Student Blog

Reflection: Moving Back Home ⟩
June 22, 2020, by Bethany

Life Hacks

This past March, I moved back home. It was a strange enough transition: leaving school for Spring Break and not returning, and my brother also came back from college in Texas. What made it all the more strange was realizing that I’m staying. For all four years of my undergraduate career, I chose to stay out by the University Park Campus, making it easier for me to meet new people, get to class easily, and be a part of school organizations. However, for the OT MA program, most of the people, classes, and organizations are on a different campus, the Health Sciences Campus, which happens to be a commute-able distance from home.

But even during the end of the school year, as I completed classes on my computer, I realized that staying at home does not mean a change in which occupations I participate, but in the way that I do so. I still spend most of my day in class, even if it is online, and I can still make time for people after class, in Bible studies, Zoom chats with friends, or even playing online games. Many of my other friends finishing undergrad are also moving back home to commute, so I am not alone in this transition. In fact, some of my high school friends are also coming back home, one of them joining me at USC through online-in-person-hybrid classes as a new student at the PT school. The classes and labs that we attend in person will be in the same building!

Some of the occupations that have changed are centered around family. I now have more accountability for working out, as my mom and I complete workout videos together. My parents cook amazing meals, and as we sit around the dinner table, we get to reflect on past memories, discuss what happened at work or school today, or even have difficult conversations about current events. One of the best new occupations is watching TV shows with my parents. I did not grow up with TV. When I left for college, we had a tube television in our house, so I discovered TV shows in college. After I left, my parents replaced the TV (and me) with our family’s first flatscreen. Shows like The Mentalist and Monk became their favorites, and I got to join in on watching with them after dinner. I am blessed to have a home to come back to and a place to be as I finish up my Master’s, and I’m excited to see how I adjust and grow to both new and changing occupations.

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How to be an Ally ⟩
June 12, 2020, by Lamoni

Diversity

With the world’s recent affairs, there’s been a lot of discussion about police brutality, the Black Lives Matter movement, misuse of power, the meaning behind certain symbols such as the confederate flag, etc. With these discussions circulating, I have seen a number of well-intentioned acts of solidarity. I have also seen acts that are inappropriate.

In our profession, it is important to build trust with our team and our clients. An important way to build trust is by consistently showing that we are allies, people that care about the same cause and act toward the same goal. It sounds rather simple, but it requires a lot of effort. Right now, your Black friends, classmates, faculty, and staff need to see that effort. And we need it to be vigorous and constant. That being said, I have decided to lay out some points about what it means to be an ally.

What is allyship?

1. Listening more and speaking less
What you’ve learned through books, articles, and observation does not and will not equate to the lived experience. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary to spend most of your time listening rather than speaking. There is always room to learn more.

2. Acknowledging your privilege
You cannot call for equality without first acknowledging that there is an imbalance. Recognize that you have certain advantages that others do not. Use that advantage to amplify the voices of those unheard.

3. Accepting criticism
People tend to immediately begin defending themselves when they are criticized. That can lead to a missed opportunity. Criticism is a form of feedback that should be used to reflect and grow. Embrace it.

What allyship is not

Allyship is not rooted in performance. Lately, it seems that calling oneself an ally is very on-trend. However, as stated, allyship is a lifelong process. It requires consistency in reflection, learning, and action. Expecting awards and recognition suggests that you are conveniently presenting as an ally or have an ulterior motive. Next time you create a #BLM post, ask yourself, “am I doing this for an applause?” and, “if people ask about this post, will I be able to say that I’ve put action behind my words?” (e.g. marched in protests, signed petitions, called legislators).

Being an ally is hard work. Confronting your implicit biases, speaking up when a family member says something ignorant, and recognizing the ways that you participate in oppressive systems is difficult. However, it is necessary. If you do not feel uncomfortable or challenged, you are not actively doing your part.

We have a beautiful profession where we get to advocate for others. Let’s all start now.

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First Gen Problems ⟩
June 12, 2020, by Liz

Diversity

Ever since COVID-19 happened I’m sure we’ve all had to make some changes in several aspects of our lives. One major change I made, like so many other students, was switching to remote learning. Whether you’re about to start classes soon this summer here at Chan, or completing some prerequisite courses elsewhere, don’t be afraid . . . IT WILL BE OKAY!

When this whole thing started, I decided to move back home with my parents in Santa Ana. I was afraid the loneliness would get to me if I stayed at my apartment in LA all alone and remote learning seemed like a good opportunity to move back home for a bit. At first, moving back was fine. It was great to spend more time with my family and enjoy my mom’s home cooked meals. BUT, what I didn’t know was that being back home would actually result in me feeling more stressed and overwhelmed than ever.

Like many other first generation students, one of the reasons I chose to pursue a higher education (other than my love for OT, of course) was because I want to take care of my parents at some point. I don’t want my mom cleaning houses or my dad taking care of people’s landscaping forever! So, when I moved back home that stressor that had been stored somewhere in the back of my mind, made itself very visible again. My family lives in a small apartment, so when I would hear my dad get up at 4 AM to get ready to get to work it felt almost impossible to fall asleep again. I was constantly thinking about how much older he’s getting and how much I wished he could just stay in bed and drink his coffee when the sun was actually out. Seeing my mom come home exhausted and complain about her back pain didn’t make things any better. That pressure and stress I was able to almost forget about when I was in LA just didn’t go away, and I could feel how it was taking a toll on me emotionally.

To make matters worse, it was extremely difficult to focus on getting my work done for class. My family was constantly trying to hang out (don’t get me wrong I love them, but COME ON I have some work to do!). I started to feel bad because I felt like family time was what they looked forward to since we were all staying home, and I wanted to cater to their needs. It almost made me feel selfish to tell them I had work to do for school. So, I ended up staying up WAY past my usual bedtime just to get my work done because my family was so distracting.

It finally got to the point where I was too overwhelmed by my stressors of being back home and my school work. So, I decided I had to make some changes. My first step was to talk to my parents and my sister about how I was feeling. I had to explain that my school work was not something I could continue to put off and complete late at night. I don’t know if anyone else’s parents are like this, but my parents seem to think going to school is an easy job. Which honestly, is kind of understandable. Compared to their taxing jobs I’m sure sitting at home on a computer seems easy peasy. But, it’s still unfair to me and my feelings. So, I decided to show them more of what I was doing. I translated what I was learning and why it was important.

Second, I thought about how I could still spend some time with them while also being able to take care of myself and my responsibilities. I ended up taking virtual zumba classes with my mom in order to make her feel like she was still a priority to me. Let me tell you, zumba is not easy and my mom is a lot more coordinated than I am — embarrassing, I know. I would also run small errands with my dad whenever possible. If he had to run to the grocery store and I needed a study break, I would spend my study break with him. Finding these little ways to make time for my family helped so much and gave me more room to get my work done.

As for my emotional stressors, every night before bed I would think about three reasons why I was proud of myself. This helped me see that there’s so much to be happy about and that I shouldn’t be so hard on myself. So, if you are a first generation student feeling overwhelmed by all of the things you feel like you have to do, don’t. You are already on the right track. You’re here (or on your way), and you can do this! And also, show and explain to your parents what you’re working towards. I am 100% sure they would be so happy to see it and learn about what you’re doing. Summer is right around the corner and you will be amazing. Check out Savi’s blog post on the benefits of remote learning next! Fight on!

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What This Period of Chaos Has Taught Me ⟩
June 12, 2020, by Nmachi

Life Hacks

It’s safe to say that the past few weeks and months have been nothing short of confusing and chaotic. It is so easy to get into the habit of complaining without striving toward finding beneficial solutions. Here’s a few things that I have learned over the past 3 months:

1. Spending time with family is necessary.

Due to COVID-19 health restrictions, all USC students were encouraged to return home to quarantine beginning in late March. This news was not pleasant for the majority of the student body, but I was especially bummed because that meant that I would not be able to complete my freshman year of college on campus.

Moving back home was definitely bittersweet. On one hand, I was disappointed because I wanted to spend the remaining two months of the semester with my friends while enjoying the last bit of the traditional dorm life. Alternatively, I was grateful to be healthy and to be able to go back home to my family. While being quarantined, I’ve utilized this time to the best of my ability; I have successfully created an at-home workout regimen that I do with my sister, played extensively with my two-year-old nephew, and caught up on my favorite shows! Making memories with my family while being at home has been very rewarding and was possible because of the current global situation.

2. Take time to reflect and better yourself.

One of the goals I made at the beginning of the year was to read more. Sounds simple enough, but being a full-time college student and young-adult, it can be difficult to put down the phone and pick up a captivating read. Nevertheless, this time of social distancing has provided me with the opportunity to focus on bettering myself as an individual by reflecting and taking in useful knowledge through reading. My latest read was The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz, which is a self-help book that emphasizes the importance of finding inner peace and self-love before trying to be that peace and love for others. I have learned that taking a moment to just be still and reflect daily can truly change the entire trajectory of your whole day.

3. Educate yourself with local/global issues. It’s crucial to stay up-to-date.

It may seem obvious, but staying informed on issues regarding the well-being of this country is vital. Just because a recurring tragedy doesn’t directly affect your community does NOT mean that you should remain silent and complacent; it should urge you to stand up for what is right by all means (verbally, financially, etc.).

During this remote time away from our regular schedules, I implore you to take these tips into consideration. You will be surprised at how much you can evolve for the better!

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A Busy Day in Primary Care Fieldwork — from Home! ⟩
June 11, 2020, by Daniel

Fieldwork Life Hacks

This summer I am doing my level 2 fieldwork with my OTD residency site under the Lifestyle Redesign for Chronic Conditions Lab (LRCC) in primary care at the LAC+USC Adult West Clinic. This OTD residency is designed to expand occupational therapy (OT) services in primary care, focused on addressing chronic condition management among patients with diabetes and/or hypertension, using a Lifestyle Redesign® approach. This summer I am being trained by the current OTD Resident in preparation to take over the full caseload this Fall.

Currently, the primary care clinic does not have a video platform and we are not allowed to use Zoom to interact with patients, thus all of the appointments are three-way phone visits using Doximity (HIPAA compliant) with supervision from my clinical instructor (CI) through the phone and Zoom. I am able to lead appointments in English and Spanish, which is valuable for our predominantly Spanish speaking community at the clinic. The phone visits can be beneficial for some patients as they don’t have to travel far to get to their appointments and can talk to their providers from the comfort of their home. However, there are also barriers for our patients such as not having a quiet space at home or disconnected phone lines due to being unable to pay their phone bill as a result of the pandemic. We do our best to contact all our patients and provide as much support as possible to help them navigate these barriers and be able to manage their health.

Each day can look very different when doing telehealth in primary care, and below I wanted to share an example of a typical busy Wednesday! On this particular day, I started my day with an OTFP in-service learning about mental health when utilizing Lifestyle Redesign® approaches. Next, my CI and I started calling patients since we had done chart reviews the day before. During our phone visits, we discussed topics such as healthy eating, physical activity, stress management, medication adherence, habits and routines, resources, etc., to support their diabetes and/or hypertension diagnosis and overall health management. In the middle of the day we had consecutive meetings to discuss patient progress and how to better support them (care management); fieldwork/residency updates, logistics, and an opportunity to ask for guidance with clinical approaches (fieldwork supervision); and daily clinic updates and projects (daily brief). And perhaps you are wondering . . . when do you eat? Well, there are days when we don’t get an official lunch break, so we do our best to get food in between meetings! Thereafter, we began calling patients again for the rest of the day and documented in between appointments and during our assigned admin/documentation time at the end of the day.

Typical Wednesday

• 8-9AM – Occupational Therapy Faculty Practice (OTFP) In-Service
• 9-11AM — Patient Phone Visits
• 11AM-12PM — Care Management Meeting
• 12-1PM — Fieldwork Supervision Meeting
• 1:05-1:30PM — Clinic Daily Brief
• 1:30-4PM — Patient Phone Visits
• 4-5PM — Admin Time/Documentation

Tips for working from home

• Take stretch breaks: This is one of the most important things you can do for your body. Taking stretch breaks is important to prevent pain, aches, and cramps later on! You can even do stretches while sitting down.
• Snacks & water: Don’t forget to stay hydrated and have snacks in reach to have energy throughout the day!
• Ergonomics: Posture, posture, posture! Please take care of your bodies and follow proper posture and chair tips when working from home. This can easily be overlooked and if you don’t have fancy equipment, there are ways you can get creative! Your body will thank you later.
• Prepare meals: This can save you time on days when you may have a short lunch break or none at all!

I hope this paints a picture of what a busy day of telehealth primary care may look like! My intention is to be transparent with you all and share the good, the bad, and the busy days. I am often exhausted at the end of the day, but I am excited to continue to learn and the patients make it all worth it!

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