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The Sky is the Limit! ⟩
April 17, 2015, by Kristy

Community Fieldwork Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

Recently, I had the opportunity to present at the Occupational Therapy Association of California Spring Symposium on time management strategies for adults with ADHD, specifically speaking to my development of an occupations-based group intervention. Not going to lie, I was a bit nervous speaking to a group of practicing occupational therapists about a program that I have worked so hard on for the last year. I was fearful for their opinion of it, their understanding of the material, and overall how the presentation would go. Even though I volunteered to present and share my work thus far, it is still a bit scary; but I’m here to tell you it went amazing! I couldn’t have asked for a better turn out or better experience for my first workshop! This really speaks to the Division’s capacity to prepare us not only as practitioners, but also has professional leaders and advocates for the field. In addition, attendees were so respectful and supportive of my ideas and my work. In which I could not have gotten to the point I am today without the support of the Division and the curriculum, and specifically Dr. Deborah Pitts who has served as my mentor for this project from the beginning. I’d like to share with you how this journey started and where we are headed in the future 😊

Last May, I was about to begin my first Level II Fieldwork with Pacific Clinics, a community-based mental health center. My site preceptor shared with me that several of their members had a hard time managing their time and getting to appointments, these folks specifically also had a diagnosis of ADHD. I willingly took on the opportunity to see what was out there for these individuals. I then brought this to the attention of my faculty preceptor, and we began a literature review. From our searches, it came to our attention that there was limited interventions out there, specifically anything occupations-based. Therefore, we began the development of what turned into a group intervention, based in occupational perspectives, that facilitated organization and time use strategies for those with ADHD. As my fieldwork was coming to an end, Dr. Pitts suggested I continue the development and research on this intervention in my course, Occupation-Based Programs for the Community. Seeing the members success who experienced the intervention with me during my fieldwork, and acknowledging how much it resonated with them, served as motivation for me to continue on with the development. It reassured me that there was a need for this, and I needed to continue my pursuit. I spent the next 3-4 months doing lots and lots of background research on what interventions were out there, different evaluation tools, symptoms and occupational impairment for individuals with ADHD, and what solutions or data was helpful in facilitating occupational participation. By the end of the semester, I had a completely revised manual for the intervention, and boy was I excited! Then the question came again, what next? I still felt that there could be more. I could do more, I could make it better. I could use more evidence to support the intervention and process. Therefore, I enrolled in an Independent Study with Dr. Pitts, and I continued the revision of the facilitator manual and the participant manual. After another 2-3 months of work, I have finally shared my ideas with others and sought their feedback, not only at the Spring Symposium I recently spoke at, but also seeking critique from experts in the field. I anxiously await their responses and suggestions for the future with the intervention. At this point in time, I am not sure what is the next path to take for development. I know I am not ready to be done with it, I am hoping to seek publication on some level to be able to share with others. But who knows what the future will hold!

So why do I share this with you? I really want to encourage others that the sky is the limit! You can do anything you set your mind to! A year ago, I would have never thought I would be in the position I am in now, nor would I have told you I have such a passion for working with adults with ADHD. The reason I am where I am today is because of the Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. The support of faculty, design of curriculum, and fieldwork experiences, have really impacted my future as a practitioner and as a leader in the field. They encourage you to push the envelope, don’t just settle for the minimum, go outside of the box and do something you didn’t think you could or even knew had it in you!  Without USC OSOT, I wouldn’t be where I am today, and for that I am eternally grateful.

So I welcome you to the Trojan Family! You picked a good one to be a part of! Fight on!

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Lunar New Year Celebrations ⟩
February 27, 2015, by Bindi

Community Diversity International Living in LA

The Global Initiatives team organized a Chinese new lunar year dinner at the Plum Tree Inn in Chinatown. Adley Chan and Daniel Park put together a diverse group of international students together with the faculty.

The organizers laid out a large spread of Chinese cuisine including a jellyfish appetizer. They took into special consideration the vegetarian students and had several vegetarian dishes for the several Indian and vegetarian therapists and students.

Chinese New Year: It is the year of the goat, and obviously there was a lengthy discussion on Chinese zodiac animals and everyone wanted to find out which sign they were and the significance. Mine is the Dragon ☺.

Adley Chan informed us on the correct way of eating noodles and they say NEVER cut a noodle before it is entirely in your mouth. In China, people have the custom to eat noodles on the birthdays. The long and continuous noodle strips are the symbolic meaning of longevity. So people who choose to eat noodles on the birthdays show their wishes to live longer and maintain a better life. The noodle represents longevity and cutting it before it reaches the mouth indicates bad luck, cutting the longevity and good health.

All in all it was a fun, laughter filled dinner and getting to know the faculty and other students better. Happy Chinese New Year!!!

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USC Student Run Clinic Experience! ⟩
January 28, 2015, by Claire

Community Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

Hello! I hope 2015 is off to a good start for all of you!

Today I want to share with you about my experience with the USC Student Run Clinic. The Student Run Clinic is a really unique organization that I would recommend students to get involved in! As an interdisciplinary care team, students from USC’s schools of medicine, pharmacy, occupational therapy, and physician assistant work together to provide comprehensive health care to the underserved in Los Angeles.

This past weekend was the first time that I volunteered with SRC. I loved meeting other students and learning about how each of our professions contribute to the patient’s care. It was a busy clinic weekend, so I was able to work with four patients. It was very interesting meeting a variety of patients of different ages and backgrounds! One challenge that I faced was the Spanish speaking language barrier; I learned that language is a crucial part of the communication with the patient. Because I am not the most fluent Spanish speaker (whoohoo high school Spanish), I felt like there were many things that I wanted to offer her as an occupational therapy student, but couldn’t convey it properly to her.

On the other hand, it was extremely meaningful to see how the role of the occupational therapist is so client centered and that we are able to meet the patient as an individual person. When working with the patient diagnosed with depression, the other members of the team did a really great job at gathering her medical history. In the team huddles, I was able to bring a holistic perspective to her life and tie in the medical considerations to her participation in activities. However, I had the opportunity to get to know her and provide a safe space for her to really share what she was struggling with in her life. I was struck by how important it is to build trust with the patient and I felt honored that let me hear the full story about her experience.

Together, we explored all the things that troubled her, including the environment in her neighborhood, her relationships with family members, and challenges in her daily routine. As occupational therapists, we are also concerned about the emotional, psychological, and spiritual health of our patients. It turned out that spirituality was something that mattered a lot to this patient. With my facilitation and encouragement, she personally set a goal to engage in more spiritual reading to help calm her thoughts throughout the day. She left our session feeling empowered and motivated.

It was such a meaningful experience!

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We love our cohorts! ⟩
December 17, 2014, by Claire

Classes Community

Third semester of the Master’s program — check! Only one more semester to go before commencement!

The first three semesters of the Entry-Level Master’s program focus on three different immersions: mental health, pediatrics, and adult physical rehabilitation. Our entire Master’s class rotated through these immersions in smaller groups, called cohorts (A, B, C).

This semester was our last rotation — adult rehabilitation (as you may have gathered from my previous posts). Last Friday, our last final also meant that it was our last time as a cohort. SEPARATION ANXIETIES.

Coming in as a Bachelor’s-to-Master’s student, I met everyone in the fall semester. I learned so much from everyone in my cohort and loved working with each person! Our cohort Facebook group included SOAP note samples, cute baby videos, and much more! From potlucks to group google docs, these people are seriously the best.

Here are some pictures from our Cohort B(est)! And feel free to check out some other cohort pictures here on OTSC’s Facebook page.

This was us in our first semester together, mental health immersion!

And this is us just last week, at our post-finals celebration!

PC: Caitlin Ito!

Cohort Buddies forever!

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Pedal Pushers! Pedal to the Medal, Giving Back Shifted to Another Gear! ⟩
November 14, 2014, by Jonathan

Community Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

Hello there everyone! Hope that you’re all doing great!

This past Sunday, some of my fellow classmates and I had the opportunity to help out Pedal Pushers, a Los Angeles chapter of Ambucs Inc., a non-profit organization that helps to provide adaptive tricycles for children and adults through fundraising within the community! The opportunity to get involved with this awesome cause was wheely fun and wheely rewarding 😛 This amazing organization was brought to my attention by Sonserey, a member of Pedal Pushers, who I had the pleasure of meeting at OTAC. I SPOKE (hehe) with Sonserey and she told me all about Pedal Pushers and Ambucs, in addition to the story of what fuels their efforts. Sonserey is an occupational therapist who works in pediatrics. She told me that when she’s doing an evaluation, much alike most OTs, we start off by trying to decipher what the client’s meaningful occupations are. A common response from the kids she works with is to “ride a bike.” However, for some children with special needs, a traditional bicycle may not be the most practical option. Thus, Amtryke therapeutic tricycles were created to offer an adaptable, universally designed option for children with varying levels of physical abilities! The Amtrykes can be custom made to have a number of features, based on the child’s abilities, safety, and family preference. These features include hand or foot operation, rear-assist steering, assistive pedals, in addition to other adaptations. The best part is, everything on the Amtryke can be adjusted, so the child can continue to use their Amtryke as they get bigger and grow older!

What my classmates and I had the opportunity to participate in on Sunday was actually the final phase of the Amtryke process. It all starts off first with raising enough funds to be able to purchase the Amtryke for the child. Committed families, friends, and communities focus their efforts in hopes that they can make the child’s dream come to fruition. Second, the child is then assessed and fitted for their very own Amtryke. Therapists will collaborate with the children and their families in designing a unique Amtryke that best fits the child’s abilities, function, and interests. The final stage in the process was what my classmates and I had the pleasure of participating in on Sunday! There’s a build an amtryke work shop in which therapists and volunteers will actually create the Amtrykes for the children. The children and their families then pick up the Amtrykes, give it a test drive, and then get to take their Amtryke home! The whole process requires a great deal of diligence on the child’s part, as they patiently wait for an Amtryke they can call their own.

The whole building process we engaged in on Sunday was fun, informative, and extremely rewarding. When the children and their families arrived, you could see the excitement on the children’s faces. To see how ecstatic they were when they first hopped on their Amtryke and propelled a couple feet forward was absolutely priceless! The genuine elation that consumed the kids was contagious, and you couldn’t help but feel the same happiness. Thank you so much to Pedal Pushers and Ambucs for letting us be part of this amazing cause! Here’s some pictures of the process, enjoy!

If you’d like to learn more and get involved with Pedal Pushers/Ambucs, please feel free to visit them at pedalpushers2014.wix.com/pedalpushers and ambucs.org.

Also feel free to like Pedal Pushers page on facebook at facebook.com/PedalPushersLA

Thank you for reading! Have a great weekend, follow your passion, pedal on, but remember to not lose your balance 😊

— Jonathan

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