Student Blog
What are OS/OT?

Hello Lovely Readers! ⟩
August 27, 2015, by Ariel

What are OS/OT?

Hello Lovely Readers!

For my first post, I’ve decided to mirror the student ambassadors of years past by telling you the tale of how I first fell in love with occupational therapy . . . .

Once upon a time . . .

I was a sophomore in college majoring in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (an interdisciplinary mix of psychology, sociology, anthropology, and history), and minoring in Drama. Despite this eclectic mix, somehow I wasn’t too concerned about what profession I would ultimately pursue; I figured if I took classes I was passionate about, they would lead to a major I was passionate about, which would eventually lead to a job I was passionate about. Then, in junior year, all my peers started siphoning off into various career tracks — tech, business, law, medicine, education . . . I knew I needed to do some major self-reflection and research to figure out which path I would take.

First, I thought about what I wanted out of my work: I knew I wanted to be in a helping role, create meaningful relationships, and that I wanted to wake up every morning (even 30+ years down the line) and still be energized by the path I had chosen. Second, I knew I wanted to have a flexible career — one that was dynamic in nature and broad enough that I could continuously be learning and expanding upon my knowledge. And third, I wanted to work in a profession that relied on kinesthetic experience (read: no cubicles!), and that would allow me to flex my creativity.

For a long time, I was unsure of how to proceed; even after hours of research (thanks Google!), it seemed that no profession existed that fulfilled all of my ideals in the way I had hoped. Then, during the last week of my senior year, I had a chance encounter with an acquaintance from my freshman dorm. She told me that she was going to graduate school for this profession called “occupational therapy,” and that if I wanted to help people I “should really check it out.” I had no idea at the time, but her offhanded comment would prove to be quite serendipitous. I headed back to Google, and searched for anything and everything related to occupational therapy. That’s when I fell down the rabbit hole . . . and I’ve just kept falling ever since.

Initially, it was the theory behind occupational therapy that was compelling: I was inspired by OT’s consideration of the multidimensional nature of the human experience. But it was in the clinic setting where I truly fell in love with the field.

My first hands-on experience with OT was at a pediatric occupational therapy clinic in San Francisco that helps children gain the strength and functional ability to overcome developmental challenges. Early on, I assisted a therapist in treating a boy with severe sensory processing disorder. At first, he was terrified to navigate the obstacle course, ride the zip-line, or even play with the toys. Over the course of several months, the OT and I graded his activities to address his sensory disorganization (a few terms you’ll learn in OT school!). His progress was astonishing. In time, the same boy whose frantic screams had once echoed down the hallways was beaming with confidence, showing off his fearless zip-lining skills. I could barely believe this was the petrified boy I had once met. I was thrilled to have taken part in his extraordinary transformation, and it was then that I knew for certain I would pursue occupational therapy.

Occupational therapy gives its recipients a new opportunity to really live. It was in my hands-on experiences where I concluded that the most serious adversities afford the most potent opportunities for growth. Furthermore, these experiences revealed to me that it is in grappling with our greatest physical and emotional challenges that we discover not only our limitations but — more importantly — our innate resilience.

Here at USC’s number one ranked program in Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, I’ve been offered so many different opportunities: I’ve been given the opportunity to teach children new skills, mentor adults and adolescents in attaining life goals, help brain injured patients maintain independence, explore research that advances evidence-based practice, and learn the ins and outs of creating community programs. Above all, USC’s occupational therapy program is preparing me to reach my overarching goal: emboldening patients to discover within themselves the perennial strength of the human spirit.

Welcome to my blog, and FIGHT ON!!!

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AOTA 2015 in Nashville! Yee-hawww! ⟩
May 11, 2015, by Jonathan

Getting Involved Videos What are OS/OT?

Howdy!

This post is about my recent trip to Nashville, Tennessee for this year’s AOTA conference! First off, I have to give a big thanks to the division for making this trip possible for me, as I was fortunately awarded a scholarship to attend the conference. This was a huge help, especially since I probably spent half of this amount on some bah-beh-cue dry ribs alone. Haha totally kidding, but jokes aside, having the opportunity to attend this year’s conference really brings my entire gradschool experience full circle. Exactly two years ago, I had the opportunity to attend the AOTA national conference right before I started the program, in which I volunteered. For any individuals who are hoping to gain a conference experience, I highly recommend volunteering, even if you are not yet a practitioner or a student! Typically if you volunteer, you get to attend the conference for free, as was the case for me two years ago. I remember going two years ago, just being admitted to the program, with excitement of what was to come. I remember running into Ricky and Rob, two former ambassadors, and little did I know that I’d be filling their shoes two years later. With that said, as Leila mentioned in a previous post, this year’s conference was the largest ever! It was a pleasure getting to attend several educational sessions, meeting other practitioners and fellow students, and just enjoying the OT pride that was definitely palpable in the atmosphere!

This year’s theme was “giving voice to the distinct value of occupational therapy.” Personally for me, this means being able to articulate, advocate, and express the unique skillset occupational therapists can provide to help all people, in utilizing occupation to help everyone we serve reach their fullest potential. Whether that’s helping a Grandfather who’s recovering from stroke gain the upper extremity strength to hold his baby granddaughter, helping a Mother who’s battling cancer find meaningful occupations while she receives treatment, helping a child with special needs gain the skillset they need to access their school curriculum, or helping a veteran with PTSD foster therapeutic relationships within the community through surfing, our value is diverse, essential, and most definitely distinct. This was actually one of my favorite things about the conference; the fact that I was able to attend several educational sessions and poster board presentations that demonstrated how occupational therapy is evolving on a daily basis, and just how occupational therapist are utilizing their unique skill sets to help people of all backgrounds. One of the practitioners I had met was formulating an occupation based program for refugees from other countries, who have a long history of oppression, abuse, or trauma. A fellow student I had met had implemented a creative arts and crafts program at a local women’s penitentiary, which I really identified with especially given my experiences at Project 180. Several relatively new professionals spoke about their transition from student to working clinician, and it was great to gain their insight about their challenges and their keys to success.

All in all, AOTA 2015 was an amazing experience that gave me greater insight about my profession, and where it is headed towards the future. Needless to say, It’s an exciting time to be in the profession and to see what my fellow colleagues have been working on to help our profession grow and evolve. In addition, Nashville was an amazing city as well and it was tons of fun checking out the city with my classmates and several new friends in our spare time. I can definitely say that I have never in my life heard so many country covers of ’90s hip and R&B songs. Here’s a video documenting some my AOTA 2015 experience.

Y’all take care now,

Jonathan

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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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The Occupational Lens ⟩
February 17, 2015, by Jonathan

What are OS/OT?

As an occupational therapist, one of the things we are best at is being able to capture the details of any given occupation. We are trained to develop this skill, because we are constantly breaking down activities into components to find out where our clients/patients may experience challenges or successes during a given occupation. From there on, we have a better idea of where our treatment efforts should be focused. With that said, during the course of the program, I’ve gotten better at developing this skill — almost to the point in which I can’t turn it off. Here are some examples of what I would like to call the “OT lens.”

This one time, I was hiking with Leila and her sister at a pretty challenging course. I remember for one of the pathways, the hill incline grade was ridiculously steep (almost 45 degrees). I remember Leila’s sister was wearing one of those drawstring backpacks, in which she had only one strap over her shoulder. Almost automatically, I found the following words coming out of my mouth: “It may be easier if you put on both straps of your backpack on so that way there’s no muscle imbalance. Also, get down more towards the floor to lower your center of gravity, and spread out your feet to increase you base of support; it may be easier to get up the hill.” I remember Leila smirking, and I found myself laughing as well, because I totally OT-geeked out. Best believe we got up that mountain, here’s a pic from the top!

This other time, I was on my way to a concert with some friends from the program. I remember being in the backseat of a full car, faced with a dilemma I’m sure you’ve all been through: trying to find your seatbelt buckle between the tiny crevice between you and your friend, without looking. I remember saying to my friends, wow, the stereognosis demand on this task is through the roof! For those of you that don’t know, stereognosis is defined as the ability to perceive the form of an object utilizing the sense of touch. I debated with my OT homies and they just laughed, saying “Jon, can we not talk about anything school related right now!?” I responded by saying “I’m sorry, I can’t help it! I can’t turn it off!”

To preface these last examples, I’ll give you a little background about my family: it is currently being overran by numerous cute babies. It’s straight up baby land at my family parties. With that said, I find myself sort of becoming the baby guru of my family. I remember one of my cousins was mentioning that her daughter loves to wash her hands. I then asked, “Does she like to do anything regarding water?” She immediately replied, “Yeah. She loves the water.” I replied with, “Well, she may be sensory seeking towards anything that involves water, much alike me.” It’s important to note that during any family party, I will take my niece an average of 4-5 times to wash her hands (even if her hands are clean), and every time I do take her, all I can think to myself is . . . “I feel you girl, I feel you!” Haha lastly, during a recent Superbowl family party I was hanging out with my 9 month nephew and I was rocking him side to side as he rested in my arms. In 5 minutes, he was sleeping . . . a friend called me the baby whisperer, to which I replied “I can’t take the credit . . . it’s the vestibular input magic at work.”

Yeah, sometimes the OT geeking out can get a little crazy and out of control. The fact is, once you’re an OT, you can’t really turn it off. Call it what it is, but it’s one of the things that comes with being an OT: we are trained to analyze people in the context of their meaningful activities; the occupations that are embedded in everyday life. The lens never really comes off, even if you try. I guess idealistically, I would like to compartmentalize school, work, and my personal life, but the fact is, having an OT lens doesn’t feel like work . . . at this point in time, it’s second nature, and it’s something that I love to do. I guess Confucius said it best: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” For me, that’s what occupational therapy is.

— Jonathan

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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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