Student Blog
School/Life Balance

Greetings everyone! ⟩
August 31, 2015, by Jodie

School/Life Balance

Hello readers!

I am very excited to be writing my first blog as a student ambassador. Occupational therapy has been my dream job for as long as I can remember. I am very lucky to have two aunts who are both OTs and introduced me to such an amazing profession very early on in my life (6th grade to be exact!). All throughout high school and college, I had one main goal in mind: to attend USC’s #1 ranked occupational therapy graduate program. This was the fuel to my academic endeavors and every day that I spend in this program further solidifies my decision to pursue such a meaningful career.

Here is a glimpse at my first year in the program!

This was just a small snapshot of my amazing first year in the program, I hope you enjoyed the pictures! Stay tuned for more about my adventures during my second year in the program and thank you for reading my first blog! Fight on.

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Electing the Right Electives ⟩
February 21, 2015, by Leila

Classes School/Life Balance

When it comes to your second to last semester of OT school, choosing electives can be a lot of fun! However, it can also be tough if you have many interests. All of them had sparked a bit of my interest throughout my time in OT school at USC. I found selecting electives to be a challenging experience because I wanted to soak up information from many of them! In a previous blog post I mentioned the process of selecting electives, so in this post I wanted to share with you some vidoes/photos in action of my time in these courses.

OT 574 Enhancing Motor Control for Occupation
This course is AWESOME! Students taking this course have the opportunity to understand the principles and methods for remediation of movement impairments following upper motor neuron lesions (ex. Stroke). Our time is spent at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center composed of lectures, laboratory experiences, discussions, etc. This course has a lot of hands-on components, which is great for me as a kinesthetic learner.

Here is a brief video of me trying Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS), also known as neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) on myself. EMS can be used on some patients to elicit muscle contraction using electric impulses.

OT 578 Therapeutic Communication for the Healthcare Practitioner
For 2 units, this course has definitely taught me principles and practice of a variety of therapeutic communication skills, including motivational interviewing, mindfulness, and cognitive behavioral therapy. Much of health care today involves helping individuals manage conditions whose outcomes can be influenced by lifestyle change. After learning aspects of motivational interviewing (MI), I find myself putting MI into practice with individuals that I’m working with now! We just had our last class this past Tuesday ☹.

OT 583 Lifestyle Redesign
This was definitely on my list during the selection process due to the unique nature of this course. The practice of Lifestyle Redesign is an innovative treatment approach that was developed here at USC! Lifestyle Redesign is the process of acquiring healthier habits and routines in your everyday life. I really love learning how to collaborate with patients to address their needs, provide education and help them set and attain their goals! What is awesome about this approach is that it really allows the patient to be in the driver’s seat, and the occupational therapist as the passenger. ☺ As we learn the components of Lifestyle Redesign in this course, we also get to practice by working with one of our classmates to really implement lifestyle change in their own lives!

OT 500 Optimal Living with Multiple Sclerosis
I have nothing but great things to say about this course! As occupational therapy students we get to learn how to work with people who have Multiple Sclerosis (MS) using Lifestyle Redesign intervention. This course allows me to utilize the skills I have learned in both my OT 578 Therapeutic Communication for the Healthcare Practitioner course, as well as OT 538 Lifestyle Redesign. We also gain experience running a group module, along with working individually with one to two participants from the community (recruited by the National MS Society). We also get to work with 2nd year physical therapy students and co-treat twice during the semester! I have been working with two participants this semester and the process has been great! I really love the experience I am gaining through this course.

This is just a taste of some of the course the division has to offer to students, there are plenty of others you can choose from.

This semester has been quite busy for me, hence the lack of blogging. ☹ I know, shame on me! Regardless, I still try to make some time for me by engaging in some of the occupations I love: ☺

Fin.

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Time is going by too quickly! ⟩
January 31, 2015, by Bindi

Beginnings and Endings School/Life Balance

Time is going by way too fast! It was just a few months back when I moved to a new country to pursue my master’s degree in occupational therapy, and here I am today looking for hotels and making reservations for my family to attend my graduation, which is in a couple of months!

I understand why time is going by so quickly though — I am busy, I am occupied and I am enjoying it. This semester has a much heavier workload compared to the first semester. Most people cringe at the thought of more work, but not me. The more productive I am the better I feel about myself. I don’t see many of my classmates anymore as we are immersed into the electives with the rest of the second-years. We are being pushed out of our cozy comfort zone, and finally interacting with the other occupational therapy students.

A lot of good things are happening this semester, as we slowly edge towards reality. I bought a car to help me commute to Torrance thrice a week for the Sensory Integration Certification Course at Pediatric Therapy Network. It is hard to believe that in a couple of months we are going to be sitting for the NBCOT exams and looking for a job as licensed and registered OTs and also a certified SI therapist. It is going to be an exciting time and the light at the end of the tunnel is keeping me going!

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Giving Back, Looking Forward, Enjoying the Present ⟩
January 19, 2015, by Jonathan

Getting Involved School/Life Balance

Greetings everyone! Hope you all had an amazing holiday season and have gotten 2015 started on the right note! As for me, my break went by super fast . . . but I guess that’s how you know it was time well spent! I did choose to stay local over the break, since I had a bunch of family and friends in town, but it was nice to just be home and relax/recharge in preparation for what will be my final semester in the master’s program!

With that said, I am feeling rejuvenated to finish off this last semester strong mainly because I got to engage in some of my favorite occupations over the break, such as hiking, running, playing music, and of course hanging with my friends and family. In addition, I also had the opportunity to experience some pretty amazing moments over break. My 9 month old nephew took his first steps! I like to think (emphasis on like to think) that I may have had something to do with his developmental milestone, since he was pretty much my practice subject for all that I was learning in the pediatrics immersion. 😂 I also had the opportunity to see Conan O’Brien (who I happen to think is the funniest man on the planet) at one of his TV show tapings, courtesy of my friend Brian, who’s also in the program.

Lastly, one of the most heartfelt moments of the break was when I had the opportunity to deliver donated toys to some children who needed it the most. Every year during the holiday season, my sisters and I have a tradition of donating toys to the children of Los Angeles County USC hospital. This year, as the USC Occupational Therapy and Science Council Philanthropy Chair, I chose to open up this donation project to the faculty, staff, and my fellow students of the program. The donation project was also expanded to benefit the children of the VIP (Violence Intervention Program), a wellness center down the street from our campus that provides support and advocacy services for children who are victims of abuse, neglect, domestic violence, sexual assault, and children who are placed in the foster-care system. The response was nothing short of amazing! As I was putting the toys together, I could not help but be overcome with joy because my colleagues, teachers, and co-workers’ generosity served as a reminder of what the holiday season is truly about: spreading a positive impact to bring joy into the lives of others. All together, we collected over 100 toys that were donated to the well deserving children of the Violence Intervention Program, creating some priceless holiday memories for these families. Here’s a snapshot of the donations!

Shoutout to the person who donated the doggy! Ha I kidd, that’s my dogggg.

As I embark on my final semester of the program, please tune in for more blog updates from my fellow ambassadors and I! There’s a lot to look forward to this semester, including electives, OT month, my leadership capstone externship in the Philippines, and of course, graduation! As for now though, I will enjoy the ride while I can, and I’ll be sure to document these experiences so that way you’re riding shotgun with me. 😎

Until next time,
— Jonathan

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‘Tis the season to relax! ⟩
December 16, 2014, by Brenda

School/Life Balance

The first semester of our second year has come to an end. Mine came last Friday at 3:00pm to be exact. This semester was definitely a challenging one. Nevertheless, I am ready for this holiday break. Let the festivities begin! I plan to catch up on sleep and enjoy my time with loved ones. Hope you all have a safe and relaxing holiday season!

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