Student Blog
What are OS/OT?

ANIMO! ⟩
November 16, 2012, by Ricky

Diversity Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

Two weeks back, in my role as student ambassador, I presented at the 2012 ANIMO Latino Young Men’s Conference (by a not-for-profit called Family Success by Design). This program features a full day of mentorship, motivational speakers, and empowering activities . . . and it’s pretty OT-based! The founder has been an OT practitioner for over 30 years. The main themes are education, financial literacy, and health. This was such a refreshing experience, and it was an honor to interact with and provide mentorship for all the young men who attended. It was great to see how talented, intelligent, and resilient these guys are. I also loved the craft project at the end (prolly the OT in me, haha).

I collaborated with one of my instructors to create and deliver a presentation on OT. Our talk was part Intro-to-OT and part motivational discourse on going to college and pursuing your dreams. Going into the conference, I was a little confused about why we were pitching OT to kids as young as 12 years old, but now I can see the whole picture. Not only is it important for these guys to be exposed to “successful” Latino men, but they also need to know about promising options for their future. The thing is, these young men are ideal candidates to become OTs in Southern California. They are male, and males are severely underrepresented in the profession. They are minorities . . . again, underrepresented. And, most speak Spanish. It’s important to note that cultural competence (and there are few better ways to immerse yourself in a culture than to speak the language) is vital to developing a therapeutic relationship and administering effective client-centered intervention.

The whole experience got me thinking about my own OT journey. I wonder how I would’ve responded to a presentation like this when I was 12. I think at 12 I was too busy trying to act cool. Anyhow, it took me a while to be honest with myself and accept that my true strengths and passions make me an ideal candidate for OT. I always knew I liked helping others and loved working with kids. That stuff just came natural to me, but my environment never gave me any indication that pursing something like OT could ever be a viable option. It wasn’t until I found myself working long hours as an accountant and asking myself “why?” Why was I working so hard? Is the paycheck enough? That set off this whole soul-searching episode in which I discovered OT. I wrestled with it. I would ask myself what my family and others might think. Would people think I was less manly? Would/should I care? It was rough, but I couldn’t deny myself anymore. I started working at a pediatric therapy clinic, just to make sure, and I was sold. Being an accountant and pragmatist, the numbers added up too (do you know how much money OTs make?! Haha).

For any of you guys that may be interested in something like OT, but don’t think it’s a viable option, I encourage you just be honest with yourselves. Take a risk and volunteer for things like ANIMO — they need more mentors like you, even if you don’t pursue OT. Trust me, I know your heart yearns for experiences where you can just let go of insecurities and just be genuine, with others and yourself.

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OT/PT Forum ⟩
November 13, 2012, by Amber

Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

Last night I attended the OT/PT Forum, which served as an opportunity for students and practitioners to explore interdisciplinary collaboration between the fields of Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. The discussion involved a variety of case scenarios in pediatrics, pain management, and hospital-based physical disabilities. Interdisciplinary teams representing both fields contributed their intervention ideas for these true scenarios. For example, one case involved a man who was in an acute stage of treatment for cancer that had affected his spinal cord and therefore his ability to walk. The physical therapist focused on helping the man to regain strength, balance, and retraining him to walk. The occupational therapist focused on the deep anxiety that the man was feeling due to his disability, and helped him with relaxation and compensatory strategies. It was fascinating to hear the perspectives of physical therapy practitioners, and gain an appreciation for their approach to treatment. The Forum also brought to light current research from both occupational therapy and physical therapy. The event has been presented by our occupational therapy honor society, Pi Theta Epsilon, for three years. Please comment if you have any ideas for topics for the next OT/PT Forum!

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Interdisciplinary Health Fair ⟩
November 13, 2012, by Paula

Community Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

Last Saturday, USC Occupational Therapy students participated in a health fair at the YMCA of Alhambra with our Health Science Campus neighbors! The PharmSC Clinic hosted this student-run health fair with support and involvement of the USC School of Pharmacy, USC Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, USC Physician’s Assistant Program and UCLA School of Dentistry. The event was a collaboration of efforts in order to educate the community and honor National Diabetes Awareness Month.

At one point in the day when there was a lull in the community attendance, a student from our tabling neighbors turned to our table and asked, “So, what is OT, anyway?” As an OT student, we often hear this question from the community and are used to educating others about OT. Providing this education to students of the other disciplines is just as valuable in order to advocate for our profession among future interdisciplinary professionals. Overall, it was a great morning of educating community members and students from the other disciplines. Many of the consumers who approached our booth had either not heard of Occupational Therapy or were familiar with OT but unsure of what OTs do in practice in terms of Diabetes management. Student volunteers educated consumers about the importance of a balanced daily routine. We also described how Occupational Therapists help clients find new strategies to stay on top of blood sugar levels, medication and insulin timing throughout the day. Another hot topic was the importance of good grooming and activity levels to improve general health and thus also help with Diabetes management.

Consumers responded with interest in learning more about OT and also an appreciation of what we do as a profession for such a variety of individuals and settings we serve. It was a great day of spreading the news of how valuable Occupational Therapy truly is!

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OT outside OT school ⟩
November 7, 2012, by Kendra

Community Living in LA What are OS/OT?

Last weekend I attend wedding #527 of the semester in New Orleans. While chatting with the bride’s mother, I learned a dear friend of hers is an occupational therapist who manages a skilled nursing facility in San Antonio, Texas.

Let me meet this girl I said!

It was a really exciting moment for me, getting to ‘talk shop’ with a seasoned professional and hold my ground while doing so. In chatting I discovered she did the validity studies in the early ’90s for the Allen Diagnostic Modules (ADM). Validity and reliability studies are essential for evidence based practice. We need the evidence to show our assessments measure what they say they do (validity) and consistently between testings and different testers (reliability). It just so happens this semester I am interning with one of the developers of the ADM!

It’s moments like these that I am so proud of my education. Not only do I get to go to school with the movers and shakers in the OT world, but Los Angeles is also a city of brilliant and imaginative occupational therapists. I felt, even though I’m still a student, I already have the education to collaborate and work on par with seasoned professionals. Add to that my job as a student ambassador makes attending these kinds of functions; weddings, bridal showers, etc., so much easier to navigate because now I can talk about OT in a clear, succinct way. It was so rewarding getting to offer insight and swap stories with a professional who has been working in the field for 40+ years. And it is especially rewarding to see someone’s internal light bulb go on when they understand the value of an occupational therapist.

This is why USC is #1 in OT!

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OT Global Day of Service ⟩
November 2, 2012, by Paula

Community Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

Last weekend, on October 27th, was the Occupational Therapy Global Day of Service in which occupational therapists worldwide become involved in volunteer efforts in observance of World Occupational Therapy Day. This year, students from USC’s Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy took this opportunity to go out with friends to lend a helping hand while also educating others on the all that the profession has to offer. Students were involved in many different ways for the Global Day of Service.

I was lucky enough to volunteer with an organization called CFY. This group helps families set up their own computer-based Home Learning Center at the beginning of the workshop, learn basic software operations and get hands-on experience using their Home Learning Center to improve reading, writing, and mathematics. In the sessions, we assisted families during the workshop and helped keep the day running smoothly. At the end of the trainings, families pack up their Home Learning Center and take it home. This was a truly humbling experience to be able to volunteer with this group and extremely applicable to occupational therapy as we were enabling families to learn in which was some of their very first exposure to a computer and we were able to give them the tools to interact in an educational manner with their children.

Having grown up in a generation which is so completely engrossed in all things technology, this was an extremely valuable experience for me and a reminder of how different lived experiences can be from one person to the next. I was so excited to participate in this day of service and I am proud of my fellow occupational therapy students and practitioners who also took the time out of their Saturday in order to give back to the community, to pay it forward, and to educate someone else of the importance and applicability of occupational therapy.

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