Try Everything: Selecting Electives

July 8, 2020
by Bethany

Classes

Due to the pandemic and recommendations for social distancing, our summer classes have put us ahead of schedule in terms of coursework. So when I went to go check my email the other day, I found a message about picking electives for the Fall semester. I was both overwhelmed and nervous, but thankfully, the email also mentioned a Zoom information meeting to help us learn more about our options and what Fall is going to look like.

The electives have been something I have been looking forward to in this program for a long time. A lot of the Master’s coursework follows different practice immersions and thread courses throughout a specific course sequence designed to let us get a taste of OT in all of its forms. After those first semesters, we get to choose from a variety of electives for us to consider, either to specialize or to broaden our scope of knowledge further.

I had come into this program very interested in hand therapy, since it was one of my first experiences with OT. I also had the chance to volunteer under the same hand therapist later during my undergraduate career. For next semester, there were two courses related to hand therapy, OT 573: Hand Rehabilitation and OT 562: Advance Practice in Hand Therapy and Physical Agent Modalities. Hand therapy had always been a consideration, but now, after going through two of the Division’s immersions, I am considering other possibilities as well.

I was excited to be in Adult Physical Rehabilitation as my first immersion. I wanted to see more hand therapy, but then even just starting the immersion, I was able to experience the ways in which Rehab applies to so much more: transfers after hip replacements, creating memory devices, or even relearning the use of a limb after a stroke. At my fieldwork site, I was lucky to be able to experience interdisciplinary work, looking at how occupational therapists work with experts in other fields. In observing an interdisciplinary group for a wheelchair consultation, I began to understand the unique perspective that OT has to offer to complement the views of a physician, a physical therapist, and nurse.

I had been wary of the Mental Health immersion. Being a type A person, I had expected to be most drawn to the Adult Physical Rehab process of having certain activities tied to certain physical outcomes. I was at first almost scared by the seeming vastness and uncertainty of Mental Health. Instead, I found myself intrigued by the power of conversation and by the power of activity. I ran groups at my fieldwork site, engaging people not just through words but also in actions, through activities like a music group, origami, and activities engaging the senses. I fell in love with occupational therapy all over again, amazed by the power of doing, how activity does not just impact the physical, but mental aspects as well. I had expected the immersions to help me narrow down which field I wanted to be in; however, I feel like my choices are only expanding.

And now, I am very much looking forward to the Pediatrics immersion. I expect myself to come into the immersion with a more open mind. Though, I am worried that I will come away from the immersion with my mind open to even more possibilities than I am already considering.

The electives open to us for the Fall were numerous and varied, covering topics from Lifestyle Redesign to ergonomics to dysphagia and swallowing. I realized that I do not have to take courses only focusing on hand therapy if I do not want to. I’ve decided this Fall that instead of taking two hand courses, I will instead take a few others to diversify my course load. In addition to OT 573, I have requested clearance for OT 563: Occupational Therapy in Primary Healthcare Environments and OT 566: Healthcare Communication with Spanish-Speaking Clients. I’m excited to see how these different courses will prepare me to be a better clinician in the future!

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