Student Blog
Getting Involved

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.

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OTAC and Mermaids ⟩
October 27, 2011, by Floyd

Community Getting Involved

Last weekend I went to the 35th annual OTAC (Occupational Therapy Association of California) conference in Sacramento and had an incredible time meeting other occupational therapists, while attending sessions. It was great getting an opportunity to be part of the conference because they offer so many resources that help further the profession. Not only did I get to meet many potential employers from different areas of OT from pediatrics to geriatrics, I got to meet other students that have the same aspirations that I have.

One of the best times I had was being part of the student scavenger hunt where we got tour the city of Sacramento and find the historical values that the city has to offer. My team ended up winning the activity and got OTAC shirts and gift cards as prizes! My team consisted of 1st year students at USC so it was a great opportunity to meet them running around the city.

Not did we get to learn the newest ideas in OT from the best and brightest, we took the opportunity to tour the city. We found this really cool place called the Dive Bar and had drinks while gazing at the mermaids swimming in an aquarium above the bar. It was so awesome! Thank you OTAC and Sacramento for a great time!

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Career Day ⟩
October 12, 2011, by Floyd

Community Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

What do an occupational therapist and funeral counselor have in common? We are both paired up as related professions in order to speak to high school students for Career Day.

It was great to meet so many high school students who are enthusiastic and curious about their future. This was a good opportunity to spread awareness of occupational therapy to the youth so they can have an idea of the wonderful profession of occupational therapy. At first I thought the students would ask questions relating to compensation, but I was totally wrong. Most questions were addressed to the lifestyle of an OT and the satisfaction of working with people. The students and even the teacher were engaged and very interested in learning about this profession. It is always nice to see the expression on people’s faces when they first learn about what occupational therapy is and how it can impact a person’s life and well-being.

I also learned much about the skills needed to be a funeral counselor. They work with people during times of sadness and sensitivity. Sometimes, therapists have to do the same, so it was nice to find a commonality between our professions. All in all, it was a great learning experience for all of us.

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Afternoon Tea with a Scholar ⟩
September 28, 2011, by Floyd

Getting Involved

What a wonderful Sunday spent with good people, delicious food, and thoughtful reflection on who we are and what are to become. During this afternoon, I got to nibble on a variety of delightful summer and spring salads and scrumptious little desserts, while sipping an assortment of lemonades and iced teas.

I got to hear about the advocacy opportunities that OTAC (Occupational Therapy Association of California) representatives and lobbyists had when they were at Capitol Hill in Sacramento. They spoke to many city and state officials like Senator Barbara Boxer about the implementation of bills and regulations that assure integrity of occupational therapy practice in California. This makes me proud to be an OTAC member because I know that they are doing their best to fight for my rights as an Occupational Therapist and protect my profession for the future.

The most inspiring of all was our keynote speaker, Dr. Florence Clark. She spoke to us about empowering ourselves by embracing the integrity that we developed through our lived experiences and to speak up for what we believe in, no matter what. She gave a personal example our how she was negatively depicted because of her unconventional but groundbreaking research (the USC Well Elderly Study) during the late ‘90s. She tells us that we must relinquish the conformity that society has portrayed us over the years and be active agents in our own learning and path as great practitioners. We are sleeping giants, and it’s time for us to wake up and be the change we want to see in the world.

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Summit on Autism ⟩
September 21, 2011, by Floyd

Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

On Saturday, I went to an amazing event at UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center for KiDA’s (Kids Institute for Development and Advancement) third annual Summit on Autism where First Lady Rosalyn Carter was the keynote speaker. I learned about the newest technologies that parents and therapists can use to support their child’s learning, such as iPAD apps for kids. I also got to learn about the newest research on the vast amount of treatments and the resources that families can utilize. This was a great learning opportunity for me because I got to understand more about Autism, its impact on the family, and the positive effects of family involvement.

First Lady Rosalyn Carter, a national advocate for mental health and caregivers, founded the Carter Center’s Mental Health Task Force — a board of experts and consumers that advocate for positive change in the mental health field. She spoke about her past experiences as an advocate for mental health and how it is in our reach in ending the mental health crisis.

One very cool study that I got to learn about was about a couple that set up digital cameras in every room of their home and recorded 24 hours a day of their child’s development from birth to the age of 3. By using different movement and voice recognition systems, they were able to map out what words or babble their child said and where and what time it happened. This way, they were able to figure out what environment stimulated the most words and what the child was doing to develop his or her language. Obviously, this is still taking them some time to gather all the information because it is over 26,000 hours of film that they have to go through. Best of luck to them!

Here’s a pic of me tabling and telling everyone about the great opportunities there is at USC’s Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy!

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