Student Blog
Paula
The Hand You’re Dealt ⟩
January 28, 2013, by Paula
So far this semester, it has been interesting to experience the different teaching styles of the professors in the elective courses. For the most part, this is the first time that the students have had a chance to take classes with these instructors. After being a student for pretty much your entire life, you begin to find certain techniques that work really well for you, and others which do not. I’ve always enjoyed seeing what teaching strategies our instructors bring to the table in order to harness our highest potential and attention. This could be a special challenge with the new schedule of night classes this semester.
In our first few meetings of the Hand Rehabilitation elective, our professor encouraged the class to take a few minutes to think of what occupation would be most impacted if we were to seriously injure our hands. I always have felt that this is an awesome type of exercise to develop skills of empathy. Hearing the variety of occupations my classmates came up with was really interesting and gave an insight to the potential range of importance that can be placed on an activity by the individual. The discussion made me think about the many important activities and moments in my life, past and present, which would be altered if I were to have a serious hand injury. It also made me think of the many ways that hands are used in our lives such as for self expression and in social and family roles (some uses which have been important in my life are pictured below). I had a very hard time settling on something that would make me feel like I “couldn’t” do something — I began to realize that I was set on the fact that whatever would happen, I would work through it as much as was possible and find ways to adapt my occupational involvement so that I could still fit in the aspects of my life which make me feel like myself. The discussion eventually led to a question of resiliency, temperament and feelings of an internal locus of control (don’t you love when all of your coursework relates and you can create these cool webs of knowledge? ;]). What would I do if I had an injury keeping me out of my sports of swimming and water polo? It isn’t always about adapting the environment or introducing a device to assist function. Sometimes it is more about adjusting the goals and the attitudes associated with the barriers imposed on the individual. All of this was running through my mind when I realized we were starting in on another portion of the lecture. Here’s to a semester of electives!
“The proverb warns that ‘you should not bite the hand that feeds you.’ But maybe you should if it prevents you from feeding yourself” — Thomas S. Szasz
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Welcome back! ⟩
January 16, 2013, by Paula
Community Living in LA School/Life Balance
It is a bit scary how quickly 4 weeks can go by — especially when it is the last time that you will have no obligations for an unforeseen period of time. After a month of break, we have all returned to the Division here at USC and are settling into new class and work schedules. It has been great to see everyone again! Some congratulations were in order for classmates with exciting news from the break — engagements, OTD residency decisions and summer fieldwork placements. Each of the professors I have had class with thus far have commented about how close we all seem, since it is very difficult to quiet the chatter and hugging at the beginning of a new class. I guess it goes to show what happens when you throw 100+ OT students into an auditorium.
Over the break, I had a wonderful time catching up with family and friends. Many adventures were had and I was happy to play tourist in my hometown for a while, going sight-seeing in San Francisco and other Bay Area cities. My sister was gracious enough to allow some friends and I to use her home as our own for a weekend so we were all able to try out “city living” for that period of time. Definitely a highlight of my break — what a wonderful, beautiful city. I was also able to spend a fair amount of time in San Luis Obispo (my favorite non-home location, as many of you know) :]. It was great to relax there with friends and see Occupational Therapists who I had the opportunity to work with prior to entering this program.
The break was rejuvenating, restful and full of new memories, just as I had hoped it would be. I did find myself anxious to return to school, who wouldn’t be ready to kick off the LAST semester of graduate school?? I look forward to the electives which we have the opportunity to take this semester as second year students. I have chosen to take the SI, motor control, hands and dysphagia courses so you can bet that I will be sharing my experiences with all of you!
Enjoy this snapshot of my time spent over break!
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The Circle of Life ⟩
December 29, 2012, by Paula
The long break from classes has been a great opportunity to accomplish goals from the semester which are pushed aside for studying and more accessible study breaks with friends. It has been so great spending this time at home with my family and visiting with friends from different points in my life. My family made it through the whirlwind of Christmas celebrations — spread through about 5 days of festivities. With things calming down a bit, this week was the perfect time for a date with my mom in San Francisco. We traveled in to the city and browsed the Ferry Building on the Embarcadero, grabbed lunch and then went to the matinee of The Lion King at the Orpheum Theater. Having grown up in the Bay Area and spent almost 20 years living in the area, it is still nice to act like tourists occasionally.
The show was amazing. I do not have any background in theater, unlike many of my peers (and fellow-student ambassador, Kendra, who is definitely a pro) and I have only been to two performances but I have so enjoyed it each time. The effects, costumes, and coordination of all sights and sounds is just mind-blowing! This performance was unique to the one I had previously seen because there were children in the cast. As I sat watching with my mom, I was taken back to my childhood — which was full of Disney movies — and I wondered how things may have been different if I had been interested in theater instead of the many lifelong occupations I still cherish and pursue. Here were 9 year old children involved in a touring production who were bringing it all to the table and loving it! It was so great to see and I found myself wondering if their parents were also in theater and if the adults in the cast had also begun their careers in this art as a child. This job is clearly rigorous, with frequency of performances and the demands on the body and mind to commit to characters, and it is incredible that these professionals do what they do. Viewing and experiencing these performances is a new occupation of mine — although it may not come to fruition until I have a salary. :] I encourage you to give a new occupation a try before the new year!
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Finally Finals ⟩
December 11, 2012, by Paula
Finals week is here and man, can you feel the stress. As students make their way through study guides and coffee canisters, it is important for us all to incorporate a bit of balance in each day and to remain mindful of the reason that we are in school. It always helps me to have an endpoint or something to look forward to.
For the second years, this may be the fact that we will be done with the program this coming May (wow!) or that we have Spring electives to look forward to. For the first years, they have just conquered their first practice immersion (yay!) and are creating bonds with one another which will continue to provide them with support, laughter, and distractions. I know that all of my classmates are eagerly awaiting the four week break that we have from classes which begins at the end of the week.
I have always been a planner, list-maker and extremely talented procrastinator. These characteristics come out full throttle during finals. In order to create some balance for myself, I have focused my energy into study breaks which include exercise, fresh air, packing, and planning for the break. I plan to spend the four weeks recharging for our final semester and catching up on the occupations I neglected through the semester when other tasks took priority. To be sure that I revisit these occupations, I have made some personal goals for myself to tackle over the break: read a book for fun; visit Yosemite; spend a weekend in San Francisco; cook and bake old family recipes; visit the wineries in Livermore; relax with friends and family; see the infamous Christmas lights at Deacon Dave’s (345,200 lights this year!); and go adventuring in Donner with some great friends.
What goals do you hope to accomplish this holiday season?
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Older Driver Safety Awareness Week ⟩
December 3, 2012, by Paula
December 3-7th, 2012 is AOTA’s Older Driver Safety Awareness Week! Driving rehabilitation is a common area of practice for OTs and can include identification of unique challenges and strategies to improve safety well as analysis of the role that driving plays in someone’s life. The goal of this week is to advocate for older adults who still are driving and to educate everyone of the important relationship between access to transportation and active participation in one’s community. Mobility allows one to remain active, involved, motivated and confident in their abilities. This in turn helps improve well-being and reduces the barriers which are often imposed upon this age group due to stigma. We all realize that certain changes take place as we age and it is important to keep in mind that these changes are normal and that they will eventually happen to each of us. I encourage you all to be mindful and to help educate on the importance of driving safety instead of drawing assumptions solely based on someone’s age.
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