Student Blog
Bethany

Personal Statements: On My Way to the OTD ⟩
October 14, 2020, by Bethany

Admissions

I just submitted my application to the OTD program! The applications for the USC Chan OTD Residencies have also just been submitted. It feels like I can take a breath now. I may not be done with the whole OTD process, but it’s nice to have gotten started. I had forgotten what it is like to have applications sitting over my head. But a few good personal statement tips, some even from applying to college as a high schooler, came to mind:

1. Do Your Research — Know what each individual residency (or college, if that is the application stage that you are in) has to offer. Know which residencies will be the best fit for your skills, your interests, and your future goals. You want to find the sites that you can learn the most from and that you can contribute the most to.
2. Tell a Story — The best part about applications is that these are not normal essays. Yes, you are still trying to prove a point: that you belong at this residency. But unlike your usual school essay, are not limited to third-person speech or to proving your point through quoting sources. You get to tell the story of you. So go wild! Find the experiences that you have lived that show that you have what they’re looking for.
3. Ask for Help — Ask for input from friends, parents, student ambassadors offering help (Thank you, Daniel). They can be that extra spell-check, and they can also offer perspectives, ideas, and personal experiences you hadn’t thought of including.
4. But Be Okay with Saying No — In the end, as much advice as you get, these are your essays. This is your chance to show who you are. If you get a suggestion that doesn’t flow with your writing style or doesn’t paint the picture you want it to, it’s okay to say no. (Do so nicely, though!)
5. Chunk It — When you suddenly have writer’s block, it’s okay to take a break. Go get ice cream. Get away from a screen for a little bit. Have a conversation with someone; maybe some new ideas will come up. And even if they don’t, walking a way for a break can open up new perspectives when you decide to write again.

Once you’re done with the personal statements, celebrate! Bake some chocolate chip cookies and pet the dog. Then you can start thinking about the remainder of the application process, such as interviews and things. Daniel has additional advice about the application process. The process may have just begun, but give yourself a pat on the back. Step one is done!

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Put Tracking Apps to the Test ⟩
September 30, 2020, by Bethany

Classes Life Hacks

In OT 563: Occupational Therapy in Primary Healthcare Environments, Dr. Valasek gave us an assignment. In primary care (and other OT environments), we may assign our clients a log to learn more about their lives and what affects their occupations, so we as students have to complete a log for ourselves. We get to better understand our practice, not just by practicing, but by experiencing what we may ask our clients to do. Dr. V let us know that we had to track for a week, but she was giving us two weeks to complete the assignment, helping us to understand that some weeks are just not good weeks to have to be responsible for tracking. She was also very helpful in permitting a variety of things that we could track (from mood to food) and in suggesting a variety of methods in which to complete this log. Beyond paper tracking methods, there are a surprising number of phone apps to track things and give reminders for goals, too! Daylio can be used for mood and habit tracking. Anxiety Tracker tracks . . . well . . . anxiety, if you hadn’t guessed. Habit Bull keeps you on track for habits. Lose It! can be used to track food and calories. And there are many more! I decided to check out Lose It! Let’s see how this goes . . .

Monday, Day 1
Today was spent familiarizing myself with the app. When you type in a food to Lose It!, there are so many options, it’s overwhelming. At the same time, I’m glad that they give options for things. I feel like I’d be even more stressed if I chose to do my own paper trackers and hand to configure ingredients and calorie count by myself. Or I’d get lazy and go back to fill in previous days’ meals without remembering exactly what I ate. I’m curious to see if I like the apps enough to keep going after this week.

Tuesday, Day 2
I didn’t eat lunch. I felt lazy about wanting to log food, got distracted by a letter my cousin sent me, and just ended up doing other things during my break. It makes me wonder if food logging accurately portrays what I eat in a week, but at the same time, part of logging is to bring the user’s awareness to their own situation and behaviors, so maybe I’m learning that I eat too much . . . hmmm. The funniest part of today was trying to recognize some of the Chinese food names in English. I had fun estimating dinner portion sizes with my mom, guessing if the amount of rice I ate was one cup or two thirds of a cup. My mom is a physician, so it was fun to hear that Lose It! is one of the apps that she recommends to her patients! She gets to learn a little bit more about it this week, too.

Wednesday, Day 3
I found what I like best about Lose It! You can scan barcodes on foods and it automatically inputs the food, the calories, everything! I tried it on my cereal in the morning, and it was almost more tempting to eat things out of the box, instead of homemade meals. Then, that evening, I discovered the recipe option! You can input all of the ingredients in a dish, put how many portions it makes, and it calculates everything for you. You can also save the recipe, so if it is a dish you make often, it is easy to go back and select. I asked my dad what went into his delicious eggplant dish, got an accurate calorie count for my meal and the recipe for a dish I love. I guess it takes longer than I thought to become accustomed to all of the characteristics of an app, and there are more helpful features than I imagined.

Thursday, Day 4
Today was easier. I got more into the habit of logging food right before I ate it. I also realized that previous meals pop up to make selection of eating leftovers easier. I noticed that the app also has water tracking, which I would love to use, but I don’t think I want to pay for the upgrade. The one downside of today is that Lose It! has me on a schedule with a calorie limit, and I really want brick toast. (If you look up “Oh My Pan!” you can find a very good visual example of my food craving for the day.)

Friday, Day 5
This was the first day I went over my calorie limit. Wow. That little red mark telling me I did something wrong was quite disheartening. I needed a reminder from someone close to me that food tracking is not always perfectly accurate, and that it is okay to have a cheat day. You have to take in the weekly budget numbers, too, and there is a lot more to account for in life that affects what you eat. In the end, I decided to let the app help me be aware of what I was eating, but not kill the vibe. And what can I say: The In-n-Out was worth it.

Saturday, Day 6
Tracking three meals a day has almost become habit. I also liked that I can input the exercise I completed for the day, and it goes into the net calorie count. It’s difficult to estimate calories burned from exercise, but it’s kind of nice to know that you can input that information. No crazy new discoveries on the app today. I’m looking forward to seeing how the week fills out.

Sunday, Day 7
Today my mom asked me, “Are you done tracking yet?” She wanted me to eat cookies with her for dessert. I can definitely see how this may be a downside to using a tracking app. It can affect even social aspects of life! But in the end, I think it’s kind of fun to be able to have more of an awareness of what I’m taking in. And I think I’ll continue to use the app, even if I track less regularly or even if I’m a little inaccurate, the most important thing is that it helps me become more aware of my own health.

I truly enjoy learning about the need for and the implementation of occupational therapy in primary care, and this class has definitely brought some unique learning experiences. I’m excited to keep learning about this area of OT and to keep building skills that I can use in the future.

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Introducing OT ⟩
September 16, 2020, by Bethany

Videos What are OS/OT?

Between our summer session ending and the start of fall, we had a one week break. And I tried to make the most of the time. I engaged in some of my favorite activities that had been pushed off during finals week, including different musical occupations. One of the most entertaining is making parodies of songs and rewriting lyrics.

I found myself reflecting on my school experiences as an OT. Ever since freshman year, I’ve had to have a definition of my major at hand. That basic introduction question of “What are you studying?” probably brought more explanation than that poor engineering student was expecting. But I thought it would be fun to put it all in song form. I hope you find this parody of Nick Jonas’ “Introducing Me” both informative and amusing. So whether you’re here for the laughs or you’ve stumbled onto this page by accident and want to learn more about OT, here it is, for your perusing.

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An Interview with Hand Therapist Lisa Adams ’81 ⟩
September 2, 2020, by Bethany

What are OS/OT?

I was recently able to contact one of the practitioners that introduced me to occupational therapy. I shadowed Lisa Adams, a Certified Hand Therapist, for a summer as she worked. Lisa is also a USC Chan ‘81 Alumnus. Through her understanding how a person’s use of their upper extremities affects their daily activities, I fell in love with OT. I was able to email her a few questions about her profession, and she shared a little bit about her experience.

Lisa Adams (LA): Hi, my name is Lisa Adams, and I have been an OT for a very long time: forty years.
Bethany Yew (BY): We have to start with the question: Why OT?
LA: I loved the psycho-social aspect and treating the patient or client as a whole. Even though hand therapy has a lot of medical based components it also addresses all the occupational roles of the client. As an OT I have a vested interest in computer ergonomics, and thus I can advise and evaluate patient’s workstations to alleviate their hand problems . . . OTs lucked out in having splinting skills as well as being able to respect the tiny anatomical structures of the hand in the rehab process. This is why, the surgeons I worked for originally, chose an OT over a PT to work in their clinic. I am a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT). This certification can be earned by either an OT or PT after working 3 years as a general therapist with hand experience and passing the CHT exam. 80% of CHTs are OTs.

BY: How did you decide to do hand therapy?
LA: I started out as a COTA working for two hand surgeons, in their hand clinic run by an OTR. I was kind of thrown into hand therapy in the late 70’s not knowing what it was. I was sent on the interview while doing my COTA internship at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital. After working in the neuro unit at Rancho with head trauma and Guillain-Bare patients I couldn’t fathom why a hand injury would need specialized therapy. Well, I learned differently. Originally, I thought I’d work there for 6 months, but I ended up working at the LA Metropolitan Hand Center for 22 years. The surgeons had me go to surgery with them and watch procedures which enable me to learn more than I could have ever hoped for. The surgeons urged me to go back to school (I went to USC.) and become an OTR, which I did after working 5 years as a COTA. I returned to work for them for the next 17 years.

The clinic was the first hand center in Los Angeles, opening in 1975. Hand therapy was in its infancy as were the surgical techniques. We treated a lot of trauma (stab wounds, finger and hand amputations, tendon lacerations and fractures). We had the luxury of treating our patients for two and three hours in group settings. Each patient got individualized hands-on care, had a therapeutic activity (leather work, macramé or simple wood project) in addition to an exercise program. Those were the good ole days when insurance companies didn’t regulate the reimbursement rates, number of visits and time spent in therapy. It is a different story today, but as an OT I have adapted to provide quality care within the confines of the payers, although not always easy or profitable.

BY: What is the hardest part of your job?
LA: The hardest part of my job is the time it takes to do documentation. We now have EMR systems but they are not all conducive to OT, and I have a difficult time navigating them and making sure I do so correctly. We have many documentation requirements per Medicare, so making sure everything is clear and concise is difficult for me. This is very time consuming and non-revenue producing, so more often than not I am doing my documentation on my time.

BY: What is the best part of your job?
LA: The best part of my work day is hearing a patient say, “Look, I can now bend my finger!” or “I don’t have pain anymore after doing my therapy program.” Witnessing a patient’s recovery is the best part of every day. I also love when I can help a patient through the emotional roller coaster of having pain and having limited functional use of their hand. When I hear a patient say, “Thank you for listening or putting up with my crying” it’s the best part of my day.
BY: Thank you so much for sharing.

I am so thankful that I got to get back in touch with Lisa. When I had finished volunteering, she gave me a cute candle as a reminder of my experience.

I will always be thankful for her impact on my introduction to OT and how it can change people’s lives.

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Be Prepared for Grad School ⟩
August 12, 2020, by Bethany

Classes Life Hacks

As part of the Bachelor’s-to-Master’s program, my entrance into the Master’s program was unique in that it was also my senior year of undergrad. It was a strange transition, as I was trying to get used to being a Master’s student while holding on to my friends and senior year activities. I struggled with being simultaneously at the top of the school “hierarchy” and the new kid. However, I learned a lot during this past year, and am hoping that if anyone starting this Master’s student life transition resonates with my experience, you can find a new tidbit of information to make the transition easier.

Make New Friends
I struggled with figuring out how to spend my time with people. I wanted to spend every last minute that I could with friends from undergrad, as I knew it was not likely we would live this close to each other again. We had to make the most of our proximity. And yet, it was hard to feel connected to people that I was in new classes with when I was not as open to conversations. It took me a while to realize that these students were going to be with me in the field, and they were people I could learn from and rely on. All this to say: (1) Take the time to have conversations. Whether it be in class (during designated discussion time such as breakout rooms, of course) or not, you can learn about a person even through the course material. One entire class discussed the Therapeutic Use of Self, so we discovered a lot about our own and each other’s personalities. (2) Take the time out of class to hang out. I did not do this one very well, but maybe once a month, whatever you can swing out of your free time, log on to an event. Go meet new people. Start up conversations with people outside of your cohort and classes. Many people would open conversation by asking about the Bachelor’s-to-Master’s program, so I had to learn to use it as a conversation starter, to ask about their own undergraduate experience. We’re all OTs, so we’re all here because we love talking to and helping people.

Another strange factor is our new professors. We meet different OT faculty during these next two years, all with different experiences and expertise. Each student is also paired with a faculty mentor according to their interests. Take advantage of their knowledge base; reach out to them with questions. (3) Use office hours. If you may be unsure of what area of OT you want to go into in the future, as I am, use each practice immersion to further understand your fit for each area. Have conversations with the professors, who are experienced members of their field. It is only during this time that you will have the excuse of class material to start conversations. Even if you can’t use that excuse, faculty are always happy to talk about what they are passionate about. They are also very understanding and can help with any difficulties into the transition to grad school and classes.

Bring a Snack
Three-hour classes feel longer than I care to admit. And although we do get stretch breaks, (4) have food ready! It’s helpful for staying engaged. Be sure that the snack is something you can eat relatively neatly, as you may want to type a quick note on your computer without having to wipe your fingers of Cheeto dust. (Or like some of my creative friends, you can eat Cheetos with chopsticks.) We also have a nice lunch break in between classes. If you’re on HSC, you can go pick up a burrito from the surrounding food trucks, or eat your own homemade lunch. Lunch time is still a great chance for a stretch break, and one good quesadilla, whether off the stove or from the cafeteria across the way, can be a turning point after a tiring class.

Any Time is Usable Time
This is a lesson that I learned riding the shuttle to and from campus, but it’s applicable in more ways than one. It can feel like a long commute to the Health Science Campus from the University Park Campus or from wherever you call home. However, you can make the most of the ride. I was able to journal on the shuttle if I was awake enough, or catch up on another thirty minutes of sleep (which was a more common occurrence). Start on school readings, review slides for the upcoming quiz, or re-read the Harry Potter series. Download a movie on your phone. If you’re driving, take the time to listen to new music on the radio, or get pumped up for the day with some of your favorites. Listen to a new podcast. (5) Make the most of seemingly unusable minutes, even if it is just to relax and take a break. Some of my favorite shuttle rides would be when I ran into a friend on the shuttle, often a friend from UPC that I had not seen in a while, and we would use the shuttle ride to catch up on life. Unusable minutes may take a different form while we’re taking online classes, but that goes into my next point . . .

Balancing Act
All of life is about balance, between work and school and friends and commitments. Adjusting to Master’s classes requires an adjustment of that balance. After completing a Blackboard quiz, make time to go grab dinner with a friend. My first semester, I personally decided to make time to stay in the Trojan Marching Band, blasting summer hits on Cromwell Field. Music was part of my life, and going to practice and playing piccolo was a bright spot in my day. (6) Make time for the things that keep you going. I had never used the calendar app on my phone so much as when I transitioned to grad school. My friend helped me color-code my schedule into different categories, a system I thought I would never use but ended up loving. Seeing the red of a band event or the green of an Intervarsity Christian Fellowship event was a bright spot in my day, and my calendar ensured that I did not miss things that were important to me. For me, this adjustment to online classes changes the balancing act. Now, it means calling a friend during my lunch break or taking time after class to play an instrument.

Lean on Your Support System
Every day, I’d come home to my apartment-mates, and I’d get to hear about how aerospace or linguistics classes were going and share about my own day. They and my other friends made time to let me ramble about adjusting to life and gave me time to just be myself. When I felt stressed, they would drive me out to get mandatory ice cream. When I needed a day out, we’d go to drive-in movie nights and have picnics. When I needed advice, they’d sit me down and tell me what I needed to hear, even when it was hard. You can find support in many forms, whether it’s finding tips on Calvin’s Survival Guide and reaching out to the student ambassadors, or having good, long conversations with friends. (7) Lean on your support system. These days, I go downstairs to do a workout with my mom and rant if I need to. But whether with friends or family, you are not alone in this.

Lastly, (8) be kind to yourself. It is a transition, and everyone will adjust differently. Don’t be harsh on yourself if the transition takes time. Make the most of these opportunities that we have: learn a lot, have fun, and Fight On!

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