Student Blog
What are OS/OT?

A Salute to Veterans ⟩
November 14, 2011, by Chelsea

Community Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

Two weeks ago I went to an event hosted by the USC Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy and the USC Center for Innovation and Research on Veterans & Military Families called “A Wounded Warrior’s Experience and Physical Rehabilitation.” This event featured Medal of Honor recipient Sergeant First Class Leroy A. Petry and surgeon Colonel James Ficke, MD. Four years ago, Petry was deployed to Afghanistan, where he lost his right hand when he tossed away a grenade that was near him and two fellow soldiers. Now, Petry has an advanced prosthetic hand capable of detecting outside resistance and that responds to his muscle contractions and skin receptors. After having occupational and physical therapy, Petry can now pinch, grab and rotate his wrist. It is amazing to me that despite the loss of his right hand, Petry re-enlisted to help the wounded and be a part of their support team. I admire his resilience and his determination to help others. It is so incredible to see how important it is for some people to get back to pursuing their most meaningful occupations. Petry and many other veterans demonstrate such selflessness. As occupational therapy students, it really helps to hear people such as Petry speak because it helps us to grasp the disability experience better and allows us to understand our future clients better.

Occupational therapists play a crucial role in the lives of many war veterans, which is why the USC Occupational Therapy program has honored veteran students with several events throughout November. Since President Obama has announced the withdrawal of all our troops from Iraq by the end of the year, it is likely that occupational therapy will be in high demand in veteran’s hospital and other settings where veterans are prevalent. It will be difficult for many of these men and women who served in Iraq to transition back into civilian life, when their most meaningful occupation for the past few years has been fighting for their country. As OTs, it will be our job to help these veterans find occupations that are meaningful to them and give them the means to pursue these occupations despite any physical and/or mental disabilities they may come home with. The soldiers have done their part in helping our country, now it is our turn to help them.

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Halloween Preparations ⟩
October 28, 2011, by Alix

Classes What are OS/OT?

I’m spending a lot of time setting up decorations for Halloween. We’ve been amassing 99 cent store Halloween knickknacks for the past several years, so we have boxes upon boxes of dangling/blinking/shreiking/glow-in-the-dark things to put up. (We also carved SEVEN pumpkins last night.) This week I had to prepare a lesson plan for a group in one of my classes, and we were learning about the history of activity analysis (a core OT concept), so I decided to lead an activitiy analysis using the construction of Halloween decorations. We made ghosts, pumkins, and black cats with all the usual accoutrements out of construction paper and markers, and then we talked about the components of the activity and possibile adaptations for various ability levels. It was a useful OT exercise, but also accomplished my secret goal of bolstering my Halloween arsenal for the season. 😜 Happy Halloween!

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Role as a Turtle? ⟩
October 25, 2011, by Kimberly

What are OS/OT?

Halloween is fast approaching and some of us have decided that dressing up is still a good idea. Four of my friends and I are going to be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I think this will be one of the coolest costumes I have gotten to wear yet! The costume will consist of various articles of green clothing, colored cloth masks and wrist and knee ties (appropriate colors for each turtle), a shell made out of spray painting a snow disc sled, and then of course the weapons appropriate to each character. In preparing our costumes, we have also begun doing some research on each of the turtles to make sure we are not just turtles by costume, but by attitude also.

The other day when I was explaining to a friend all I had learned about Donatello and what the costume would look like, she said, “you are totally approaching this Halloween thing like you would researching for a role that a client might have!” At first I countered her claim but as we talked I realized that it was true. We were doing research for becoming the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles like we would any other role we might come across in OT. Even in this very remote activity from school, we couldn’t keep the stuff we’re learning out. So there you have it, OT is everywhere . . . unavoidable in even costume making. Happy Halloween everyone!

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Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic ⟩
October 24, 2011, by Chelsea

Classes Living in LA What are OS/OT?

In OT 550 “Foundations of Occupational Science” we had an assignment last week that was to attend a sporting event instead of going to class . . . pretty cool, right? The purpose of the assignment was to examine the components that comprise play for adults, such as intrinsic motivation, self-actualization, creativity, lack of seriousness, etc., and also to see how sporting events are representations of political, social, and religious rifts in society. Well, I decided to go to a sporting event I had never seen before: polo. The Veuve Clicquot Polo Classic takes place at Will Rogers State Park in Pacific Palisades. Ladies in broad rimmed hats scattered the lawn surrounding the field holding glasses of champagne in one hand and a golden Veuve Clicquot sun umbrella in the other. Men in suits and wearing Panama hats lounged in their lawns chairs. Needless to say, it is quite a classy affair. For only $15 you get a day full of entertainment, socializing, and lounging in the sun! In class the following week we discussed our experiences and related them to the themes in the readings. It was so interesting hearing about everyone’s experiences and trying to collaborate with the whole class to reach an agreement about what constitutes play. Some say we work to play, and some say we play to work because without play we would get burnt out. And then there are those that get paid to do something they truly love and never really “work” a day in their lives. Once I become an OT, that will be me!

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Career Day ⟩
October 12, 2011, by Floyd

Community Getting Involved What are OS/OT?

What do an occupational therapist and funeral counselor have in common? We are both paired up as related professions in order to speak to high school students for Career Day.

It was great to meet so many high school students who are enthusiastic and curious about their future. This was a good opportunity to spread awareness of occupational therapy to the youth so they can have an idea of the wonderful profession of occupational therapy. At first I thought the students would ask questions relating to compensation, but I was totally wrong. Most questions were addressed to the lifestyle of an OT and the satisfaction of working with people. The students and even the teacher were engaged and very interested in learning about this profession. It is always nice to see the expression on people’s faces when they first learn about what occupational therapy is and how it can impact a person’s life and well-being.

I also learned much about the skills needed to be a funeral counselor. They work with people during times of sadness and sensitivity. Sometimes, therapists have to do the same, so it was nice to find a commonality between our professions. All in all, it was a great learning experience for all of us.

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