Student Blog
What are OS/OT?

Accessibility at Disneyland ⟩
April 23, 2013, by Alisa

Diversity What are OS/OT?

Last week my uncle and his family came to visit from Thailand. It was their first time in the United States. I had an eye-opening experience to begin to understand what it was like to live with a T4 spinal cord injury. I was playing tour guide for some of the days. At Disneyland the accommodations were spectacular. They have done a good job in making most of the rides accessible for people using wheelchairs. I had my handy dandy Guide for Guests with Disabilities. We went to Indiana Jones, It’s a Small World, the Jungle Cruise, Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters, Finding Nemo Submarine Voyager, Star Tours, Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean, Innoventions, the Haunted Mansion, Mickey’s House. While some of the rides didn’t require my uncle to transfer, many of them required transfer either to a higher seat or to a lower seat. My uncle thought that at times he was just going to wait for us, but I insisted that his son and I could lift him. He was able to enjoy all of the same rides with us, and I thought that this is how everywhere should be. I didn’t see my uncle as a person who is disabled, but the environment made him that way. I thought about universal design and the importance of making all spaces accessible for everyone. I appreciate the fact the guide provided a description of where the accessible entrances are located. During lunch we saw a Jedi Training Academy workshop for kids, and I also got to learn more about what it’s like to live with a spinal cord injury for over 20 years. He knew I was studying to be an occupational therapist and even offered himself as a case study. After I took them to get jelly beans and dinner at Rainforest Café, I dropped my uncle and his family off at the hotel exactly at midnight. It was a Cinderella story after all.

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Feelin Competent ⟩
April 18, 2013, by Ricky

Classes What are OS/OT?

Last night was our practicum in motor control class. A practicum, in this case, is an exam that tests your application of techniques learned in class (and practiced in lab). The techniques we were tested on were primarily mobilizations. You would typically be using mobilizations with someone who has experienced neurological trauma which has impacted their ability to control certain muscles. Mobilizations help align and stretch affected areas and provide feedback to the nervous system. To do a mobilization, you place your hands on respective landmarks throughout the skeletal system and apply force in varying directions. Apparently, our instructor has a great deal of faith in us because he had us do the mobilizations BLINDFOLDED! The anticipation of doing an exam blindfolded was pretty nerve-wracking. However, once we got started, it was as if my body was on auto-pilot. I was surprised by how natural it felt. This was such a confidence-booster. At the end, the clinical instructor provided us with feedback. He had no comments for me! I was pretty ecstatic.

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Goodwill and OT ⟩
April 10, 2013, by Kendra

Externships What are OS/OT?

These last few weeks I have had several transformative experiences, but more on those later. Last weekend was the OT Extravaganza, an event hosted each year by the Division of OS and OT and put together by members of PTE (the student honor society). This year’s theme was Leadership, and as part of the event students were allowed to enter their Leadership Externship experiences into a competition.

I am thrilled to say my partner Jane and I won for our work with Mujeres Fuertes along with two other amazing gals who went to Costa Rica.

This was such a HUGE honor and a source of immense pride for Jane and myself because we have also been awarded the Extraordinary Engagement Award by USC for our work with Mujeres Fuertes. It feels like here at the end of our education that things are falling into place, that our education has helped us to become not just advocates for OT, but for women, health, and the community. And that’s just one program!

My heart was near to bursting on Sunday, after so much good will from our school, when we returned to the group to lead a stress management session. Every. Single. Time that I work with the women, share with them, learn from them I feel transformed. I forgot in my desire to help others make positive change, that their lives can have a tremendous impact on my own. I feel that I have a new community of support bonded by the simple fact that we are women and we want to feel better about our lives.

Above we are “releasing” the stress we cannot control by tying it to a balloon and letting go. Such a simple exercise carried so much weight and meaning to all of us.

Occupational therapy is so powerful, not just for the client but for the therapist as well. I feel an enormous wealth of positivity surrounding me as I make my transition from school to the workforce.

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The RCFE Challenge ⟩
March 19, 2013, by Ricky

Externships What are OS/OT?

Just got done with my 2-week Leadership Externship. I got to split my time between 2 assisted living companies. One company operates 2, 6-bed homes; and the other runs a campus with capacity/licensure for 86 residents. The technical name for places like these is Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly (RCFEs). If you aren’t really familiar with the different residential settings that are available for older adults, you may think of an RCFE as a convalescent or nursing home, but sometimes these names get jumbled. The best way to think of them is to picture a continuum of assistance/care provided: at one end you will see places that provide little to no care, and at the other end you will find places that offer complete care (like feeding or even managing life-supporting apparatuses). RCFEs are [supposed to be] in the middle of this continuum, offering some support/care. I was really surprised to observe, however, that RCFEs will pretty much accommodate anybody over the age of 60. With the baby-boomer generation coming of age, I recognized the increasing demand for RCFEs. As a future OT, with an administrative background, I know that this industry holds great opportunity for OT; so I had to check it out. I spent a better part of my time following the administrators around as they managed the day-to-day functions. It was so interesting to get a peek into the thought processes of the people making the tough business decisions at these RCFEs. Both places offered memory-care, which is what they call the level of care provided to people with Alzhiemer’s and other diagnoses that manifest into dementia. It was neat to see the level of care provided to these residents. I also had a chance to educate the administrators on the value of OT — after providing one of the administrators with an overview of what we did, and what we could do for his residents, he seemed very perplexed as to why (to his knowledge) none of his 86 residents were receiving OT. I was surprised too. The fact is: we have the skills that RCFEs desperately need, and we are desperately underrepresented in the industry. There are quite a few reasons behind our being left out of RCFEs, but that makes for a whole series of blog entries, so I’ll spare ya’ll. Bottom line: RCFEs need OT, and OT needs some strong advocates . . . are you up for the challenge?

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Mujeres Fuertes ⟩
March 19, 2013, by Kendra

Community Externships What are OS/OT?

These last two weeks I have been at my externship. This is our opportunity to ‘bridge the gap’ in our learning or expand upon specific areas of interest before we are released into the wild, wild world of REAL WORK!

I have chosen to focus on learning about the intricacies of creating, operating and funding a non-profit. The non-profit would support the current group a classmate and I run, Mujeres Fuertes. This group is a perfect example of how my education at USC OT has the potential to transfer directly to the real world. We designed the group in our Occupation-centered programs for the community class last fall. The response was so positive, we received funding from a local non-profit to start implementing the group!

Wow, right?!

The group has been an amazing success. Through our needs assessment, we were able to identify that people, specifically women, living in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of LA, have an increased incidence of chronic illness, many of which are lifestyle related and preventable. Every other week we meet with two groups of 10 women for an hour, set goals and learn about stress management, nutrition, and exercise. It’s also an opportunity for the women to become health advocates that promote change at the personal, family, and community level.

We feel so confident a group like this can have rippling effects throughout many communities, we are now taking it to the next level, obtaining more funding and potentially establishing a non-profit. Its a lot to learn, but California is incredibly supportive of little programs like ours.

Each time I feel nervous or overwhelmed, I think of the women who call me their inspiration, that are making small changes every week to improve their lives. I cannot let them down, and I’m grateful for the chance to learn how to run a business, so that I won’t.

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