Student Blog
Level I Fieldworks ⟩
April 24, 2011, by Amanda
Experience everything OT!
Throughout your first year, you will have various opportunities to go out into the occupational therapy field — FIELDWORK! The word “fieldwork” sometimes throws people off, as it in part sounds like you are an archeologist going to excavate. When I explain what fieldwork is to those outside of our academic community, I describe it as an internship, specifically a clinical internship. In OT school you have two types of fieldworks, Level I and Level II. I will begin here to explain what Level I fieldworks entail.
Level I fieldworks are relatively brief and allow for greater exposure to the many practice areas and settings of occupational therapy. As I had volunteered and worked primarily in pediatric settings before beginning the program at USC, I decided to use Level I fieldworks as an opportunity to see what else was possible to do with a Master’s in OT. In my first year we had these Level I’s structured in two ways: the dose model and the immersion model. For my dose model, I went once a week (on Thursdays I had the day off from class) to an upper extremity and hand rehabilitation outpatient clinic. At this site I primarily observed, but the OT who I was placed with allowed for hands-on opportunities when the client was okay with it. This included anything from feeling tightness of muscles, ligaments, and joints after the healing of bones, seeing the different procedures after carpal tunnel release surgery, and talking to the clients about their experiences.
My first immersion model experience of level I fieldwork was spending everyday of one week in the field of psychosocial practice at a school for adolescents that are considered “at-risk.” This site aims to lead the teens to becoming healthy, independent, and productive members of the community. Occupational therapy played a role in re-engaging the students in healthy behaviors and social interactions and preferred occupations. This was my first time seeing OT in mental health practice and the OT I was with allowed me to plan and lead therapeutic group activities as well as helped me develop my documentation skills.
My second immersion model experience was in physical rehabilitation at a large hospital system. This time, the experience was structured so I went everyday for two weeks. Again, never having seen OT in the various levels of care, I really benefitted from this experience. Throughout my two weeks, I moved from acute care, to inpatient care, to transitional rehabilitation services, to outpatient care. It was amazing to see the breadth of OT skills depending on where a patient is in their recovery. I especially enjoyed the transitional rehabilitation services as it was based in a residential setting. This home was remodeled to house all aspects of rehabilitation. There was a conventional gym for therapeutic exercises, but OTs used the kitchen, community garden, study room, bathroom and places throughout the community for their interventions. I absolutely fell in love with the structure of therapy at this level of care for all the possibilities of OT and the emphasis on returning to the community.
If you are starting to worry about how all of this gets arranged — don’t! We have two fieldwork coordinators that are experts in placing students. My part in all this was for each of these 3 fieldwork opportunities I had to rank the practice area I wanted to see and then list the geographic locations in Los Angeles that were the best for me. The fieldwork coordinators took care of contacting the sites and securing placements for students. The time off from class during the semester is specifically scheduled for fieldwork, so you get to go to the sites and experience OT!
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Finals week! ⟩
April 24, 2011, by Helen
As we are in the midst of finishing finals in the second year of the program and studying for our comprehensive exam, everyone is getting increasingly anxious to graduate!
Several times I’ve been asked “are you ever worried about finding a job after graduation?” or “do you feel well prepared to start working once you graduate?” With a week left before graduation, and so many of my classmates mapping out their post-graduation plans, I am realizing how lucky we all have been for our time at USC. Nearly all my friends know what population they’d like to work with, what type of setting they prefer to work in, and are already interviewing — some are already employed. Others, like myself, are staying another year to complete the clinical doctorate program. Regardless of what path my classmates have chosen to take, I feel like the consensus is that everyone feels very excited to conquer the licensure exam and is anxious to begin practicing. In the past two years of the program we have been presented with so many opportunities to network and gain hands on practice experience that I do not feel any fear of being unable to find employment post graduation. This confidence in regards to future job opportunity stems from both the high demand for occupational therapists in various arenas and knowing that my education at USC has been great in providing my classmates and I a broad foundation to work in any OT setting.
I am very excited to be graduating in a week and am looking forward to starting the clinical doctorate program in the fall!
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AOTA National Conference ⟩
April 22, 2011, by Yao
A quick journey from a project at USC all the way to a national conference with over 50 other schools and countless practitioners.
Just last week I was in Philadelphia presenting a poster on a project that I had the opportunity to develop in our OT skills 3 class, but now I am back into the grind, with 3 weeks left until graduation. For the first time during my graduate school experience, I am finally beginning to understand and really feel how invaluable these past two years at USC have been.
It’s been a process, really. My road to realizing the opportunities that the occupational therapy community at USC has to offer started last June, when a classmate and I decided to take the skills 3 class project that we started in January 2010 and engage in an independent study elective with a faculty advisor. The process has been trying, and I was re-acquainted with the importance of time management. But all of our hard work culminated last week: In addition to receiving constant mentorship from various faculty members and access to departmental resources (e.g., poster production), we were both chosen to receive two of this year’s departmental scholarships to travel and present in Philadelphia during the national occupational therapy conference. Then came the day that we had to leave for Philadelphia, both faculty and students had talked about the hope and encouragement that everyone feels at the conference. This was going to be the first time that I stepped out into the OT world with more than 50 other OT schools gathering the knowledge that our peers and tenured members had to offer.
Seeing the amount of OTs in one place and seeing the welcome signs everywhere in Philadelphia with AOTA’s brand all over was inspiring. Throughout the conference we received the opportunity to talk and mingle with our fellow students and leaders in the profession. Never in one place have I seen so many people together with the same background working towards the same goal, the Centennial Vision. All of our two years of schooling has come to this; it has been to prepare us to work with and discuss our ideas and hopes for the future of our profession. We were taught to find resources within our own profession, find ways to access resources outside, and more importantly, to think beyond what is happening now. AOTA allowed for everyone to come together and discuss ideas, and with that opportunity I realized what USC has taught us. They have bestowed on us the ability to analyze a situation, organize, formulate, and articulate our ideas. But most importantly, they have taught us to not be afraid to begin a discussion that may lead to further action and not be afraid to collaborate. USC has educated us to appreciate OT for all it is and has helped us mold how we want to become as a practitioner and a leader in the profession. In the words of Dr. Clark we are a pixel in the whole picture that we know of OT, working together with other professionals across the nation to make OT a clearer picture for everyone.
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Wrapping up the End of the Program ⟩
April 20, 2011, by Carissa
Time flies by so fast! I can’t believe that next week will be our last week of classes. Looking back at the semester, I feel that so much has happened and so much is still happening. My lifestyle redesign course has really helped me to work on balancing my personal routine and creating healthier habits. The results have been maintained for the past few months . . . I hope I can continue it outside of the structure of my school schedule! While experiencing this class as a client and student, I also learned many professional skills. Last week, I successfully held my first structured group on how to create a healthy workspace for optimal functioning. With regards to my research classes, I have been able to learn so much about creating an evidence-based practice. In my qualitative research course, I am currently finishing a group project where we interviewed several seniors who have experienced spousal loss. We were able to gain insight into their lives with their spouses, as well as their current lives in relation to their experience of occupation. I laughed and cried through the in-depth stories provided in the interviews. This is one amazing thing about occupational therapy: getting the chance to really get to know our clients and learn about the things that really matter to them. Also, in the process of learning about others, I have learned so much about myself. Our program has worked to build me as a professional and has also guided me into a greater understanding of myself. I am so thankful for the personal and professional skills that I will carry with me into my career and for the rest of my life.
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Be Active and Be Happy ⟩
April 17, 2011, by Austen
As you may already know, running is part of my daily routine. I roll out of bed every morning and get outside for a little jog, rain or shine. It wakes me up, gives me energy, and clears my mind. Days without a jog in the morning just are not the same. I feel lethargic and lazy, I do not eat as healthy, and I am not as alert and energetic. I had to take some time off from running last week, and I realized the negative effects not exercising has on my lifestyle.
I woke up Tuesday morning and set out on my typical loop around campus. Around one mile in, both of my legs started cramping. My shins felt like they could not relax and my calves were tight. It was so uncomfortable that I could barely run 2 miles, when my daily mileage usually reaches 4. After jogging/walking the rest of the way home, I noticed my left knee was stiff and swelling. I have had meniscus repair surgery done on that knee, but it usually does not act up when I run. Something was up, but I could not figure out what the issue was.
I got up Wednesday morning and tried again. No luck. Leg cramps and tightness. At that point I gave up and decided to take a couple days off. During those 2 days, I noticed a huge change in what my lifestyle is like without exercise. It is much unhealthier in all aspects. I eat more, I lay around more, I watch more TV, and it just feels terrible! There is a physical feeling inside that I do not like, it is hard to explain. But, I realized how exercise affects me both physically and mentally. It gives me more energy and makes me a happier person in general. It makes me feel alive and well. There are so many things about exercise that make me feel good that it will need to continue to be a daily activity throughout my life. Interesting how much you learn about the importance of something when it is taken away, right?
I had a sneaking suspicion that my leg issues were related to old running shoes. So during those couple days off, I bought some new ones. I tried them out yesterday on a light jog, and it made a huge difference! I was worried I was having muscular or skeletal problems, but I do not think that is case anymore. And yesterday was a great day after that run. I felt rejuvenated, I wanted to be outside, I felt alive. And my body craved nutritious and healthy meals, which always makes me feel better. I love running! Even though it is not always easy and can be boring (especially running around South Central LA), it feels so good once you are done.
Go be active! It feels great! 😊
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