Student Blog
What are OS/OT?

A Day in the Life of a USC Entry-Level Master’s Student ⟩
October 20, 2017, by Erika

Classes What are OS/OT?

Hi all!

Inspired by the Day in the Life of a Chan Student feature on the Division’s website, I thought I’d provide you with a breakdown of what a day may look like for me as a 2nd year Entry-Level Master’s student. My schedule is a little different everyday based on work hours as a student ambassador, my Level I fieldwork placement, and having Fridays off, but here is what a typical day may look like if I had a full day of classes. This is also similar to what a 1st years day would look like since they have the same 2 blocks of time carved out for classes.

A Day in the Life

7:20 — Alarm goes off! Snooze.

7:30 — Wake up! Get ready, make breakfast, pack lunch.

8:15 — Out the door!

8:35 — Look for parking around HSC.
Note: It’s LA! Parking will always be an issue. As a student, you do have the option of purchasing a parking pass on campus. If you choose to opt out of that option, you’ll have to do a bit of a morning hunt like I do to find free parking in the local neighborhood. I would say that after the first few weeks, you’ll get really good at figuring out the best places to park - not to mention know the street cleaning signs by heart! This option also allows for nice morning and afternoon walks to and from your car!

9:00-12:00 — Class
Note: Typically we will get (2) 15 minute breaks to stretch, reset, take a walk. During 1 of the breaks, you’ll probably see me at Eric Cohen Student Health Center getting free coffee, tea, or hot chocolate offered to all USC students!

12:00-1:00 — Lunch
Note: Many times, faculty, student orgs, or the health center may schedule meetings during lunch on various topics: Doctorate or PhD info sessions, Mentor/Mentee lunches, mindfulness classes, yoga on the lawn, etc. If I’m not at one of these, you may see me eating with friends on the patio or practicing transfers with them in the ADL lab.

1:00-4:00 — Class
Note: Afternoon classes can be tough so the free coffee break may happen at this point of the day. Good thing is, since our professors are OTs, they are very attuned to reading when the students are having attention difficulties or hitting an afternoon wall. They’ll break things up, encourage us to stand, take walks, or if we’re in the pediatrics classroom, swing on the swings for some self-regulation!

4:00 and on — Open!
Note: After class, what I do really varies depending on the day. I may have to work in the Student Ambassador office. I may have a meeting for Student Run Clinic. Perhaps I’ll hit up a yoga class, go to Barbara’s at the Brewery with a few friends for a beer, or visit my niece and nephew to play and have dinner! Either way, I find weekday afternoons as opportunities to decompress and chill after a full day of class.

11:30 — #sleepgoals

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, feel free to write in the comments!

⋯

Why Did I Become an Occupational Therapist? ⟩
October 6, 2017, by Linah

What are OS/OT?

Ever since I was little I loved helping people and found value in standing up for those who need it. I grew up in a household of doctors, so I have had a good idea about medicine and loved the science itself. Yet, I never saw myself as doctor. I found occupational therapy by accident. It was a new major in my university and when the time came to choose a specialty, I chose it based on eliminating other medical specialties. I did not know what occupational therapy is until my first class after I majored in it. And ever since, it was a love story for the ages. In occupational therapy I find room to be creative while still validating my ideas with scientific measures. It equips me as a practitioner with the knowledge needed to fully understand a client’s medical problem then provides the tools to find the best solution there is for that particular client.

Through offering customized practical solutions, occupational therapists are able to bridge the gap between culture and medicine on a client by client basis. And what better way is there to help implement change in social attitudes about health and disabilities? Another thing I love about occupational therapy is how it aims to empower its clients. The best way to represent a certain demographic is by enabling them to speak for their own. By educating them about their conditions, rights, and preparing them to face their societies with strength. As an occupational therapist I believe I am capable of doing so. I feel blessed to have found a career as enjoyable, and meaningful as occupational therapy.

⋯

Standardized Patients: the Good, the Bad, and Becoming the Hulk ⟩
October 6, 2017, by Erika

Classes What are OS/OT?

One of the best opportunities our program offers is the chance to practice transfers with standardized patients in our Adult Rehab immersion.

What’s a standardized patient?

It’s a person carefully recruited and trained to take on the characteristics of a real patient providing students with the opportunity to learn skills in a simulated clinical environment. Neat, right?

So far in my adult rehab immersion, we’ve practiced with standardized patients “recovering from hip replacements, back injuries, and stroke.” We’ve learned how to transfer them from laying in bed to sitting then to a wheelchair or walker! From there, we’ve also practiced how to mobilize and transfer these patients to the shower, tub, and toilet.

It’s been ADLmania!!!

Our Adult Rehab lab was designed to simulate common practice locations where we would actually conduct transfers and treatment sessions. On one side, we have an exact replica of what a hospital room looks like at Keck Medical center — from the beds to the toilet and shower. On the other side, we have a standard bedroom with access to a tub and toilet. Lastly, we have a fully functioning kitchen where we can practice various occupations like meal prepping, washing dishes, and cooking. What’s better than practicing real life occupations in a real life setting?

Readers, can I just say, the first time I practiced with standardized patients, I. Was. Terrified.

“I have NO clue what I’m doing. Are they going to be nice? Are they going to be painfully dramatic? Am I going to drop someone and break their hip a second time?”

My stream of consciousness spiraled into the dark depths of the unknown but of course, with all new experiences, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.

Sure, I think all of us students will admit that the first time, there was a lot of “uhhhhh . . .”s, big perplexed eyes, and unnecessary overexplanations of the protocol running through our heads and out our mouths. After that though, you realize that the standardized patients aren’t there to give you a hard time or to give Oscar-worthy dramatic performances but are there for you and your learning experience. While at times, they were committed to simulating pain (which was intimidating at first), they were incredibly kind and open to providing feedback on why they felt pain or felt discomfort. They were gracious in giving us as many opportunities to try again to make sure we get a specific transfer or handling right.

At the end of the day, that’s what makes the opportunity of practicing with standardized patients valuable — it gives us the opportunity to spiral into our own fears then build ourselves back up with the support and feedback of our professors and standardized patients to reveal our own capabilities and strengths — all within a safe learning environment!

I want to close with some advice I was given while working with a standardized patient named Mel*. After I had transferred him, he looked me straight in the eye and said, “You have to commit. If you don’t commit, I won’t commit.” I’m not sure if this was a reflection of his practices as a method actor, but it completely changed how I transferred after that point. I became more confident. You know when Bruce Banner becomes the Hulk? It was like that without all the rage. Mel’s words transformed my identity from being a timid inexperienced OT student to a potentially strong, capable, and committed OT practitioner. Thanks Mel.

*All names mentioned in this blogpost are pseudonyms.

⋯

Love at First Sight: Finding Occupational Therapy ⟩
August 28, 2017, by Kaitlyn

What are OS/OT?

The most common question I am asked is how my path to pursue occupational therapy began. I have always found it extremely rewarding to hear the narratives of my peers because we all ended up being where we were meant to be: en route to become occupational therapists. Here is my own narrative.

When thinking about what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I had the following criteria: I wanted to be in health care, I wanted to improve the well-being of people, and I wanted to be able to look back on my life and know that I dedicated my life to serving others in the best way that I could.

For my undergraduate studies, I attended the University of Southern California (my dream school since I was a young girl!) but was very much undeclared and undecided. It was not until I took a class under USC’s Occupational Science minor in my sophomore year that I even knew what occupational therapy was. I like to say that my encounter with OT250: Introduction to Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy is the closest I have ever been to “love at first sight.” I was extremely invested in the material that we were learning in that class. I loved the idea of improving people’s lives based on their own personal goals and seeing each person as a whole instead of in parts. To make things even better, I absolutely admired my professor, Dr. Kate Crowley, who I still keep in contact with to this day.

From that point on, the road to becoming an occupational therapist became clearer and clearer. I began to take more classes under the Occupational Science minor, volunteered and shadowed practicing occupational therapists at numerous hospitals and clinics, and worked at a camp organized by health practitioners for disabled and at-risk children. I learned and saw the power of OT in each experience and enjoyed every minute of it.

Occupational therapy is an amazing profession that I wholeheartedly believe in and I am so excited to be able to share my experiences with you here on this blog. I hope that you enjoy the ride with me and that maybe, just maybe, you’ll fall in love with OT just like I did too.

⋯

OT, you are everything I never knew I always wanted ⟩
August 28, 2017, by Erika

What are OS/OT?

Hello Friends!

Erika here, reporting for my first blog post. Welcome and thanks for reading!

Let me tell you how I discovered OT [cue Drake’s “One Dance”].  Occupational therapy is a second career for me. After graduating undergrad from USC in 2008 in communication, I packed my bags and moved to Brooklyn. Without much focus or intention, I found a job in advertising and worked on accounts that include P&G and Disney. I quickly learned that I had a passion for learning about human behavior. I enjoyed sinking my teeth into consumer data and developing human insights on what motivates people to take action. While learning about why people purchased Swiffers or bought tickets to watch Disney movies was thrilling for the first few years, I knew advertising was merely a stepping stone for whatever was next.

Throughout my seven years in the industry, I would periodically meet up with old friends at SC tailgates or reunions who worked as occupational therapists and I was dumbfounded by the stories they told me about their work. How did one of them work in a hospital with clients with spinal cord injuries, another work with children in a sensory clinic, and yet another work with a client at their home coping with depression? I couldn’t understand the common factor but as I investigated more, I quickly learned that it was actually very simple: meaningful occupation is what unites us as humans. Whether it’s dressing oneself independently to a child being equipped with the means to play safely with peers to being able to play your favorite song on your trumpet again, meaningful activities are what motivates people to take action and live healthier and more fulfilling lives. Talk about human insights! My mind was blown.

With that said, equipped with my love for learning about human behavior, and this time around, with full focus and intention, I’m back in school for my Master’s in OT at USC. I am one year into the program and I can honestly say that I can’t see myself doing anything else. I’ve found a profession that requires me to see and value every client as a distinct and unique individual, challenges me to think creatively, and empowers people to live happier lives in the process. OT, “you are everything I never knew I always wanted” (as quoted from 1997’s romcom hit, “Fools Rush In”).

⋯