Student Blog
Kimberly
Primary Care ⟩
November 15, 2011, by Kimberly
I just got back from USC-Eisner Family Medicine Center in downtown LA. For one of my electives this semester we are learning about and accumulating clinic hours in primary care settings. Primary care is a relatively new field for OT, but is an exciting one to be getting into. At Eisner we work right alongside the primary doctor to provide a more comprehensive care plan for the patient. Our scope of practice covers areas like pain management, weight management, functional assessments, organization, ergonomics, and work-life balance, to name a few.
This morning we worked briefly with a woman who is experiencing trouble with fatigue and mobility at work. She suffered a traumatic brain injury about 20 years ago and as a result has left foot drop and general left-side weakness which make it harder for her to walk. She has been mobile up until this point using the assistance of a walker and a cane while working her two jobs. But recently she has found it more tiring to walk everywhere.
After talking with the woman, we scheduled a follow-up appointment for an ergonomic assessment and a work-site assessment. These will allow us to see what adaptations to the environment could be made to enable her to better do her job without fatigue. She was very excited at the prospect of working with us in the future and at how willing we are to address her needs in the settings where they occur. So far in this class, my clinic experiences have been really rewarding. A patient who comes in for a simple check-up, some low back pain, or a need to reduce their cholesterol usually leaves from OT feeling more empowered to make small changes in their daily lives for greater health.
⋯
Role as a Turtle? ⟩
October 25, 2011, by Kimberly
Halloween is fast approaching and some of us have decided that dressing up is still a good idea. Four of my friends and I are going to be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I think this will be one of the coolest costumes I have gotten to wear yet! The costume will consist of various articles of green clothing, colored cloth masks and wrist and knee ties (appropriate colors for each turtle), a shell made out of spray painting a snow disc sled, and then of course the weapons appropriate to each character. In preparing our costumes, we have also begun doing some research on each of the turtles to make sure we are not just turtles by costume, but by attitude also.
The other day when I was explaining to a friend all I had learned about Donatello and what the costume would look like, she said, “you are totally approaching this Halloween thing like you would researching for a role that a client might have!” At first I countered her claim but as we talked I realized that it was true. We were doing research for becoming the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles like we would any other role we might come across in OT. Even in this very remote activity from school, we couldn’t keep the stuff we’re learning out. So there you have it, OT is everywhere . . . unavoidable in even costume making. Happy Halloween everyone!
⋯
Flamenco Anyone? ⟩
October 4, 2011, by Kimberly
Last Saturday night I went with friends to El Cid, a restaurant in Silverlake (a neighborhood near downtown LA) that offers dinner shows on the weekend featuring authentic Flamenco music and dancing. Now if you’ve never seen Flamenco, I would highly reccommend looking it up on YouTube to check it out. It is a unique style of music and dance that originated in Andalusian Spain (the south). The guitarrists, drummers, vocalists, and dancers all train for many years to understand not only their mediums, but the culture of Flamenco and the history behind it.
We had a great view of the show from our table in the balcony of the restaurant. It lasted for an hour and was passionate, emotional, beautiful, and very unique. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a little different venue for a Saturday night dinner out. It was nice to be with friends somewhere different than the local bar, to enjoy a lovely meal, some good Sangria, and the show. So if you live in LA or are thinking about USC, make sure to check out this and other cultural-unknowns throughout the city. There are many to explore and experience. Ole!
⋯
Student by Day, Athlete by Night ⟩
September 28, 2011, by Kimberly
Living in LA School/Life Balance
While in the OT program, our time is taken up primarily by either being in class or studying/doing projects related to class. But for those of us who need to get out and be active and were previously athletes in high school or college, finding time to work-out is essential. Last year a group of my fellow students trained and ran the LA Marathon. Others take classes through USC, surf, do yoga, or form their own running groups on the beach for example. This year, in order to keep myself on a work-out schedule, I decided to train for the LA Triathlon. I have done all three sports (swimming, biking, and running) throughout my life, so it wasn’t too big of a jump to combine all three.
The race was this past Sunday and it was a blast! We started in Venice Beach and swam in the Pacific, then biked up Venice Blvd and Olympic Blvd to downtown LA. The final run was right through the middle of the LA skyscrapers. It was neat to be a part of something so huge and with people who were as crazy as me to sign up for the race. Of course there were also the professional triathletes who do this for a living, and those who had the thousands of dollars’ worth of gear. But the rest, like me, were just interested in trying something new and completing it for the sake of doing so. Overall it was an awesome experience and one to definitely go down in the books.
Though school is our main job right now, many of us in the program do make sure to take time to enjoy the outdoors and get active. Some call it finding balance, others say we are “OTing ourselves” and making sure we don’t get too overloaded with reading. Either way, LA is the perfect place to explore all kinds of options to stay active. Just get out there and give it a shot!
⋯
Inter-Disciplinary Student Collaboration ⟩
September 20, 2011, by Kimberly
One of my electives this semester is called “Occupational Therapy in Primary Healthcare Environments.” In this class we are looking at the various roles occupational therapists can take in primary healthcare settings like family clinics, emergency rooms, pediatric clinics, assisted living facilities, etc. It is a newer field for OT and focuses mainly on prevention and wellness. Also in this class, we are part of a pilot study titled Inter-Professional Geriatric Curriculum (IPGC) where we get to work with students studying to be doctors, physician’s assistants, pharmacists, and physical therapists. With this team, we will go visit a resident at a local assisted living facility and talk with him/her from the lens of our different disciplines and provide recommendations based on our different areas of expertise.
In preparation to my group’s first visit with our resident, we decided to meet for dinner to discuss strategy and get to know each other. We got to go around and describe what really we do in our professions, discuss our expectations for this class, and then discuss an approach to going in and talking with our resident. It was so inspiring to see the collaboration that happened naturally for all of us. We are all pretty easy-going, but no one was fighting over turf, stepping on others’ toes or trying to push their agenda. Hopefully when I graduate and enter the field a year from now, these kinds of relationships and partnerships will be present wherever I end up working. It’s fun to be able to understand/respect the other fields of expertise while also contributing OT’s unique perspective.
⋯
Subscribe | RSS