Student Blog

New Friends! ⟩
September 25, 2015, by Heather

Community Diversity School/Life Balance

When I first arrived at USC, I was not anticipating the multitude of amazing people that I would meet. I thought grad school was just about furthering my education to prepare me for my career in occupational therapy. I couldn’t have been more mistaken.

The people here are incredible and I have grown incredibly close to many of them.

The friends that I have made in this program have been some of the most amazing people that I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know. We come from various backgrounds, different parts of the country, and from a wide variety of life experiences.

A large part of my enjoyment of being at school is being with my friends. We spend endless academic and nonacademic hours together, and are constantly involved in each other’s lives.

Without a doubt, my friends in this program have molded my experience at USC significantly. I look forward to our futures as we grow together as health-care practitioners.

⋯

My Favorite Occupation: Socializing! ⟩
September 22, 2015, by Rashelle

Fieldwork What are OS/OT?

As humans, we are social creatures who crave and rely upon close interactions with others. The ability to socialize is a skill that most of us have, utilize daily, and may frequently take for granted. As occupational therapists we can analyze the art of socializing and can facilitate this complex process with individuals who may have difficulties doing so.

To give you an example, at the CHLA UCEDD (Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles, University Center of Excellence for Developmental Disabilities), where I completed my second Level I Fieldwork, I worked with children with selective mutism. These kids had extreme levels of anxiety in social situations, which prevented them from speaking to classmates, teachers, and even certain family members. In the treatment session, I observed how two children, who were both selectively mute, could overcome their apprehensions of speaking by engaging in meaningful activities. Since children love playing, we utilized fun, intrinsically motivating games, to encourage the children to speak to one another and to step out of their comfort zones.

Also at the UCEDD I was able to observe a social skills training program called the Secret Agent Society. This group allowed boys with high-functioning autism to role play being secret agents, with the mission of decoding the thoughts and emotions of others. Typically, children diagnosed on the autism spectrum have difficulties communicating and forming relationships. The Secret Agent Society creates an open and stimulating environment to target these social skills. The creative intervention also utilizes an interactive computer game, board game, and even “home mission” work sheets, to facilitate hands on learning and the application of learned skills to real life scenarios.

These fieldwork experiences at the CHLA UCEDD are just a few of the many, which have opened my eyes to the key role that occupational therapists can have in social skill development. Additionally, USC provides its own type of hands on learning, through the emphasis on engaging socially with students and staff outside of the classroom. Since USC’s occupational therapy program is the largest in the nation, there are many opportunities to socialize with a diverse variety of students. Also, USC encourages students to form closer relationships with faculty through mentor-mentee gatherings, faculty/student socials (organized by our student council professional development chairs), USC specific receptions at state or national conferences, and more!

⋯

My OTD life so far ⟩
September 21, 2015, by Samar

Classes

Hello friends,

I can’t believe a month has gone by since the start of school! Today, I wanted to talk to you more on what it means to be an occupational therapy doctorate resident at USC. I am enrolled in OT620 Current Issues in Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy for four units and in OT686 residency for six units which equates to 20 hours/week at my residency site. I am definitely doing more than 20 hours/week but I thoroughly enjoy my time there. What’s not to love about practicing occupational therapy in your favorite setting with your favorite population? On top of that, I am practicing with the mentorship and supervision of my clinical preceptor and educator at my residency site and with support from a faculty mentor from the USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. The OT620 definitely compliments the residency in a sense that I’m getting weekly peer support from fellow OTD residents and I’m learning more about quality improvement and evidence based practice. In the meantime, my residency plan for the next year is slowly coming to shape. Also, I am deciding what my literature review is going to be about which will inform my evidence based practice. I’m keeping busy and I’m loving it!

⋯

A New Project! ⟩
September 20, 2015, by Heather

Classes What are OS/OT?

Hey friends! I want to share with you a really awesome project that I started working on this week.

As part of my coursework in Occupation-Centered Programs for the Community, my classmate and I decided to work on a project focused on upper extremity ergonomics and proper body mechanics as it relates to one’s occupation. Through our volunteer and fieldwork experience in hand therapy clinics, we noticed that there was a lack of education regarding the importance of injury prevention and treatment of repetitive motion upper-extremity injuries. Specifically, we want to focus on creating a program that explores the prevention of repetitive motion injuries in musicians, and further investigate psychosocial factors that may contribute to the development or exacerbation of musculoskeletal disorders in the musician population.

I originally became interested in working with musicians after having an internship at the Santa Barbara Music Academy of the West’s Wellness Program. Here, I had the opportunity to work one-on-one with young musicians on how to stretch certain areas of their body and proper body mechanics for when playing their instruments. Many of the musicians were only in their early twenties and already experiencing pain in their hands, wrists, and shoulders. With education and a focus on ergonomics, musicians might be able to decrease the chances of injuring themselves or exacerbating an already existing injury. By the end of my internship, many of the musicians were already experiencing pain relief during their musical performances.

I look forward to learning more about this as I navigate the phenomenological experiences of these musicians and the health providers that treat them. Additionally, I hope to explore the possibility of spearheading an educational campaign centered around providing education for injury prevention that is specifically tailored to various areas of employment.

⋯

So you think you want to OT . . . ⟩
September 19, 2015, by Joe

Videos What are OS/OT?

So you think you want to OT . . . but you’re still trying to decide if it’s the right fit for you.

Check out some of these great resources on getting into OT:

The Many Faces of Occupational Therapists, a video from students at the University of British Columbia.

The Most Important Things You Need To Know About Becoming an Occupational Therapy Practitioner — A free ebook by Abby Brayton-Chung of OT Cafe and Christie Kiley of Mama OT (a graduate of USC!) that addresses many common questions about the profession, such as pursuing OT as a second career, deciding whether to become an OT or an OTA, and what OTs actually do in practice!

Resources for Beginning your OT Career from the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)

Enjoy!

⋯