Student Blog
What are OS/OT?

Inspired ⟩
February 12, 2013, by Paula

Classes What are OS/OT?

So this entry may seem to mirror Amber’s last post a bit but I have been feeling the same excitement at the progress I know that we all have made over the past years. I feel like we are finally pushing away those clouds of self-doubt that come with being a novice, wide-eyed student and are looking forward to exploring what our future careers will be with anticipation. The energy is definitely different mid-way through this final semester and it’s as though there was a transformation sometime within the winter break which really ignited the class. This is a great thing!!

Within the Motor Control elective, I have had the opportunity to meet some amazing people. My clinical observation placement is located in the Jacquelin Perry Institute (JPI) at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, where I primarily follow an OTR/L who works with patients in the Stroke Rehabilitation program. I know that you have heard each of us mention Rancho by now. This rehabilitation center is certainly deserving of the highly esteemed reputation it has developed over nearly a century of providing services. The aspect of Rancho which I value most as a student is the enthusiasm for learning and the obvious effort that each member of the rehabilitation team makes to encourage students while also maintaining such a high quality of care for the people they treat each day. For every student who has started out in the clinical setting, there are those moments of, “Oh no, I cannot remember what they said about this in class,” interspersed with moments of “But, what if I do something wrong?!” It is normal; it is called ‘learning’; and it happens to us all along the way. When a location makes an obvious effort to support the learning experience and clearly has confidence in the ability of the student, as they do at Rancho, it resonates with the students.

Today during lab, a fellow student and I were told that we would be leading a co-treat with a gentleman we have observed in therapy before. We were able to evaluate, compete an occupational profile for the individual (including his prior function, changes he has experienced and what he would like to get back to doing), assess his scapular and thoracic alignment and perform scapular mobilizations to facilitate a more appropriate posture necessary to support activity in therapy. It has been so gratifying to work with people through the many different settings in fieldwork and to learn so much from each of them along the way . . . I feel like I am always saying this, but I am so looking forward to actually being an OT (soon)!

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Feeling Like A “Real” OT! ⟩
February 11, 2013, by Amber

Classes What are OS/OT?

This semester I am taking several elective courses, all of which are very exciting because I have chosen to take them based on my interests. They are all very hands-on and full of practical knowledge that I will use every day in practice. The most hands-on of these elective courses is Enhancing Motor Control for Occupation. In this course we are learning how to facilitate the recovery of motor control after an individual has sustained an upper motor neuron lesion, as may happen during a stroke or traumatic brain injury. We learn different theories and techniques, such as Neuro-Developmental Treatment (NDT) and apply them to occupational therapy treatment. Best of all, the instructor is a working practitioner at Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center and the class takes place onsite in the inpatient unit.

A requirement of this course is that I observe occupational therapists using motor control during real treatment sessions for two hours per week. One of the first patients I observed was an elderly gentleman with a goofy sense of humor. He had a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease and had recently suffered from a stroke. The occupational therapist completed a visual assessment with the gentleman to confirm that he displayed left-sided inattention. This means that he consistently ignored information on the left side of his visual field. For example, when reading an eye chart he only read the right half of each line. The therapist mentioned that in subsequent sessions he would be working with the man to help him pay attention to his left side.

During the session I spoke with the man’s wife and asked her what sort of things he liked to do before he was limited by his conditions. She mentioned that he was someone who could “fix anything” and that he was an avid golfer. At the end of the session, I related these facts to the occupational therapist and suggested he may use these activities to facilitate attention to the left. He was not previously aware of the man’s interest in golf and thanked me for my input. I saw the gentleman again at his next session. The occupational therapist had found a golf ball and fashioned a club out of a cane turned upside down (a testimony to the creativity of OTs!). The therapist situated a target to the left side of the man, and like a pro he overcame his left inattention to hit the target every time! It was wonderful to feel that I had contributed to a small breakthrough for this man who is struggling to regain the function he had lost. During that session I felt like a “real” OT and it was fantastic! I’m looking forward many more moments like this in the future as I gain confidence in my abilities.

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Happy OTs ⟩
February 8, 2013, by Kendra

Fieldwork What are OS/OT?

I have had the awesome opportunity to interview at a couple of incredible fieldwork sites this past week. And while these opportunities are definitely amazing and a dream, what makes me even more excited is the confidence I will have that where ever I choose to go, happy OTs will greet me when I’m there.

Did you know that OTs are some of the happiest professionals in the work place? Did you know that OT is one of the top ten degrees that pays you to play?

I love those statistics. And they are so true. When you walk into an OT clinic or OT rehab unit, you’re greeted with smiles. You see people working together with other therapists and actually ENJOYING what they do.

People this is RARE!

OT offers many, many things: job security, the feeling that you’ve helped change a life. But enjoyment? Fun? The pressure to get a good job is so high these days, you don’t often think to expect happiness throughout your career as well.

So as you make your decision about what career path you may take or whether or not choosing OT was the right choice, look at the mood of the OTs in that clinic, and when you see them laugh, smile, and share their joy, I think you’ll have the same feeling I did.

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“Say yes to play” ⟩
February 7, 2013, by Alisa

What are OS/OT?

Growing up in Thailand, oftentimes I would get scolded for playing or being playful. At a young age, I felt that I had to grow up. Even though I wasn’t the oldest child, I felt that I had to be mature. Was I trying to please the adults? Probably. I was the well-behaved one growing up. I would feel guilty for playing. It was like a stigma if you’re an adult and still play, but that didn’t stop my uncles. Maybe that’s why I admire them so much. Although they are very busy as business owners, they embrace me whenever I visit them. One of them enjoys playing golf and being a Thai Elvis. He seriously has one of the best voices — his tone is amazing. Another one knows everything about technology and video games. I realize that what drew me to them was their playfulness. They have many interests and are willing to share the joy of playing and being playful with me. Now I realize that playing is okay. It’s a form of self-care. Play continues throughout the lifespan. I am thankful for choosing the path to be an occupational therapist because I will be getting paid to play! The profession has instilled in me the balance of work, rest and play. Although it could be tough to make time being that I have many roles and responsibilities, it is important.

From reading Dr. Erna Blanche’s Play and Process: The experience of play in the life of the adult, I learned that there are different types of play: restoration, ludos (light-hearted play like joking around), self-awareness, mastery, adventure, and creativity. Now that I’m getting older — ahem — as evidenced by the amount of gray hairs I have, I enjoy more of a restorative play. I engage in this type of play through yoga. I find that I am able to put my mind into the practice and forget about everything else for just a bit, but that is probably the most refreshing part of my day.

How often do you play? What kinds of play do you engage in?

This is a photo of my dog, Summer. He likes to do leaps in the air.

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Try, try again ⟩
February 1, 2013, by Kendra

Fieldwork What are OS/OT?

So many times when I write on this blog, I write about inspiring moments or epiphanies I’ve had about OT. And while the bulk of my time at USC has been filled with those exact experiences, sometimes I stumble. Sometimes I fail.

So in an effort to humble myself and let you readers (possible future students) know that school is about learning, I offer a teaching story for you.

Last summer I did my level II fieldwork at a sensory integration clinic. Part of my fieldwork required me to do a case study, using current research, to attempt an intervention with a child. I chose an adorable little boy with Autism, who was underweight and undernourished due to possible sensory issues, weak oral musculature, and picky eating habits. His parents were very eager for me to try something, anything to get their little boy eating again. I found several studies and had my intervention approved.

Three times a week for ten weeks I put little pieces of corn or peas or carrot into his chicken nuggets or pancakes with the hope that I was helping this boy improve his nutrition, muscle strength and preference for different foods.

It didn’t work. In fact at one point he wasn’t eating at all. By the end of my intervention we were not friends, every time he saw me he’d turn away. Meal time was NO FUN and even his social skills during group seemed to be declining.

Flash forward to my dysphagia class last night, and our professor is showing us multiple videos of feeding interventions with another little boy with very similar issues to the one I worked with this summer.

And I do not exaggerate, EVERYTHING she said to NOT DO during feeding I DID. I was humiliated, mortified, embarrassed, and laughing because I was seeing how epically my intervention had failed. There was no going around it, I bombed.

But this is the great thing about attending school and having many internships and mentorships before being released into the real world of therapy. I was never in danger of harming the boy, my actions were always supervised by a therapist, and by allowing me to fail I was still learning.

So remember, future students, that while you come to school to learn and succeed (and I know you want to be perfect) sometimes by failing you learn even more than you imagined.

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