Student Blog
Classes

Babies! ⟩
September 12, 2016, by Jessica

Classes

Coming into OT school, I was pretty sure I wanted to do pediatrics. I’ve worked with kids in almost all of the jobs I’ve had, in different capacities. So I was super excited for this semester, when it was finally my cohort’s turn to take the pediatric immersion course. Throughout this semester I’ll likely be blogging about all the fun stuff I’m learning in pediatrics — today is focused on positioning babies!

What’s awesome about the labs is that our professors have brought in real children into the lab space in order for us to see how to deliver assessments and how typically developing children interact and play. This past week, our lab focused on assessments for early intervention and how to position infants in order to facilitate proper development for play. Before the real babies came in, we were given doll babies to practice positioning them in different positions (supine, prone, sitting, standing, side-lying, crawling, carrying, etc.). Once the real babies came in, it was game over. All attention went to the adorable little ones, an 8 month old and a 4 month old. We even got a chance to hold and play with them, which was definitely the highlight of my week. Before this class, I didn’t realize how different positions can impact the development of babies’ muscles and bones, and ultimately their ability to meet their developmental milestones. I also didn’t realize how much growth babies go through in their first year, and the nuanced differences between infants just a few months apart. OTs have such a pivotal role in educating caregivers on how to hold and position their babies to facilitate healthy development. Having only experienced working with older children (ages 8+), I’m excited to learn more about opportunities to work in early intervention and how to create collaborative relationships with families.

Since I couldn’t take a picture of the cute real babies, here’s a picture of the slightly creepy doll baby we used to practice.

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My Favorite Summer Occupation! ⟩
July 15, 2016, by Megan

Classes Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

One of my all-time favorite occupations is working with kids. This week, I was fortunate enough to help out at a summer day-camp program. I have been involved with this program for 8 years now, and I have got to say it is one of the highlights of my summer. This year has been exciting and different, also, in that I have been able to apply material from the Lifespan Development and Psychology courses I took last semester. Both of these courses (which we take in the Bachelor’s to Master’s program) address fundamental aspects of the development of children, and have been so applicable in daily life this week.

One of my favorite parts about studying to become an OT is how the coursework can be applied to individuals I meet each day, across the lifespan. Even simple activities like working for a summer day-camp are able to reinforce and practically display the material I have learned as an OT major thus far.

I was especially excited this year to be working with a group of crazy, cautious, and adorable TWO-year-olds!! These little ones take a lot of energy and patience, but my heart just melts to see them grinning from ear to ear as we do various crafts, games, lessons and songs.

Not to mention, craft time this week looked a lot like the classrooms here that are currently set up for Creativity, Craft and Activity Analysis — a course the Entry Level Master’s students are currently taking! 😊

Another aspect of OT I have needed to use this week is creativity. Just as an OT takes each patient’s needs into consideration to establish a meaningful treatment plan, I have had to alter my approach when working one-on-one with each child. The toddlers in my group vary in their ability to verbally communicate, follow directions, complete activities . . . or even sit still for over 30 seconds. With this in mind, creativity has improved my ability to communicate with each child and ensured that our group has a productive and fun week!

Nothing I would rather do this week than hang out with these cute kids! Two-year-olds can be tiring, but SO much fun at the same time! If you have some free time and love kids as much as I do, I highly recommend volunteering at a day-camp or summer program!

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The POT of LUCK at the End of The Year Rainbow ⟩
April 28, 2016, by Rashelle

Beginnings and Endings Classes Community What are OS/OT?

Today is officially my last day of classes within the the Two-Year Master of Arts degree program for Occupational Therapy! This week my biggest stressors were preparing enough food to accommodate all of the potlucks that we have in celebration!

On Monday, the second year bible study leaders handed off the torch to the first year leaders with a wonderful picnic.

On Tuesday, we had our final practicum in OT 599: Occupation-Based Adult Neurorehabilitation, then celebrated with a giant feast!

Then, today for my final class assignment, I will facilitate a group in OT 583: Lifestyle Redesign. I am a member of the group focused on, “Sensory Strategies for Wellness,” which Joe had previously mentioned in his blog. To lead this session I prepared different food items for my group members to sample. Each item was intentionally picked to serve as either an alerting or calming gustatory stimuli, in order to regulate one’s emotions and stress throughout the day.

While my session is targeting taste as a sensory strategy for wellness, my classmates have led the groups prior, which discuss the other senses. Thus, to summarize and provide closure to our group, I also created this worksheet to remind everyone of what we have learned throughout our semester.

Essentially, we built a toolkit of sensory strategies, to serve as a visual reminder, whenever we experience those emotions listed. I can’t wait to be able to utilize this with clients in the near future!

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Fun Fridays: Fave Occupations Edition ⟩
April 22, 2016, by Joe

Classes What are OS/OT?

To cap off our Lifestyle Redesign course, we develop our own 5 week group program as a team. Each team gets to decide the theme or lifestyle area they want to address as a group; some group topics include “sensory strategies for wellness,” “life management skills” (e.g., finances, time management, etc.), and “healthy eating.” My group theme is “exploring recreation,” so each week, one of us leads the rest of the group in trying out a new recreational or leisure activity. Here’s a peak at some faves.

Check us out with our hip scarves! Our Lifestyle Redesign professor, Camille Dieterle, joined us in the dance too, but we were having too much fun to take any action shots.

Our group is also going to explore cooking, coloring, and gymnastics. It’s a really fun class, but I’m about ready for a nap . . .

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Rehabilitation with Motor Control ⟩
February 19, 2016, by Heather

Classes What are OS/OT?

Hello Springtime!

Apologies for my blogging absence these past few weeks – I have been extremely immersed in my classes. I am absolutely thrilled about my course load this semester. I am taking two required courses, Advanced Seminar in Occupational Science and Leadership Capstone. The electives that I am taking are Motor Control, Physical Agent Modalities, Hand Rehabilitation, and an Independent Study in Human Anatomy. The classes overlap very well, and I find myself learning a great deal in the areas of practice that I am most passionate about.

The Motor Control course takes place at Rancho Los Amigos Hospital, or as we call it, “Rancho.” Rancho is well known for its rehabilitation program, especially its occupational therapy programs. Many of the case studies that we have learned about in class have come straight from patients at Rancho, or from our professor’s clinical experience working at Rancho. Many of USC’s OT doctorate candidates and doctors practice at Rancho, and are actively involved in the Motor Control class.

The Motor Control class is focused on stroke rehabilitation in Rancho’s inpatient unit. This is very meaningful for me because of my history of working with my grandma after she suffered from a stroke. My experience of working with her is what led me to occupational therapy in the first place. It made me realize that I liked being in the position of helping others as I witnessed her recovery. Sometimes it takes a crisis to realize what you are good at.

So far in Motor Control, I have drawn upon my knowledge of human anatomy, physiology, kinesiology, and body biomechanics. We are largely focused on getting certain muscle groups activated in our clients. (Side bar: we practice on each other for a few weeks before we are introduced to actual patients in the second half of the course). We are taught that before we can work on ADLs/IADLs with a patient, we need to ensure that they can move in certain ways for functional performance. We begin by facilitating movement at the pelvis, and then move on to the trunk and scapula. If we cannot facilitate movement easily, we mobilize these certain areas which requires a more hands-on approach. Additionally, we learn how to use orthotics and tools that have proven to be effective in stroke rehabilitation. With practice and clinical experience, we will begin to realize what treatment techniques will be most useful for our patients to regain function.

I have learned from Motor Control, and from my Grandma’s recovery, that the basic tenet of stroke rehabilitation stems from the idea that all activity should be purposeful in recovery. I look forward to working directly with the patients in the second half of the course.

This class has truly united my vocation with my avocation, and I am so thrilled to be even further along my road to becoming a licensed OT in just a few months!

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