Update & Spring 2015 Classes/Books

Bemo! Where on Earth have you been!??? Yeah, well I've been around, but I had been going through some personal issues and my motivation to do much of anything was at an all time low. I was hoping that the Christmas break would serve as a much needed rejuvenation period. However, my hopes for that went down the drain on New Year's Eve when my Papa passed away. We were like two peas in a pod and I still can't believe he's gone. I let it get me down for awhile, but I realized that life must go on and all I can really do is keep our memories together alive. Now, school is back in session and I must attack the semester differently with a fresh perspective and a greater appreciation.

Despite my lack of motivation, I still managed to do well in my classes. I finished the semester with all A's so that was good. However, it was a painful process because my mind was not right. For some reason I was just really unhappy with my life. Once I got home, I sat down and talked about it with my mom and I prayed about it. I'm much more content and grateful with where I am, but I know it's going to be a process to get where I fully need to be because I have been feeling this way for several years now.
Anyways, enough of the "woe is me stories." Let's get on to my Spring 2015 classes and books.

This semester I am taking 18 hours and the classes include:

• Introduction to Clinical Reasoning
• Psychosocial Interventions in OT
• Overview and Analysis of OT Assessment & Lab
• Hand & Upper Extremity Rehab & Lab 
• Evidence for Research and Practice 
• Conditions in OT (part 2)
• Foundations for Interprofessional Collaborative Practice 

Class started today (Jan 12, 2015). The classes seem like they are going to be tough, but interesting. I'm actually really looking forward to this semester.

In my program we reuse a lot of the same books. Therefore, this time around I was only required to purchase three additional books.

I'm going to take the rest of the week to get myself together and then I'm going to hit the ground running. My main goal for this semester is to just keep my motivation levels high. We will see how that goes. 

On a last note, I have to turn in the locations and facility types I am interested in for Fieldwork Levels I & II before spring break. I honestly have no idea as of right now. I will be scheduling an appointment with the fieldwork coordinator soon to discuss some things. I will update you guys when I make a decision. Nothing I select will be set in stone, but the fieldwork coordinator does try really hard to satisfy what we have selected. 

Fear of the Transition

This was a blog I wrote almost a year ago and forgot to finish and post! It's still unfinished, but everything that I said still holds true. I am actually taking a clinical reasoning course this semester so we will see how I feel by the end of the semester. 

Hmm...fear of the transition! "What transition?," you may ask! Well, i'm going to tell you lol. The transition from student to professional! Now, I know it's a long way from today --  about 2 years to be exact. However, I've actually had this fear for quite awhile, but as I near the reality, the fear sets in a little deeper and deeper.

Some people may think, "Why think about that now, you still have time before you are an actual professional?" Well, because I'm thinking there are some things I can do between now and then that will help ease my fear and make my transition from student to professional just a bit smoother and less nerve racking.

So what about the transition am I actually afraid of? Simple -- Clinical reasoning! Let's go ahead and define it real quick.

Clinical reasoning: "Process of collecting cues. Information processing. Understanding of patient situation. Plan/implement intervention . Evaluate outcomes. Reflect/learn from process."
Source: http://www.scribd.com/doc/24473111/Clinical-reasoning-for-Nursing-students-Glossary-of-terms

Now, the great thing about being a professional, especially one in Occupational Therapy, is that you usually work as a team with other professionals: Physical therapists, speech language pathologists, psychologists in some cases, etc. Also, many times you have a supervisor that you can meet with a reflect on your cases with.

Also, the field work experience that MOT programs require, should also help in the adjustment, but not completely. I recently found a blog that I really like. She has not been active since 2011, but the information on her blog is still really good. It's called "Practice, reasoning, and reflection." She addresses her experience with the transition from student to professional and then her struggles as a professional as time goes on. I think she is from Canada if i'm not mistaken, but it's still really relatable. Check it out if you are interested!

Unfortunately, a big reality is that MOT programs cannot possibly cover every situation that you may encounter as a professional. Therefore, you always have to be on top of your game.

Lesson of the Day| Never Become Complacent!

I talked to one of my professors today and I just want to try to recall some of the things she mentioned and reflect on them for my records. Keep in mind I'm a horrible paraphraser! Let's go ahead and get started. 

So, on Monday, one of my professors shared her experience of going through a point in her career where she realized she really was not understanding why she was providing some of the treatments she was to her clients. She said that she understood the basics or would simply do a treatment because she remembered seeing another therapist do it. She expressed her frustration and feeling of incompetency. She realized that she probably needed to go back to school and learn more -- so she did.

So today, I asked her what she did differently the second time around to help her improve as a practitioner. She said that the two things that she did differently was 1) found appreciation in theory and 2) had a mentor that helped her problem solve and improve her clinical reasoning. She spoke a lot about the importance of understanding theory and using it as a way to ground your practice. She said that it truly helps you to understand how to approach intervention all the way from interaction to evaluation to outcomes and provides guidance on choosing the best treatment for a patient. We've only learned about three occupation-based models (EHP, MOHO, OA) so far, but I can already see how understanding these theories would prove to be important as a therapist. It really helps you to broaden your scope and see your patients through a more comprehensive lens.

Later in the conversation, she mentioned that your learning as a therapist will never stop. She even went as far as to say that if you look back and ask yourself, "Am I doing therapy the same way I did last year?" and your answer is yes, you are doing something wrong. She said not everything in your practice will change but that every year you should be finding better ways to improve your practice and become a better therapist. She said you do this through continued education, reading updated research, and exploring new theories. Basically, to sum it up, you should never become complacent with your skills, you should always seek to learn more in an effort to provide the best services for your clients. Common sense right? One would think! However, unfortunately (and I've witnessed this myself, especially with older therapists), that drive to constantly learn new and better ways of providing therapy sometimes wanes and therapists do seem to become somewhat content with the knowledge they already know.

We talked for a long time so I can't remember everything, but I tried to pull out the bigger details and what I thought were important "take home messages."

Getting into "A" Program that you WANT! + Plan B

I know, I know...another video! Hopefully some of you find this video helpful.

The title of this blog post and video may be a little misleading so allow me to elaborate. This video is geared towards those who may find themselves applying to 2, 3, 4, etc. programs, but only getting one offer.

I hope that my advice will help you to have no hesitations in accepting that offer and to become one step closer to your goal as an occupational therapist. It is my belief that you should never see the programs you apply to in the scope of "most desirable to least desirable." Instead I challenge you to see the colleges you apply to as "All great programs that I would without a doubt love to be in." If you make sure that all the programs you apply to are programs that you would without a shadow of a doubt be ready to pack your bags and get to moving, you lessen the chance of you getting accepted into a program that you really don't want to go to and end up turning it down for whatever reason.

Let me give you a couple of examples of how the scenario may play out. 

1. "Ah man, I really can't afford to go that program."
2. "I really don't think I'm ready to move to New York."
3. "I don't think I want to spend 5 more years in school."
4. "I just don't think that program is a good fit for me anymore."

These are the types of situations that I hope to help you avoid.

Best of luck as you apply to different OT programs!

Link to Blog Post I Mentioned| http://oteatime.blogspot.com/2014/01/tips-applying-to-mot-program.html

3rd Week Update! (Fall 2014)

This Video Covers: 

• How I Feel About Classes So Far
• The Lazy Rut I've Been in
• Socializing with My Classmates 
• OT Polos I Ordered 
• Guest Speaker- NICU 
• SOTA (Student Occupational Therapy Association)

First Day of Fall 2014

After the summer session we were given about a week off to relax and recoop. I decided to go back home for the break and spend time with my family. My break was consumed with watching butt tons of movies and sleeping. My grandpa was in the hospital for most of my stay so I went to the hospital to visit him as often as I could. Other than that, mom and I would make trips to places like SAMs and Costco to pick up a few items for the house and my apartment. I didn't do anything too exciting, my main goal was to just relax, which in a round about way is exactly what happened.

Now that my short, but much needed break is over it is time to get back to work! Today was our first day of class (Aug. 20th). Before we left for the break one of our professors emailed us and said that our 9 o' clock class would be cancelled for the first day. This meant that I didn't have to be at school until 10:30am. Awesome, right!!? Yes and no. It was great because I got to sleep in. I had big plans of eating breakfast and doing this and doing that, but pssht none of that happened. I lolligagged around ALL morning lol. The bad side of a 10:30am class was that parking was horrible. Student parking was completely filled so I had to park in an outside extra parking lot that is farther away from the academic building. It wasn't a terrible walk, but definitely a long one. I think the summer session spoiled me when it came to parking because there was always tons of free parking spaces.

Today I had "Theories and Foundations in OT" and "Occupational Performance Throughout the Lifespan." Before today I had my reserves about my theory class. Like I told mom, theory classes usually go one of two ways really good because the teacher loves the subject they are teaching or really bad because the teacher has absolutely no enthusiasm about the subject and class is a drag. Fortunately, it looks like this is going to be a good class. I think I am really going to enjoy it! Both of the professors have great personalities and are really nice, I have high hopes for these classes.

Other than that, not much happened pretty smooth typical first day! Ain't nothing wrong with that :)

All I'm working on today is putting all my dates that I have so far for tests, quizzes, and projects due in my planner and get my apartment organized. 

Fall 2014 Semester Classes & Books

Hey guys, it's that time again! New semester, new classes, new books!



I waited to the very last minute to register. The director emphasized that she wanted us to make sure that we were going to pass anatomy before registering. I knew I would pass, but for some reason I just kept pushing it off and pushing it off. Classes start on August 20th and my last final is December 10th! I have to take Theory and Foundations of OT, Introduction to Evaluation and Intervention in OT (which has a lab), Research Process in Occupational Therapy, Occupational Performance Throughout the Lifespan, and Conditions in OT. These all total 15 hours. I'm looking forward to all my classes minus Research Process in OT. It just doesn't sound fun. lol

This is what my schedule is looking like this semester. Classes 3 times a week!
(Unless I have an exam in "Conditions in OT")

Since I only have classes roughly three times a week I plan to take out more time for myself to do the things that I want to do and focus on. Like I told one of my friends, I have spent the last 3 years of my life focusing on school, school, school and not really my happiness. I want to do yoga at least once a week and I want to start reading for leisure again as well as actually start reading my Bible again. Just the small things you know, the ones that I always push to the side because "I don't have time" "I have to study" "I'm too tired"....whatever the reason may be. I also plan to eat healthier because my diet is pitiful and that's probably why I never have the energy I need. Since I have a sensitivity to caffeine once my energy is gone it is a WRAP!

On to the books...

Here are a list of the book titles and authors (left to right; top to bottom):

• Occupational Therapy in Mental Health: A Vision for Participation (Brown & Stoffel - 1st Ed.) 
• Screening Adult Neurologic Populations (Gutman & Schonfeld - 2nd Ed.)
• Research in Occupational Therapy: Methods of Inquiry for Enhancing Practice (Kielhofner - 1st Ed.)
• Occupational Therapy for Children (Case-Smith & O'Brien - 6th Ed.) 
• Human Development and Performance Throughout the Lifespan (Cronin & Mandich - 1st Ed.)

Not pictured: (bought in summer session 2014)

• Occupational Therapy for Physical Dysfunction (Radomski & Trombly - 7th Ed.) 

Books this time around cost me $438! I purchased them all from Amazon this time around.