blog
Amber

OT/PT Forum ⟩
November 13, 2012, by Amber

Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

Last night I attended the OT/PT Forum, which served as an opportunity for students and practitioners to explore interdisciplinary collaboration between the fields of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. The discussion involved a variety of case scenarios in pediatrics, pain management, and hospital-based physical disabilities. Interdisciplinary teams representing both fields contributed their intervention ideas for these true scenarios. For example, one case involved a man who was in an acute stage of treatment for cancer that had affected his spinal cord and therefore his ability to walk. The physical therapist focused on helping the man to regain strength, balance, and retraining him to walk. The occupational therapist focused on the deep anxiety that the man was feeling due to his disability, and helped him with relaxation and compensatory strategies. It was fascinating to hear the perspectives of physical therapy practitioners, and gain an appreciation for their approach to treatment. The Forum also brought to light current research from both occupational therapy and physical therapy. The event has been presented by our occupational therapy honor society, Pi Theta Epsilon, for three years. Please comment if you have any ideas for topics for the next OT/PT Forum!

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Election Day! ⟩
November 6, 2012, by Amber

Getting Involved

Tonight we will learn who our next President will be. It’s always amazing to see the attention of the nation focused so singularly. Today, the halls at school were filled with students wearing their “I Voted” stickers. Many wore red, white, and blue clothing. Conversations centered around the when and where people voted, and who they voted for.

Now that we are becoming occupational therapists, when we vote we also need to consider how a particular candidate or legislative bill might affect the future of our profession. Our state and national associations both have political action committees. According to their website, the Occupational Therapy Association of California Political Action Committee (OTAC PAC) is a voluntary nonprofit committee that is not affiliated with any political party. The purpose of the PAC is to provide a voice for occupational therapy practitioners in the State of California political arena. The PAC accomplishes this purpose by providing financial support to California legislative and constitutional officeholders and candidates that benefit the public by improving and protecting issues related to occupational therapy. As students, we can get involved in the PAC to advocate for occupational therapy in the state of California.

The American Occupational Therapy Political Action Committee (AOTPAC) is a voluntary, non-profit, unincorporated committee of members of AOTA. Their website states the purpose of AOTPAC as furthering the legislative aims of the Association by influencing or attempting to influence the selection, nomination, election, or appointment of any individual to any Federal public office, and of any occupational therapist, occupational therapy assistant, or occupational therapy student member of AOTA seeking election to public office at any level. The committee is not affiliated with any political party.

OTAC and AOTA need PACs because the organizations alone cannot contribute even a token amount to a candidate. Through the PAC, OTAC and AOTA can solicit and direct the flow of contributions from its members and provide important assistance to individual candidates for election to office. Please submit a comment below and let me know about your voting experience!

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Time Flies When You’re Having Fun! ⟩
November 5, 2012, by Amber

Today I ran into family friends that I haven’t seen in 3 years. When I last saw them, I had not even learned about this career called occupational therapy. I didn’t know it existed. It’s impossible to imagine, now that I am so immersed in my studies. Needless to say, the explanation of what I am doing now took a very long time! It was very striking to consider how much my life has changed in the last three years. At that time I was a working professional in an entirely different field, and had a vision for my life that did not include going back to school or changing careers. The conversation also made it very clear how quickly time has passed since I decided to pursue occupational therapy. I was excited to tell them that I will graduate in May. In what seems like the blink of an eye, I have achieved something great. I can’t wait to take that licensing exam!

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Fight On! ⟩
October 23, 2012, by Amber

Community

One of the most enjoyable things about being a Trojan is attending the USC football games. It is at these events that our incredible pride and school spirit is on the greatest display. Never before in my life have I witnessed so many people that were so excited about the same thing. It really is incredible to walk onto campus on the day of a game. Fans dressed in red and gold cover the entire campus, the marching band and cheer squad parade throughout, and everyone engages in the great tradition of tailgating. The Occupational Therapy students teamed up with the Pharmacy students for the festivities, and new friends were made. I was excited to have my father with me, who had never attended a college football game. On the way into the game, we caught a glimpse of the retired space shuttle Endeavor on display at the California Science Center. I spent the game teaching my dad the fight songs and game day traditions. He had a wonderful time and said it was more fun than any NFL football game. I felt proud to be a Trojan!

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Outreach ⟩
October 15, 2012, by Amber

Getting Involved

One of the neat things I get to do as a student ambassador is represent USC’s occupational therapy program at outside conferences and events. This weekend, I went to the University of California in Irvine to participate in an event for pre-health undergraduate students. There were over 400 students in attendance and dozens of exhibitors from different organizations representing medicine, nursing, public health, and many other disciplines. It was fun to be an exhibitor and meet students from another university. Many wanted to know exactly what occupational therapists do, and several were already excited to join the profession. Leave me a comment below if you want to see USC OT at your school!

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