Student Blog
Community

Renewing an Occupation ⟩
February 14, 2012, by Chris

Community Living in LA School/Life Balance

Before beginning the Occupational Therapy program at USC I started playing beach flag football. Well, once I moved to the west coast I didn’t have a league to play in anymore. I’ve played football for almost as long as I can remember and not having a league to play in was bothering me. Last week I began searching for leagues throughout Los Angeles and I found one that meets in Santa Monica. I quickly informed a few classmates of this league and built a solid group to start going weekly. The first weekend only three of us went, but more people have expressed interest in playing. Once we got there the games were great. The teams were pretty much even and the organizers try to keep groups of friends together. Finally after playing for about 3 hours we finally called it quits, with me leaving with a pretty sweet sunburn. Next week should be even better as more people should make it out.

⋯

International Holiday ⟩
December 13, 2011, by Kimberly

Community Diversity International

Last week we had an international student dinner to celebrate the end of the semester. Everyone brought a traditional dish from their culture or from their family. All the food was amazing and each dish was even judged for prizes according to taste and presentation. My favorite part of the evening however was sitting down at the long table in the OT Lifestyle redesign Center and talking about all of our different holiday traditions. There was a large Christmas tree at the end of the room which spurred on discussions of Christmas and where the tree comes from, how to decorate it, what the significance of the star is, etc. We also heard about the Chinese Moon Festival and the history behind eating moon cakes. We heard a YouTube recording of an Indian song sung in all the different dialects and languages the nation speaks. How being married in some cultures means you are an adult and thus need to now provide presents for all the kids as opposed to receiving them. There were discussions of what family traditions surround this time of year for everyone and whether or not people were getting to go home. It was a nice celebration in the middle of study week and gave us a chance to pause. I think the fact that we all take time during this season to pause it one of my favorite parts. So, even if you are still working or taking that last final, remember to pause and reflect on your traditions, your celebrations, the people around you and all that has happened this past year.

⋯

Thanksgiving for Optimal Living with Multiple Sclerosis ⟩
November 18, 2011, by Alix

Classes Community

We just finished our last session of the “Optimal Living with Multiple Sclerosis” class, an elective I took this semester. It was a unique and useful course that gave me the chance to lead 1:1 occupational therapy sessions and groups for participants living with Multiple Sclerosis. 

The class also included a lot of good food (including a pizza-baking class earlier in the semester), and today we hosted a Thanksgiving potluck to express our thanks to the participants and to reward ourselves for a semester of hard work. (I made kale salad with pomegranate seeds, lemon, olive oil, and toasted sesame seeds.)

I am leaving the class with a much better understanding of how to be an occupational therapist for people with MS. I am also leaving with a great new recipe for chilli, courtesy of one of our participants. Finally, I got a chance today to chat with some of the PT students in the class. It’s a great feeling knowing that I’m collaborating with other disciplines for the good of our clients. I’m thankful for all that I learned in the class and for all of the enthusiasm and positivity that the participants brought to each session.

I hope you all have a healthy and happy Thanksgiving!

⋯

A Salute to Veterans ⟩
November 14, 2011, by Chelsea

Community Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

Two weeks ago I went to an event hosted by the USC Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and the USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families called “A Wounded Warrior’s Experience and Physical Rehabilitation.” This event featured Medal of Honor recipient Sergeant First Class Leroy A. Petry and surgeon Colonel James Ficke, MD. Four years ago, Petry was deployed to Afghanistan, where he lost his right hand when he tossed away a grenade that was near him and two fellow soldiers. Now, Petry has an advanced prosthetic hand capable of detecting outside resistance and that responds to his muscle contractions and skin receptors. After having occupational and physical therapy, Petry can now pinch, grab and rotate his wrist. It is amazing to me that despite the loss of his right hand, Petry re-enlisted to help the wounded and be a part of their support team. I admire his resilience and his determination to help others. It is so incredible to see how important it is for some people to get back to pursuing their most meaningful occupations. Petry and many other veterans demonstrate such selflessness. As occupational therapy students, it really helps to hear people such as Petry speak because it helps us to grasp the disability experience better and allows us to understand our future clients better.

Occupational therapists play a crucial role in the lives of many war veterans, which is why the USC Occupational Therapy program has honored veteran students with several events throughout November. Since President Obama has announced the withdrawal of all our troops from Iraq by the end of the year, it is likely that occupational therapy will be in high demand in veteran’s hospital and other settings where veterans are prevalent. It will be difficult for many of these men and women who served in Iraq to transition back into civilian life, when their most meaningful occupation for the past few years has been fighting for their country. As OTs, it will be our job to help these veterans find occupations that are meaningful to them and give them the means to pursue these occupations despite any physical and/or mental disabilities they may come home with. The soldiers have done their part in helping our country, now it is our turn to help them.

⋯

Good food and conversation ⟩
November 8, 2011, by Floyd

Community School/Life Balance

Seriously, I think my class hosts a potluck almost every week! Whether it’s for a USC football game, someone’s birthday, or just a Saturday, we are always grubbing on delicious home-made foods and having tons of laughter. Just thinking about this past weekend and the food that everyone brought to the potluck makes me so hungry. Not only was the food great, but it was wonderful to be able to meet my peers outside of school to catch up on our personal lives. I feel that my class really values each other and sincerely wants to know about how each other are doing.

For this potluck, we created it for a faculty dinner where we invite a faculty member from our program to talk outside of school. We had Dr. Samia Rafeedie, one of our esteemed professors and practicing OTs come this week. It was nice to chit-chat about her life and about her pregnancy . . . she is 8 months pregnant. We got her a children’s book and signed it with our love and luck. All I all, we had good times and great conversations that we will always remember.

⋯