Student Blog
What are OS/OT?

Restorative Occupation on R(OT)ation ⟩
March 15, 2021, by Calvin

Classes What are OS/OT?

Last week was the Week of Restorative Occupations! This eventful week encouraged all students, faculty and staff to engage in restorative occupations. There were daily division-hosted events not limited to baking sessions, cardboard loom-weaving, salsa dance breaks, and joke writing! There’s also a compiled list of General Resources that includes restorative occupations outside of USC that we can all continue participating in. Shoutout to our amazing Webmaster, Paul Bailey, because I’m sure he put in a lot of time and effort to put all of that together 😊! You rock, Paul!

Although the event itself is over, that doesn’t mean we should stop engaging in restorative occupations! This past week was a time to highlight and celebrate the importance of participating in those occupations, and I’m definitely going to keep mine going. One of my favorite occupations is listening to music, so I decided to create a Spotify playlist that really reflects what “restorative” means to me: good energy, happiness, and relaxation. I love to share what I listen to, so I’ll include a preview to my playlist below!

I was actually introduced to a few of these songs in my OT 578: Therapeutic Communication: Facilitating Change in Clients course because Dr. Jesús Díaz would invite students to play music during breaks. He even asked some faculty to send over their playlists — thanks for the new music Dr. Arameh Anvarizadeh and Dr. Sook-Lei Liew, we love good taste!

Feel free to comment down below if you discovered a new song you like or if you want to share some of your favorite songs!

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My Fieldwork in a “non-traditional” setting ⟩
February 12, 2021, by Lamoni

Fieldwork What are OS/OT?

My previous blog post was about being comfortable with uncertainty as I waited to learn where I would be placed for fieldwork this semester. Update: I have been placed and I have completed my first week! I am in what we would call a “non-traditional” setting. The work that I will be doing is not happening in a clinic or hospital and the clients do not have diagnoses. In fact, I will be completing my work remotely because it is research. I am at SOLA Peace Center working under Dr. Kristy Payne and regularly meeting with Dr. Gelya Frank. SOLA is a non-profit organization that has recently formed a collaboration with USC. SOLA’s primary goal is to create more peaceful and just communities. It is based out of South Los Angeles and primarily serves the economically disadvantaged. The organization recognizes that poverty is a form of structural violence and due to a lack of resources, children in these communities are often experiencing occupational alienation. As occupational therapists, we know the many benefits that occupation and occupational opportunities bring to our lives. Thus, we can imagine how detrimental the lack of occupational opportunities can be. Without proper tools, skills, and resources, children are limited in their possibilities. My role as a level II fieldwork student here is to strengthen the effectiveness and reach of SOLA in the community by attending community meetings, completing observations, and researching best practices. To be productive in the community, SOLA must be backed by evidence.

Though I am not writing treatment plans and submitting documentation, the work at SOLA is that of an occupational therapist. I ask the questions, “what is preventing children in this community from engaging in meaningful occupation?” and “How can I change that and help them be successful?” The overarching theme of occupational therapy remains – how can I help this person do what they need to do and want to do (despite disability, illness, and/or circumstance)? The work at SOLA is a combination of pediatrics, wellness, and mental health. Children learn ways to regulate themselves, life skills such as peaceful communication and conflict resolution, and goal-setting for self-improvement. Further, children learn how to be leaders in their community, how to take social action, and how to make their voices heard. There is no selection process—anyone that wants to join is able to do so. What I love most about SOLA is their focus on and integration of occupational justice. SOLA aims to give children exposure to new possibilities and the tools that they need for success in school, in the workforce, and in society.  The mission is to help those in the community feel like they have agency, particularly the children that are often overlooked.

I am so excited to acquire and develop new skills while working with SOLA Peace Center! The insight that I gain will not only help me become a more thoughtful, well-rounded occupational therapy practitioner, I will be assisting in leveling an unfair playing field while doing so. Everything that we do with intention is occupation. That means that occupational therapy fits into much more than the distinct areas of adult rehabilitation, pediatrics, and mental health. We are a profession with so much value and so much to share. Let us continue to expand and bring our expertise where it is needed.

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Humans of USC Chan Volume 2 ⟩
January 25, 2021, by Calvin

Diversity Getting Involved Videos What are OS/OT?

Did you know that you can major in occupational therapy as an undergraduate student at USC? The Chan Division currently offers an accelerated program, known as the Bachelor’s to Master’s Program, where undergraduate students can earn their master’s degree in occupational therapy with just one additional year. I believe that the BS-MA students have very unique experiences to share, especially as individuals who committed to the profession so early on.

So, I invited some Bachelor’s to Master’s students to come and talk about how they discovered occupational therapy! On top of that, we discussed topics related to their favorite experiences, extracurricular involvement, differences being in an accelerated program at USC, and advice for students who might be interested in the program! If you watch it through YouTube, the video is time-stamped with each topic in case you ever want to go back to a specific conversation.

I hope you find this video helpful and that these diverse perspectives give you more insight into what student life is like in the Bachelor’s to Master’s program! Welcome to the Humans of USC Chan!

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A HANDful of Fun in Hands Electives ⟩
October 29, 2020, by Liz

Classes What are OS/OT?

The end of the semester is approaching, which means it’ll soon be time to wave goodbye to the best electives ever! Okay, yes I am biased because I really do love hands and hand therapy. I was initially pretty bummed about having to complete these electives via Zoom because I was nervous about not being able to do a lot of hands on work. No pun intended! But, I am happy to say I was proven wrong. I’ve had a blast learning in both OT 573: Hand Rehabilitation and OT 562: Advanced Hand Rehabilitation and Certification (PAMs).

Lisa Deshaies is the instructor for OT 573, and I have learned so much. We’ve learned about the anatomy of the hand, which I have to admit was really intimidating to think about at first! Lisa does a wonderful job of going over the anatomy of the hand and has some wonderful tips on how to remember different parts. In her class we’ve also learned about several different diagnoses, such as osteoarthritis, arthritis, and carpal tunnel syndrome to name a few. We’ve discussed the importance of wound care and the different phases of healing. We’ve talked about different orthoses and have had the opportunity to critically think about which orthosis we would recommend given different client cases. Lisa has shared so many resources with us to continue practicing our knowledge of anatomy and is so patient when explaining different concepts in class. This week we had our first in-person course, where we practiced casting. It was so much fun! I had seen this done at the hand therapy clinic I worked at, and I finally got to try it. Here’s some pictures!

In OT 562 we’ve learned about a multitude of physical agent modalities that may be used in hand therapy practice. We’ve learned about ice/ice massage, hot packs, ultrasound, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES), paraffin, iontophoresis, and phonophoresis. Aside from learning about the modalities from our instructor, we’ve had a chance to learn from each other. Each student has had a chance to become familiar with one of the modalities I listed and presented during our small groups. We’ve learned about the precautions and contraindications, parameters, and when/why we would use the modality with clients. Dr. Rocker is extremely knowledgeable and has challenged us with multiple case studies that allow for us to critically think about which modality, if any, we would use in different cases. Some of the cases presented in class are cases that Dr. Rocker has seen in practice, which is really cool! We’ve had class on campus to try out ultrasound (sorry, I forgot to take some pictures!). We also had TENS/NMES units mailed to us from the Division, which we’ve had a chance to try out during class. It was a really cool experience to know what the modality feels like, and how it would be beneficial for certain clients. A little class fun this week included dressing up for Halloween. I really appreciated that Dr. Rocker continues to try and make class fun for everyone even though we aren’t on campus as we would usually be.

If you’re as passionate about hands as I am, you’ll definitely get so much out of these two electives. The content is extremely relevant to hand therapy practice. If you’re interested in becoming certified in PAMs, CBOT requires a minimum of 30 educational hours and 240 supervised hours of PAMs training. The PAMs course counts towards 33 educational hours — so, you would be done with that part! All that’s left to worry about is obtaining the direct training in PAMs, which you could start accumulating hours for when out in practice as a certified OT. Pretty awesome!

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The OT Necessities: Fiction Edition ⟩
October 28, 2020, by Bethany

What are OS/OT?

With fieldwork coming up, I have been reflecting on the traits that make a good occupational therapist. I’ve also been able to think about my role models that embody those important attributes. Surprisingly, not all of my role models are real-live people. Below are ten fictional characters and ten qualities that would make good OTs. With Halloween season upon us, it’s a great time to think of some of these inspirational characters.

Lucy Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia)
First up on the list, we have the lovely Queen Lucy of Narnia, known for her compassion toward others. From when she first enters the world all the way to when she becomes queen, her kindness toward others and desire to help people are what drives her actions. Her compassion will also help her as an OT.

Master Shifu (Kung Fu Panda)
When trying to engage Po in training, Master Shifu is observant about Po’s interests and motivations. He notices Po is motivated by food, and Shifu uses that to train Po. In a similar way, OTs must be aware of their client’s motivations and must be observant during sessions.

Oliver Wood (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone)
We all know the name Harry Potter, but we have to recognize the skill of his first quidditch captain. Oliver Wood has the teaching and communication skills to break down a wizard sport to someone who had never heard of it before. He would be able to explain activities to his OT clients easily, and he could perhaps add some magic to the mix and make sessions even more exciting.

Mulan (Mulan)
Mulan is known for how she can look at a problem from a different angle, whether it’s climbing up a pole using weights that were supposed to make the task more difficult, or whether it’s causing an avalanche, she has an ability to find new uses for objects. Her ability to see things from unique perspectives to solve problems creatively will benefit her in OT practice.

Hiccup (How to Train Your Dragon)
When working with a wild dragon, Hiccup demonstrates incredible patience in building rapport. He is able to deal with the dragon’s frustrations, as he tries to understand where Toothless is coming from. Hiccup is willing to learn how to fly alongside Toothless. If he has this much patience with a dragon, I can only imagine his patience with his OT clients.

Gru (Despicable Me)
Gru has three young girls to take care of, and when he reads them a bedtime story, he takes their love of puppet books into account. He uses his own creativity to tie in their interests and passions into his care. Any OT willing to bond with their client through a nose puppet book is winning.

Skeeter Phelan (The Help)
Skeeter uses her writing abilities to capture individuals’ stories and to advocate for what they need and deserve. In a similar way, Skeeter could use her abilities as an OT to create carefully worded and carefully spell-checked writing and documentation to advocate for services for their clients and to document their progress.

Elastigirl (The Incredibles)
This supermom is literally and metaphorically flexible. She can stretch herself, literally, to vacuum under the couch and to parachute off a plane. She is also flexible in adapting her approaches to how she handles parenting and how she handles saving the world. Her flexibility will help her as an OT in adjusting to clients’ needs or even clients’ mood.

Mary Poppins (Mary Poppins)
How did this nanny make a name for herself? Her ability to engage her wards in chores they originally don’t want to do by making hard work fun. She hums her tunes and draws them into activities by building rapport and being creative, qualities that will make OT sessions easy for her.

Captain America (The Avengers)
Cap is known for how he works as a team player in a group with people of different strengths. During the final battle, he directs each of his teammates to where they are needed and where they can best help. On an interprofessional team as an OT, Captain America would understand everyone’s unique perspectives and roles and how to collaborate to best serve the client.

What incredible role models! There are so many important qualities that go into making a good OT. My goal is to keep pursuing OT driven by compassion and to continue to build the rest of these skills along the way.

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