Student Blog
Classes

Electives! ⟩
January 28, 2014, by Jen

Classes

The first two weeks back at school flew by. The course I’m taking this semester are:

• Hand Rehabilitation
• Dysphagia Across the Lifespan: Pediatrics Through Geriatrics
• Leadership Capstone
• Advanced Seminar in Occupational Science
• Contemporary Issues: Occupational Therapy in Early Intervention
• Independent Study at California Children’s Services (CCS)

What is so great about this semester is that the majority of courses I am taking are electives, which means I was able to customize my schedule to my interests. In my Early Intervention class, we had an assignment that involved us reading an autobiography written by a person who grew up with a disability. The story I read is titled “I’m Walking as Straight as I Can: Transcending Disability in Hollywood and Beyond” by Geri Jewell (who had a role in the show The Facts of Life). I found the story to be extremely interesting. Geri Jewel has cerebral palsy (CP) which is a motor impairment syndrome that arises during the early years of a person’s development. I am also getting a chance to work with numerous children with CP in my independent study at CCS. It is great to get to learn about a topic in class, read about a person’s actually experience, and also have the opportunity to have hands-on experience.

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Tai Chi and (Chai) Tea ⟩
January 23, 2014, by Clarissa

Classes Community Diversity What are OS/OT?

This morning, I saw a group of older adults practicing Tai Chi in a park nearby my house and I felt so happy! Why, you ask? I took a class last semester geared towards creating a community project. My group members and I interviewed experts, talked to community members, and designed a program for (you guessed it) Tai Chi!

Older adults are often at risk for falls and social isolation. In our research regarding Tai Chi, we found evidence in the literature supporting Tai Chi’s positive effects on fall prevention in older adults — it helps with factors contributing to falls like balance, coordination, and fear of falling. To address fall risk and social isolation, we decided to write a proposal for creating a Tai Chi class followed by time to socialize with tea. The social relationships built through tea time could also motivate the older adults to join our class.

We decided our target population would be older adults in Monterey Park, a city just east of downtown LA. The city has a 66.9% Asian population. In our research, we also found that Asians were less likely to talk about their lifestyle to their health providers so they may have needs that aren’t being met. The cultural familiarity of Tai Chi (and the tea!) may work to encourage their attendance to our program.

To explain the title of this blog post — my group really wanted to name our project Tai Chi and Chai Tea but had to very sadly let go of it. Chai tea’s sugar content may not be the best for older adults. The title lives on here. Woohoo!

Here’s a picture of me and my awesome group on poster presentation day!

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Spring is in the air ⟩
January 21, 2014, by Rob

Classes Externships International Living in LA

Spring is in the air. Not just Spring semester, but the feel of Spring. An unseasonable warm period has flowers blooming, students wearing shorts, and the ants at my house on the prowl. If you live anywhere east of California, I’m sorry. I know it’s cold. My parents in Chicago sent me pictures from when the daily high was not getting above 0 degrees. That’s not normal even for Chicago.

I’ll tell you, it makes me even happier to be in southern California!

Spring is in the air. In a few short weeks, I will be leaving for Ireland for our Leadership Externship. The experience is a student-organized two-week externship, which means it can be whatever you want it to be. Some of us are going internationally and many more are staying within the United States. For me, I wanted to get more education experience and see how occupational therapy and disability are taught in another country. I’m going to be at the University College Cork for the two weeks and then I’ll have part of Spring Break to explore the country on my own.

Plus, they have a juggling team!

Our final semester is focused on electives, giving students a chance to focus on one or several areas that they find interesting. I have three general areas of interest: education, disability studies, and older adults. For the first two, I’m working on independent studies focused on teaching pedagogy and disability education in occupational therapy. My other electives are Universal Design and a course on housing and older adults through the Davis School of Gerontology.

All in all, it promises to be a fun semester.

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We Are Back!!! ⟩
January 16, 2014, by Ryan

Classes Externships School/Life Balance

I can’t believe it has been a month already, full of relaxing and enjoying friends and family. I had a pretty good break, but it sure went by fast. I am from the area so I was able to work in the Admissions office a couple of days. I was so glad to be helpful to the Admissions team during the busy time of the holidays and admitting students for fall 2014. Then I went to Tucson, Arizona for the Christmas holiday to visit my uncle, aunt, cousins, and my cousin’s kids. The weather was great and I enjoyed spending time with family that I don’t get to see very often. I watched a good amount of television as well. I caught up on some movies and shows that I never get to watch during the semester. I also took a lot of yoga during the break which was an awesome way to relax over the break after such a jam backed fall semester. However, I am excited to be back at school. This semester is my last semester (Holy Cow?!!!), and as second year students in our spring semester we are able to choose between 12-18 units of electives within areas of interest. I chose 12 units giving me a lighter schedule this semester and I chose a variety of classes that I am excited to learn more about. For example, I am taking Sensory Integration theory course which can count towards a certification if I am interested in continuing after I graduate. Also, I am taking an Acute Care course where I am able to observe OTs at Keck Hospital within the acute setting. I am so excited to get more experience in this area to prepare me for my summer Level II Fieldwork. Well I look forward to sharing more experiences this semester . . . like the Leadership Externship!

Here is the Admission team and Student Ambasssdors for our holiday lunch, Sabino Canyon in Tucson, and my new pencil to start off my last semester!

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An Exciting Semester Ahead! ⟩
January 16, 2014, by Kate

Classes Externships

After a very relaxing and restorative winter break, I am now ready to kick off my last semester as a Master’s student with a big bang! Although it is always tough to get back into a routine of waking up early and studying on weekends, I know that this is the last 3 months before I’ll be in the “real world” of occupational therapy. This semester is different than others, too, because we are able to take electives in our specific area of interest. By doing so, we can develop our niche in the field of occupational therapy, which will help us in our own clinical practice.

This semester, I am taking Lifestyle Redesign and a special elective at the Occupational Therapy Faculty Practice so that I can implement some of these techniques into a group session. I’m also taking a Motivational Interviewing class in order to improve my communication in a therapeutic manner. My other elective is a special topics course in occupational therapy in acute care. This class is really neat because alongside a weekly lecture/lab combination, we spend four hours per week in a hospital setting at USC’s Keck Medical Center.

This semester I am also excited for our leadership externship that is associated with our Leadership Capstone course. I am going to Ghana with a group of about 40 other students and practicing occupational therapists. We will be working with children with disabilities at a special school and training center. I’m very much looking forward to gaining a global view on the opportunities for those with special needs.

All in all, I couldn’t be happier with my schedule this semester. The classes I have chosen and the adventures that await me are challenging yet exciting.

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