Student Blog
First Blog: OTSC International Forum 2014 ⟩
April 14, 2014, by Samar
Getting Involved International
As the countdown to graduation begins (30 days left!), I am thinking a lot of the great moments I had at USC. Moreover, how I don’t want it all to end. What I love most about USC is how there are always opportunities to learn and to be inspired. Just this past Saturday, I attended the International Forum which was organized by the Occupational Therapy and Science Council (OTSC). The forum took place at the quaint and charming Center for Occupation and Lifestyle Redesign (a gorgeous place to be in on a Saturday morning). Me and my classmates from the MAI program got to present posters on occupational therapy in each of our countries. I also listened in on presentations by Dr. Cermak, Dr. Frank, and the students panel on their international externship experiences. All of these presentations have posed important questions on the role of occupational therapy on an international level. There were probably two themes that stood out for me from the International Forum. One theme that kept coming up across all the different presentations was the importance of being inventive at finding low-cost and sustainable solutions to facilitate occupational participation of the different populations across the world. The second theme was the ability to consider the broader contexts of human existence such as political and cultural contexts and how might these uniquely influence occupational participation. Being an “international” occupational therapist myself, I feel that the topic of global occupational therapy and occupational justice is close to my heart. So, it felt great to have a forum of discussion on this very important topic. On top of that, I got to enjoy a good part of the day socializing with my favorite OT students. Overall, I feel like this event was such a great mix of learning, socializing and having fun.
This is a picture of me and my classmates minus one (we took the picture with her poster instead!).
⋯
Practicing What I Preach ⟩
April 10, 2014, by Kate
Life Hacks School/Life Balance What are OS/OT?
In the past 2 years as a graduate student, I have learned skills I will need as a clinician, including how to use therapeutic communication and different therapeutic modes with different clients. I have learned how to ask the right questions and inquire about my patient’s interests, occupations and goals. I have learned to speak realistically, yet positively, and help people live healthier, happier and more productive lives. As the weeks between now and graduation narrow, and I as take the necessary steps to plan for my future, I ask myself if I am practicing what I preach to others.
How am I speaking to myself? How am I treating myself — my body and my mind? How am I spending my time? Am I devoting time to the occupations I value? Am I treating my friends and family in the same manner in which I would treat one of my patients? I want to change the conversation I am having with myself, especially as I gear up for what might be a stressful transition from graduate school to the “real world.”
This means taking the time and making the effort to exercise, exploring a local farmer’s market, buying myself fresh flowers every week, writing in my gratitude journal, seeing nature by taking a hike, drinking more water, and spending time with my friends that will lift me up and encourage me. Negativity is out the door. Positivity only! I want to create a balanced life for my patients, and I know that I need to lead by example. Cheers to that!
⋯
National OT Conference in Baltimore! ⟩
April 7, 2014, by Clarissa
There is an annual conference that the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) of California organizes and, this year, it was in Baltimore! The division offers scholarships to go, which I applied for and received. I was so excited that I got to nerd out about OT!
I love going to AOTA because I learn about the exciting new places our profession is going and I can also network with big names in OT. There are always tons of great speakers, workshops, posters, and free stuff to grab! I also get to hang out with OTs all day – classmates, OT students from other schools, my professors, etc. Where else would I rather be than OT central?!
Here are a few of my OT classmates and my comrades on the recruitment and admissions team representing USC at the conference. There was an awesome balloon artist in the exposition hall, too, hence our adorable animal balloon headbands.
Here are my classmates as well as one of my mental health professors Celso Delgado at the USC party that’s held every year at AOTA.
AOTA is also a great excuse to travel. My friends and I got to do some sightseeing in Washington DC on the side.
Man, I’ve been doing a lot of traveling lately and I’m wiped. So worth it, though!
⋯
April is OT Month! ⟩
April 2, 2014, by Kate
First, I’d like to wish everyone a HAPPY OT MONTH! Yes, April is the month that is dedicated to everything occupational therapy. Here at USC, we kicked off the celebrations on Monday with a celebratory picnic right outside of our building. It was a great way to come together as students, clinicians and faculty to relax in the sunshine and eat some pizza. It is USC tradition to create pin-on buttons that we collect and wear throughout the month. We also hand these out to family and friends. It’s exciting because there are new designs every year, as well as more traditional designs. This year we have a panda expressing his love for OT on a button as well as a tyrannosaurus rex with reachers professing his love for the profession. I’ve attached a picture of my stylish button arrangement from Monday’s picnic below!
This weekend is also our professional organization’s annual conference which is being held in Baltimore, Maryland this year. The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) is a great organization that brings together future students, current students, practitioners and other health care professionals. You can learn more about their mission here. Clarissa, one of my fellow ambassadors, is traveling to the conference and I’m sure she will have a lot of fun updates for everyone.
I’ll be sure to write about some fun activities throughout the month that focus on OT and its awesomeness.
⋯
Externship + Spring Break ⟩
March 26, 2014, by Kate
Externships International School/Life Balance
It’s been a whirlwind in my life the past 3 weeks. I went on my externship to Ghana (alongside 35 other OT students and fellow ambassador Clarissa) and then I spent 3 days in Berlin, Germany with one of my good friends from the OT program. My jet lag has not gone away, I must admit, and I am still confused as to when I should be hungry and when I should be tired. All in all, it was an amazing time away from school and I wish I could do a video blog to tell you all about it and share pictures and videos. I will try my best to be succinct yet thorough!
In Ghana, we stayed at the Mephibosheth Training Center in Appam, about 2 hours outside of the capital city of Accra. MTC is a boarding school for children with disabilities that come from all across Ghana, some as far as 9 hours away. About 53 children, ranging from about 5-23 years old, with physical and mental challenges, live at MTC and go to school. It is a true honor for these children to attend school because Ghanaians have traditional beliefs that disabilities stem from a curse on the family or the individual. Although this mindset is changing in the country, it is an ongoing process. Our group of USC OT students came to MTC to play and love on the kids, as well as perform 3 sets of vocational activities with them to note their skill and interest level in sewing, woodworking and leatherworking. We made a game of cornhole with bean bags and leather bracelets. It was truly amazing to spend time with these children!
We also had the opportunity to meet with OT students from the University of Ghana. They will be graduating their first class of 19 students this year, and it was really neat to share our knowledge and love of OT with them. Our group was also assigned to pair up with students from the University of Winneba in the Community-Based Rehabilitation Worker program. These students go out into the communities, find individuals with disabilities and refer them to sources. Many of the students/CBR workers are placed in schools. I was able to shadow a student placed at a primary school in a classroom of 14-16 year-old girls. They loved me and I loved them. It was magical to be surrounded by such joy.
I had the chance to relax in Berlin, where I toured the city with my friend Mona. We got on one of the hop-on, hop-off, double-decker tour buses for two days. This was the perfect choice because we were able to see all of the sites, get the history and have someone else drive! We ate pretzels, schnitzel, spaetzel and yes, drank a lot of beer. It was fun to visit such a cosmopolitan city! I was pretty happy to come home, however, despite the crazy time difference and my loads of homework due this week!!
Speaking of homework, I think I’ll get back to it. Stay tuned for more exciting developments as my fellow ambassadors and I wrap up our last 5 weeks of our grad school careers!!
Here’s a picture of one of the kiddos at MTC in Ghana and some pretzels in Germany. 😊
⋯
Subscribe | RSS