OT Definition - Again

For one of my classes we needed to develop a large business card complete with a brief definition of occupational therapy. We had to look up 5 different definitions and discuss how we came up with our definition based on our 5 sources. I know I already shared my definition a few months ago, but here is my revision (and it might just change a few more times before I graduate) along with my tag line and image from my calling card:

Occupational Therapists help develop skills needed to overcome a disability, relearn these skills after trauma, or prevent injury through the use of activities that are meaningful to the patient.

"Giving life new meaning"

So there you go, thats what and OT does in as few words as I could possible write it in.

Summer Semester

I finally started OT school! Yay! I officially began 5 weeks ago and amazingly enough am halfway through the semester! I can't believe it. Our first summer semester is intense with 10 credits in 10 weeks, 6 of them from anatomy. In gross (or cadaver) anatomy we have already covered the back, shoulder, upper limb, pelvis and lower limb. We are now beginning our biggest unit on the head and neck. For surface anatomy we have covered the shoulder and upper limb and are halfway done with the lower limb. I can't believe how much information I have pushed into my brain in the last few weeks its absolutely crazy. I also just finished a half semester course on Evidence based practice. It was the first in a series of research classes. It was interesting, but it was hard to glean a lot from it since I know so little about OT. We have an intro to occupational science and occupational therapy class, which is very fundamental, but also very helpful. There has been a series of lectures on all different aspects of OT and OS as an academic field, as a profession, as health care. It just makes me more excited to be an OT (and it doesn't hurt that our professor is crazy and amazing!) Lastly, we each have to do a 4 week clinical experience. Mine starts next Monday at a local day camp and I can't wait to work with the kids for a few weeks.

Summer semester is hard because while we do have some OT related classes, a lot of what we are learning is background information that we need to know in order to start actual OT classes. It is sometimes hard to keep your eye on the prize when you are buried beneath anatomy papers and books. I try to keep in mind that "I need to know this in order to move on" and "it will become relevant in the next semesters" and when it gets really bad "every other OT has gone through this and they made it, you can too!" I've made it through the first half and I'm still here, so I'm pretty sure I'll make it through the second half in one piece.

Well I am delaying studying the skull so I better get back to work. Maybe next week I'll share what I've been learning because I know you are dying to find out how to palpate someone's gluteus maximus.

Social Media and Updates

I started this blog a few weeks ago to provide a place to share my thoughts and feelings and ideas as I go through OT school and (hopefully) start a career in OT. It also seemed like a great way to document my journey and maybe even provide a place to meet other OTs/ OT students and talk about the field. Well, I was surprised to see an entire article on social media in the newest issue of OT Practice (in fact, the first issue I have received). I knew I wasn't the only OT blogger out there, in fact I regularly read Karen Dobyns blog (one of the bloggers mentioned in the article), but it was really cool to see the benefits and even the negatives of blogging and other media outlets. I love to watch OT videos on YouTube because I just want to learn as much as I can. Its also great to read the blogs of OTs to learn more about the field and how many different things you can do with OT, or to read the blogs of students and be able to empathize with them or be reminded of what is to come in my own journey. I hope I will be able to use this tool to grow as an OT and get as much as I can out of the years of schooling ahead. I also hope that others will get something out of it as well, even if its just that I'm a little off the wall. OT is something I am really becoming passionate about and I am so excited to be able to share it with others.

Now for a school update: I just recently got my schedule for the Summer. It is going to be a little intense, but I can't wait. I will be taking: Human Anatomy, Surface Anatomy, Intro to Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, Intro to Evidence Based Practice, and OT Clinical Correlates in Occupation. Its 10 credits in 10 weeks. My books are on the way and I can't wait to jump in, classes start in 47 days (orientation in 45 days). Here's my updated to-do list before I go:

• find an apartment and roommate... making another trip on Monday
• get lots of shots and blood antibody titers - DONE!
• apply for loans - DONE!
• apply for scholarships - ongoing, but I haven't done as much as I should..
• buy a computer - DONE!
• pack all my stuff - I'll wait til May to start this I think
• review some A&P so I don't have as much to learn over the summer - ongoing, and I've been reviewing a lot recently
  
• spend as much time with my two doggies as I can before I have to leave them. - ongoing, and I'll never have spent enough time with them.

I'm getting there. The list is growing shorter. I can see the light at the end of the tunnel anyway, and that is always a good thing.

What is Occupational Therapy?

One of the suggestions in my OT Student Primer is that you have a working definition of what Occupational Therapy is so that you can answer the inevitable question that immediately follows "What are you going to school for?" I have been working on my definition recently as I am constantly asked to define OT. Yesterday, for example, I was talking to my mom about a youtube video I watched on Lifestyle Redesign. I explained all the cool programs this particular OT offered- stress and pain management, organization and study techniques for college students, green living, nutrition and weight loss- and when I was finished my mom asked, "What does that have to do with her being an OT?" I was very surprised. I had talked to my mom about what OT was and thought I did a decent job explaining it, but she didn't realize all that the field encompassed. I listened to one of the AOTA Living Life to the Fullest podcasts this afternoon called "What is Occupational Therapy?" An OT student asked how to define OT in a detailed enough way so people understand but still give credit to all the different areas. Even the two seasoned OTs who were asked talked of the difficulty. OT is constantly growing and expanding and there is really no way to define it in one sentence.

In order to survive my career as an OT student and following into an Occupational Therapist, I do need some sort of concise answer to this question. So here it is- with ideas taken from numerous other blogs and videos and other sources.

Q: What is occupational therapy?

A: Occupational Therapy is a field to help people perform common, everyday activities, such as, hygiene, household chores, job related tasks, or personal hobbies. The patient works one-on-one or in a group with a therapist to develop the skills needed to overcome a disability, relearn these skills after a traumatic event, or prevent trauma or negative consequences from occurring in the first place.

I am not saying my definition is perfect. Far from it. I am just beginning this journey, so I am sure many changes and adaptations will need to be made from time to time. Feel free to comment with any suggestions, additions, or your own definition.

OT Student Primer

So I'm reading a book that I got in the used book section of Barnes and Noble. It's a primer for OT students. It was only 2 bucks but it has some great information. The only draw back is that its a bit outdated. It was published in 1997, I believe. In the advice section for paper writing, it suggested that you type all of your papers. This made me laugh a bit as not only is it assumed that all papers are typed, but I need to purchase a very specific computer just to go to class with. The OT info and the general time management section is helpful and I am getting a feeling about what school will be like and what I will be learning.

I am working on my to-do list. I got my new computer this week (a little sooner than planned as my wee puppy broke the screen of my netbook that I had been using) and I am going apartment hunting tomorrow. I have 5, maybe 6, places that I am looking at. Hopefully all will go well and I will have a place to live so I only have to find a roommate. I am also planning on scheduling my doctors appointment on the drive down so I can get one more thing done. The countdown is on now. 9 weeks left.

A New Beginning

Its the beginning of the beginning. I have a little over two months to make the transition from "preparing for grad school" to "full time OT student." I found out I was accepted three weeks ago and now instead of spending my time thinking about how cool it would be to make the move to Charleston, I actually get to make the plans for it. There are so many little things, annoying things, to get done, but I am so excited that I don't mind at all.
Here's the short list of all the things I need to get done before my OT student career begins in 74 days:

• find an apartment and roommate
• get lots of shots and blood antibody titers
• apply for loans
• apply for scholarships
• buy a computer
• pack all my stuff
• review some A&P so I don't have as much to learn over the summer
  
• spend as much time with my two doggies as I can before I have to leave them.

I can hardly wait until orientation begins. I just want to scream at times. I have to use a lot of my energy to keep my focus on the things I need to do to get there as opposed to just musing about all the cool things I am going to get to do and learn. So come on this journey with me, its going to be a wonderful ride!