Student Blog
Fieldwork

Say whattttt, that’s occupational therapy!? ⟩
February 3, 2015, by Jonathan

Fieldwork What are OS/OT?

It’s an age old question: what is occupational therapy? Funny enough, I ran across this on Facebook the other day:

Point being, occupational therapy is a vast field with many faces. An occupational therapist can work with a variety of individuals across a number of diverse settings. With that said, I think it’s because of this reason that it’s a challenge to find an all-encompassing definition of exactly what it is that we do. In my own experiences, my definition of OT is constantly evolving the more I am exposed to the different things that an occupational therapist can do. Just to give you a better idea of the many hats that OTs can wear, I will talk about some of my own experiences regarding occupational therapy and the various outlets I’ve had the privilege of applying my passion towards.

My first level I fieldwork was at City of Hope. Oncology is an emerging field in occupational therapy, and this was something I’ve always wanted to explore because I’ve always had a passion for working with individuals who have cancer. Over at City of Hope, I was doing a number of different OT interventions, such as mirror therapy, ADL/IADL training, therapeutic exercise, and energy conservation techniques. I remember one of my patients was a Mother. I remember her telling me during our sessions together that it was not the cancer itself that was the most challenging aspect, it was more so her frustrations of feeling that she was not able to engage in the roles and occupations that were meaningful to her. Specifically, she felt like she could not be the Mother she wanted to be, and she could not live the active lifestyle she had desired, because she did not the same energy she once had to undertake these ventures. Thus, in her therapy sessions we would work on energy conservation techniques and we would find ways to build her activity tolerance, so that way she felt more connected to who she was while battling her cancer. The context of occupation engaged her in therapy, and I really enjoyed my time working with her. Here’s a picture of my favorite place at City of Hope, the Golter Gate.

My second level I fieldwork was at Project 180. It was over here that I was working with individuals who were incarcerated or who were at risk for incarceration. I remember watching a 30 days documentary by Morgan Spurlock, and he mentioned a statistic that 2 out of every 3 individuals who are incarcerated will be readmitted back into prison. Thus, Project 180 aims to help these individuals who are at risk for incarceration develop the skills that they need in order to successfully reintegrate into the community. The interventions I was doing consisted of a number of things, including helping an individual find a job, develop a skill set for maintaining a job, helping an individual reconnect to their family, and basically supporting these individuals to turn the chapter and recreate a new life story that they could be proud of. Here I am with my friend Amy, on our last day at Project 180.

I’ve mentioned my time at the Honolulu VA in my previous blogs. It was over here that I was able to work with the heroes who have served our country in inpatient, outpatient, and home based primary care settings. Over here, I was able to help veterans rehabilitate injuries utilizing the occupations that they loved to do. Last semester, I did my level I FW in Pediatrics at NJA therapy services, where I was helping children with special needs in both school based and outpatient settings. Over here, I was utilizing interventions such as fine motor exercises, sensory integration, and ADL training to help these children live a life to their fullest potential. This semester, I’m working with individuals who have multiple sclerosis utilizing a lifestyle redesign model. In doing so, I’m putting in my 100% effort to help my participants reach their meaningful goals, and am supporting these individuals to connect to the occupations that provide them meaning.

Based on my experiences, here is my definition of OT: we are a health profession that helps an individual reach their meaningful goals and fullest potential utilizing meaningful activity. This can be through prevention or rehabilitation, but ultimately we use the context of occupation to help an individual get to where they want to be. We look at a number of factors, including social/physical environment, support systems, personal strengths, and participation patterns, to help an individual overcome the challenges that prevent them from doing what they would like to do. We utilize our skill set to help the people we work with, and put forth our efforts to empower these individuals to live a life engaged in the occupations that give them meaning.

With that said, I pose this question to you: What’s your personal definition of OT? 😊

— Jonathan

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Time Flies! ⟩
January 21, 2015, by Kristy

Classes Fieldwork Getting Involved

It seems as if I just started the program yesterday, but here we are in the final semester preparing for the comprehensive exam, graduation, fieldwork, and then the national board exam! Woah! But before I get to all that, first I get to enjoy my final semester as a Master’s student by taking electives! This is one of the unique things that USC has to offer because this is our chance to “specialize” within a “generalist” degree. What does that really mean? We get to pick additional coursework to take based on our interested area of practice, so we could “specialize” in pediatrics, wellness, rehabilitation, etc. One week in, I am very happy with the elective options I have chosen because it is really information that I want to know more about and find myself very engaged in the reading and can relate it to future practice.

But one course I am taking is actually a course I more or less made up myself! We are given the opportunity to complete an Independent Study or Independent Directed Research. I have mentioned in my previous blogs about a project I started last summer while I was in my Level II Fieldwork at a community based mental health wellness center. During my time there, the site identified a need for a group intervention for adults with ADHD. So I hit the ground running, researching different interventions that are currently out there and nothing seemed to fit just right, so I made my own. Throughout the summer, I spent time writing, rewriting, researching, reading, and presenting all the material I had found, and by the end I had the first draft of a facilitator and participant manual for a group intervention for Adults with ADHD on time management and organization skills. I would not have been so successful if it hadn’t been for the mentorship of the faculty at USC who guided me through the process and encouraged me to further develop the program during my fall course “Occupation-Centered Programs for the Community.” During this time, I revised the manual again and continued to research what was currently out there. I even had the opportunity to attend a conference by the Allen Cognitive Network where they highlighted some current interventions in time management. So this leads me to my independent study! I will continue the development and revisions of the manuals as well as be presenting at the Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC) Spring Symposium. I am so excited to pursue this opportunity and feel so lucky to have a program and Division that supports me in my interests and academic pursuits! Occupational therapy is a broad, diverse field that has many niches so there are constantly opportunities to pursue a passion of yours that you didn’t even know existed! Follow your passion. 😊

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Finding the Occupation in Occupational Therapy! ⟩
December 8, 2014, by Claire

Classes Fieldwork What are OS/OT?

What makes an occupational therapist a good occupational therapist?

The past few weeks, I have been so inspired by all the different kinds of activities that an occupational therapist can do to help individuals improve their participation in daily life activities!

One of my favorite highlights of this semester was working with a patient at my Level I Fieldwork site. He was referred to occupational therapy after a motor-vehicle accident that broke his right arm and and left leg. When we first met him, we interviewed him using the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure and found out that he wants to get back to his hairdressing job! We also learned about his interest in cooking. During our treatment sessions, we would review some exercises in preparation for an occupation-based activity, which included making mashed potatoes (I learned his recipe — absolutely delicious. It’s all about adding a lot of butter) and braiding hair! As a Level I fieldwork student, our role includes observing the occupational therapists and also possibly participating in some of the treatment process. In this case, it meant that I volunteered my hair to be braided during the treatment session, and I also ended up receiving a free head massage! Besides all the laughter, our patient was able to practice standing for longer periods of time without crutches (important for one hair-cut session!) and using his muscles in ways that he would for doing someone’s hair. We learned a lot about both occupation-as-ends and occupation-as-means, and I felt like this treatment session really showed that. Our patient was participating in a purposeful activity which he was motivated about, but the occupational therapist was also analyzing his movement and problem-solving with the patient regarding challenges that he was facing while doing the activity. That’s super cool! I look forward to his recovery so that he can keep changing people’s lives — one hairstyle at a time.

Here’s a couple pictures of me with my new hair after the treatment session:

In class, we have been learning about developing treatment plans that help improve the daily functioning of our clients. We also looked at different kinds of adaptations that may be used in the kitchen. Here are some things that we did — a pie in time for Thanksgiving and a big brunch potluck in our occupations lab.

We are moving into our finals week — best of luck to all students, and I will update again soon!

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Flying Through Fall Semester ⟩
December 2, 2014, by Leila

Classes Fieldwork Videos

Hi everyone! I hope that you’re all doing fantastic!

The fall semester is quickly coming to an end and time sure does fly by when you are having fun. I want to apologize for the lack of blog posts, but I promise I will be coming back with more! (As soon as finals are over 😊) I wanted to share a little bit about the current immersion that I am in. Currently, I’m in my pediatrics immersion and it has been an amazing experience. Before starting this immersion I had little experience working with children. I mean, I’ve tutored children before and I have younger cousins . . . does that count? 😊

So coming in I knew very little about the developmental stages, the variety of diagnoses seen, occupational therapy interventions, etc. Fast forward 12 weeks, and I’m feeling a lot more knowledgeable. Similar to my other immersions, my fieldwork experience has provided me with the opportunity to apply what I learn! It’s also great to see practicing occupational therapists in action. It’s really amazing what OTs advocate and more importantly what the children can do!

Two weeks ago in our pediatrics immersion we had the opportunity to come up with an adaptive device out of cardboard. Talk about being creative, but it’s okay because we are OTs! Afterwards, we had to present an infomercial in front of the class.

Check out the video below! Warning: Video contains some comic relief and puns.

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Fieldwork ⟩
November 30, 2014, by Kristy

Fieldwork What are OS/OT?

Last week we finished up our Level I Fieldwork opportunities so I thought I would take some time and give you a little bit more background about what these experiences look like. 😊 One of the unique things about the program here at USC is that fieldwork experience is built into our coursework within the Immersions. As students, we are placed in 3 different Level I Fieldworks, which align with which immersion you are in — Adult Rehabilitation, Mental Health, or Pediatrics. The first two fieldwork opportunities occur in our first year of the program. I started in the Mental Health immersion, so my first Level I was at a Community-Based Mental Health Wellness Center. This was a very interesting experience as it was my second semester of graduate school (can’t forget about summer term!) and there was no occupational therapist at my setting. I was very nervous about not having someone to shadow but part of the experience is just learning about the population you are working with. I was fortunate enough to chat with individuals and hear their life stories as well as lead groups and meet with individuals one-on-one to facilitate lifestyle changes. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this opportunity and thought it was a great learning experience! The next semester I was in the Pediatric Immersion and was placed at a local school district. This was fantastic for me since I hope to go into School-Based Practice. I loved being able to work with the children and plan creative activities for them to do. I learned a lot about working with multiple children at one time, planning therapeutic obstacles, and creating educational games. Being in a school district is also a great opportunity to learn about interdisciplinary teams as you work with classroom teachers, physical therapists, speech therapists, psychologists, among others. Lucky for me, this experience confirmed by desire to work in this area of occupational therapy! My last Level I experience was for the Adult Rehabilitation immersion, and was at an outpatient therapy clinic, specifically working with hands. I learned a lot of what it takes to “prep” muscles for therapy, such as why you would use heat or ice. In addition, I learned about different types of exercises and stretches you can do for the joints and muscles of the fingers, hand, wrist, forearm, and elbow. Overall, this was a great opportunity for me to learn about an area of occupational therapy that I didn’t know anything about.

In addition to Level I Fieldwork opportunities, we also are placed at two Level II Fieldwork sites. The first one occurs between your first and second year in the program, after you have completed two Level I experiences. My first Level II was at a Community-Based Mental Health Wellness Center (yes — same type of setting as my Level I if you’re still with me!). I pursued this opportunity as it was a setting I very much enjoyed and thought I had a lot more to learn about! And boy was I right! The Level II experience is for 12 weeks full-time. I was able to lead groups, meet one-on-one with clients, facilitate a workshop on time management, and conduct a relaxation workshop. I was given the chance to create my own experience and sought out many educational opportunities! One included the beginning development of a group intervention for adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but stay tuned for more on this later! I have yet to complete my second Level II fieldwork, but am excited for what experiences that will bring.

Fieldwork experiences are great chances to learn more about the field of occupational therapy and explore different settings that you may not have done before. USC is unique in that we have 5 opportunities throughout our program and they are all different experiences! Everyone’s is a little bit different, but they are all great!!!

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