Student Blog

Goodbye, Summer! Hello, Fall semester! ⟩
August 26, 2014, by Claire

Fieldwork What are OS/OT?

Hello again!

It has been a fantastic summer full of learning, and it’s good to be back. To pick up where we left off from my first post, commencement was great! Dr. Elizabeth Yerxa was our commencement speaker, and I felt like all of us were a little starstruck because she is such a distinguished member in the field of occupational therapy. The following Monday, I began my first Level II Fieldwork at a private pediatric clinic called PlaySteps in Northern California. It was an incredible experience because I was able to have some kids on my own caseload and the occupational therapists there provided great mentorship. I learned pretty quickly that observing a therapist working with a kid is very different from actually treating the kid yourself. It seems to require many years of experience to have reflexes as fast as the therapists’ that I observed during fieldwork! One of the highlights from this summer was being able to build up rapport with the kids and think of creative activities that match with their interests. For example, one kid that was on my caseload had difficulty keeping up with his peers during writing tasks and we worked on handwriting together. He told me that he was reading the Magic Tree House book series recently, which I was excited about because I read them when I was a kid too! We decoded mystery notes with number-letter codes. It was fun! One fulfilling moment was when we finished a session, and a kid casually commented while leaving, “I like OT.” WHOOHOO! One challenge for me was maintaining flexibility with how a session may go — sometimes a kid doesn’t show up, other times an activity simply doesn’t go as planned. I definitely felt myself grow in the skills of a pediatric occupational therapist, but also recognized that there are many many many things left to learn.

Here’s to another great school year!

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Back in full effect! ⟩
August 26, 2014, by Brenda

Fieldwork

Hello everyone! It’s hard to believe that only a few years ago I was living in the bay area wondering what my next move was going to be. And now here I am! I have really enjoyed my time here at USC and look forward to what this new school year will bring. This summer I had the opportunity to complete my Level II fieldwork at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center in Downey, Ca and it was awesome! I really enjoyed the acute rehab setting and learned so much from my patients. I am excited to continue learning the beauty and wonders occupational therapy holds. This profession is simply the best and I am so grateful to be a part of it.

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Aha Moment ⟩
August 25, 2014, by Leila

School/Life Balance What are OS/OT?

Hello, Hola, Aloha, Shalom, Bonjour, Ciao, Ola, Merhaba, Guten tag! :cheese: Welcome to my . . . wait for it . . . very first blog! It comes with great pleasure that I have the opportunity to report to you all on my experiences as an occupational therapy student here at USC! Before I begin to tell the tale, I must share with you what led me to the wonderful world of occupational therapy.

Occupational therapy? Say what? I actually graduated from Cal Poly Pomona in International Business!

See, there I am on a cake. After graduating, I went on to work, intern, volunteer and within a couple of years I started to realize that a career within business wasn’t for me. I first heard the term occupational therapy while speaking to my older cousin about her daughter Maria* with down syndrome. Maria was working with an occupational therapist named Terri* to help her master skills for independence through self-care, fine and gross motor skills, school performance, play, and leisure activities. Over the years I became so intrigued and excited to hear about Maria’s progress with her therapy. With the help of her occupational therapist, Maria is not only able to participate but excel in activities such as dance, cheer, and acting. Terri’s success with Maria has become one of my motivating factors to becoming an occupational therapist. Who knew there is a career out there to help people live their life?! A light bulb went off in my head and I decided to pursue my journey to become an occupational therapist.

Fortunately, I’m here at the #1 Occupational Therapy program in the nation. It’s crazy to think that two years ago I didn’t know where I was going to end up. Luckily, I found OT. I feel extremely lucky to be here among so many supportive and brilliant people.

Here is a glimpse of my 1st school year:

I look forward to sharing with you all my last year as an OT graduate student! Tune in . . .

*names have been changed

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One year down, one to go! ⟩
August 21, 2014, by Kristy

Beginnings and Endings Classes Fieldwork

As I begin my first level II fieldwork, I slowly make the transition from a “first year” to a “second year” — you’re kidding right?!? As you may know, the program here at USC is just over two years, in which we spend our first summer in a intensive kick start to grad school, fall and spring in two immersions, second summer in our first level II fieldwork, followed by our last immersion in the fall, a spring semester full of electives, and then our last summer level II fieldwork. Not too shabby! (Follow this link for an in-depth description.) I just cannot believe that I have already finished up my first year here! Let me tell you, time flies when you’re having fun, especially in occupational therapy! The “second years” always seemed so knowledgeable, and always knew what was going on in the world of OT; I was in awe of them when I started the program and asked a million questions! Now I realize I will be the one getting the questions and providing answers. Am I ready to pass on the knowledge I have learned in the program from my courses, from my professors, from my fieldwork experiences, from student organizations? I think so!

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One Step Closer ⟩
August 21, 2014, by Claire

Fieldwork Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

It is a couple days before USC Commencement 2014! It’s hard to believe that my time as an undergraduate at USC is officially coming to an end. “Officially,” because I feel like I’ve been done with my undergrad for forever, but now I’m finally getting the diploma! Hooray! People often get confused about my class standing, actually. (“So . . . you’re both an undergrad and grad student right now?”) I technically finished all my undergraduate credits in my third year and this past year was my first year Master’s. When I tell friends that I’m staying another year, they think I’m a super senior when actually it’s to wrap up the master’s degree in occupational therapy. Talk about some identity crisis!

So, we are done with the first year in the program!! Most of us have two weeks off until the start of Level II fieldwork. This year has been absolutely amazing. I befriended so many talented classmates with a huge variety of backgrounds that all the passion to become occupational therapists. The faculty has lots of experience (seriously, mad respect for them). The two immersions that I went through this year were mental health and pediatrics. This summer, my Level II fieldwork will be at a pediatric clinic in Northern California. Part of me is super excited and another part of me is going EEPS! I am sure it will be a very valuable learning experience, and I’m looking forward to it.

Looking back to my first moments at USC, it has been so cool to see how OT is now a much more well-known area of study among the students. When I came in to USC with a Pre-Occupational Therapy emphasis, I remember needing to explain what OT is to basically every person that I met. (Wow, this is a major throwback to four years ago. I’ll try not to be too sentimental.) Now, I’m meeting a lot of first and second year undergrads who are already applying into the OT program, which is awesome! I am aware that the program is becoming increasingly competitive, and some of my advice to undergrads is to get involved! I was active in the USC Pre-OT club, which was a great way to see OT in practice. USC OT elective classes are informative, fun, and a good way to meet faculty (hint: letters of recs!). Volunteering and getting as much exposure to OT is also definitely recommended — that’s how I first learned about OT too! I was in high school trying to collect some community service hours to graduate and I met OTs at the center that I was volunteering at. I loved the idea of improving health and development through fun (we were working with children), did some research about OT, and found myself here at USC.

There’s so much to learn still about OT! I will be keeping you updated as the summer goes on! Congratulations to the Class of 2014, hooray, everyone!

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