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University of Southern California
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USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
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Japeth

Courses at Chan: What Makes Each Trojan OT Unique ⟩
May 5, 2020, by Japeth

Classes Videos

One thing I really love about the Post-Professional Master of Arts in OT program at USC Chan is the liberty that we have as students to learn what we are really interested in. The program takes a year to complete and consists of two semesters: the Fall semester includes the core courses (these are the courses that you take together with the entire cohort) and the Spring semester includes two core courses and elective courses (these courses are specialty courses and students take what they are passionate about).

This spring semester, I decided to take the following courses: OT 560 Contemporary Issues in School-Based Practice, OT 583 Lifestyle Redesign, OT 565 Sensory Integration Interventions, and OT 568 Sensory Processing and Sensory Integration: Special Topics.

OT 565 and OT 568: I want to take this chance to say thank you to Dr. Janet Gunter and Dr. Joan Surfus for being amazing! The Sensory Integration Theory is not an easy theory to learn, and it even gets more difficult when you start learning how to use it during assessment and intervention, but these two professors made sure that we learn every concept and encouraged us to ask questions when we were quite confused. They give us coursework that are practical and useful and are very helpful in making us integrate theory into practice.

OT 560: Dr. Linsey Smith is a great teacher for me. Each module was equipped with up to date information about OT in the school setting, evidence-based interventions, and standardized assessments! I love how the course is properly organized according to the grade level from Early Intervention to High School transition, and it also included contents about interprofessional collaboration, professionalism management, and advocacy!

OT 583: Another “only at USC” course and also one of the best at Chan is the Lifestyle Redesign® elective. This course taught me how to manage myself as a person and as an OT, how to manage individual and group sessions that are very client-centered, and how to establish routines and habits through behavior change. This course is very empowering, and I appreciate how Dr. Camille Dieterle allows us to do return demonstrations during class.

(Disclaimer: You can take 10-12 units of elective courses, and mine is more than that because as a student, we are also allowed to overload.)

And finally, I am sharing this video project that USC Chan’s Post-Professional Master’s in OT 2020 created! We hope that this will be a useful resource to future students!

Marilyn

A Day in the Life of Zoom University ⟩
April 13, 2020, by Marilyn

Classes Life Hacks Videos

Throughout my undergraduate and graduate career, I avoided taking online classes for the simple fact that I enjoy interacting with peers and professors in a classroom setting. Due to the unprecedented circumstances with the COVID-19 pandemic, I have been receiving questions from prospective and newly admitted students about how I have been navigating the change to online class instruction. I share in this video strategies that I have incorporated into my home environment to support my online learning. I also discuss how I engage in mental health check-ins to assess how I am doing with the various transitions I am navigating as a student — both professionally and personally. We can get through this together and do not forget to FIGHT ON!

Noelle

A Taste of Telehealth ⟩
April 8, 2020, by Noelle

Classes What are OS/OT?

This semester, I decided to take OT 574 Enhancing Motor Control for Occupation as one of my electives. While not super related to my interest in primary care, I chose it because I had previously enjoyed learning about motor control during the Adult Rehabilitation Immersion and thought it was a good idea to diversify my course load. What I was really drawn to though, was the chance to work with patients and refine my “therapeutic touch”. Trust me when I say that there is a huge difference between watching a demonstration or discussing a case study and actually being the one touching and working with a patient. You have to be confident, firm, but not too firm! It’s a really delicate balance that I was able to practice each week while mobilizing and facilitating movements with my client during the lab portion of this class.

This course was the definition of hands on learning. So when the move to online classes was made, I was very concerned and disappointed that I was no longer going to be able to see my client.

Luckily, my professors are experts in modifying tasks and coming up with creative solutions in their clinical work. Turning lemons into lemonade, they arranged for us to continue treating our clients through Zoom, allowing us to give telehealth a try. Given the hands-on nature of neurorehabilitation, there are limitations to what we can do remotely. But there are also a lot of things we can do.

So far, I’ve had two sessions with my client. My team and I are focused on designing a home exercise program that will reduce his abnormal tone and help keep him on track to making progress towards his goals. One of the advantages of using Zoom, is that we get to see his living environment “in person”. This helps us problem solve in real time around obstacles that he faces in doing some of the exercises and activities we recommend. I’m hopeful that we are making a well-tailored program for him.

There are challenges to this method. Sometimes it’s hard to see the specific movements through the camera, or it’s tricky to demonstrate and explain an exercise on a screen. But I am proud of the way both my team and our client are adjusting and making the most of the situation. This is a great exercise for us as OT students to think on our feet, be creative, adapt. Those are core skills to our profession, and I am thankful to be getting this experience and unique opportunity to practice them. Here’s to the silver linings! 

For this week’s song rec, I’m sharing one of my all time favorites — “Video Killed The Radio Star” by The Buggles . . . fitting don’t you think?

Japeth

Lifestyle Redesign®: From Theory to Reality ⟩
February 1, 2020, by Japeth

Classes

One of the many reasons why I came to USC is because of the Lifestyle Redesign® course elective. As an occupational therapy practitioner in my home country, I felt as though my role in targeting health and wellness promotion is still quite unclear. I knew that OTs have a huge role in such area, but to me, I just did not know where, when, and how I can advocate for myself in this field.

I learned about Lifestyle Redesign® — an approach in occupational therapy that allows clients to achieve health, behavior, or lifestyle changes — through a friend who also took this course years ago. Finally, this semester, I am taking this elective course and all I can say is it is just amazing! Dr. Dieterle teaches with so much passion and she makes sure that the class is interactive. The class flows this way:

  1. On the first day of this class, we started with a little introduction about ourselves and our reason for taking this course; during the second session and onwards, we start the class with a recap of last week’s session.
  2. Dr. Camille Dieterle will discuss the topic for the day. It could be about how to use different assessment tools or how to utilize specific strategies and intervention.
  3. We also get to practice this approach with our classmates. We are grouped into a triad and let’s name the students as A, B, and C. So, student A will be the therapist of student B; student B will be the therapist of student C; and student C will be the therapist of student A.

My therapist and I are now on our third week of session. During the first session, she interviewed me to create an occupational profile that was very holistic. During that session, I informed her about my adjustment with the new semester. I find this semester quite overwhelming, but still very manageable. We are working on a goal about rest and sleep, which includes creating a night routine.

I appreciate how my therapist gives so much attention to me and to my goal. She makes sure that every session that we have is interactive and client-led. She gives me worksheets about rest, sleep, and even drafting a routine. Last session, she gave a sleep checklist that I can fill up at night before I sleep and the morning after — this is to keep me in check!

Here’s to achieving a healthier mind and body this 2020!! Fight on!

Kaho

The 2020 (course) Elections ⟩
January 23, 2020, by Kaho

Classes

Welcome back everyone, and happy 2020! I hope you all had a restful and restoring winter break. I flew home to Japan for the full four weeks and I got to travel all over with my family. I spent some time in northern Japan, snowboarding and skiing in the snowy mountains, as well as in Japan’s southernmost tropical island, scuba diving and sightseeing! I feel like I experienced all four seasons in four weeks. Now I’m back in school, my jetlag has passed, and I am officially back on the grind. I’m beginning my last semester of classes for the master’s program, which means (as many of you may know) . . . electives! The Chan Division offers a wide variety of elective courses to choose from and these courses prepare you in specialty areas that you may want to pursue once you get out into the real world. You also have the option to take courses in other USC schools, such as the school of business, public policy, arts and sciences, etc. I’ll share with you today the courses that I’m taking, but past ambassadors have also written blog posts about what classes they took so be sure to check those out if you’re interested in learning more about what goes on in each class.

  • OT 561: Occupation Therapy in Acute Care
    For anyone interested in working in hospitals eventually or anyone interested in learning the more medical side of OT, this class is fantastic. This course goes over various systems of the human body and the implications for therapy when a person has issues in any of them. You get a sneak peek into the exciting and fast-paced life of an acute care OT and even get to observe it first hand through the clinical hands-on portion of the class! Similar to Level 1 fieldwork, you get paired with a clinical instructor at Keck Hospital and you get to follow them for several sessions throughout the semester. We learn the names of common illnesses and their treatments, medical devices, and so on. Even though I’ve only sat through two lectures for this course so far, I already know that it’s going to be one of my favorites.
  • OT 578: Therapeutic Communication for the Healthcare Practitioner
    This course can be beneficial for anyone, regardless of what setting you’re interested in going into. You honestly don’t even have to be pursuing OT to benefit from this course. It trains you in a skill called Motivational Interviewing, which is a therapeutic communication style that can be used to facilitate change in clients. It also covers mindfulness practices, which can be a tool for myself as well in my own daily life. I know it’s going to make me a more effective communicator and a better listener for my friends, family, and clients so I’m really excited to learn more and practice. 
  • OT 579: Occupation-Based Adult Neurorehabilitation
    During my fieldwork experiences, I had the opportunity to work with several patients with spinal cord injuries and strokes. It can be devastating to lose function in your arms and legs and as you can imagine, OT can play a huge role in these people’s recoveries. This course teaches you and lets you practice various assessments that you may use in a neurorehab setting. We learn to analyze movement and consider how neurological impairments interfere with people’s ability to engage in meaningful occupations. It’s hands-on; students practice on each other while the professor demonstrates, and it’s all really interesting. As someone that wants to work in a variety of fields within the adult population, preferably in a hospital, this course supplies me with knowledge and skills that I know will come in handy during my career.

There are so many other classes that I was interested in taking, but time and the allowed number of units forced me to pick and choose. I’m enjoying all of my classes so far, so I know it’s going to be a fast, exciting semester. And then I graduate! 😮 Have a great semester, everyone.

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