Posts

Mock Interview Experience

Yesterday I encountered an experience that was new to me. In my leadership development class we had the opportunity to participate in mock interviews. This was new to me as all of my jobs up to this point in my life were attained through common friendships and referrals. My interview for occupational therapy school had a different feel that the mock interview did. Overall, I feel that the interview went okay. I think that I was able to articulate well and and appropriately answer the questions, however there were several things that happen in which I did not know I was doing until I reviewed my video footage. My preparations for the interview were nothing drastic. I reviewed the online resources about common questions online and thought how I might answer them. However, I did not necessarily come up with exact answers to those questions and I thought it might hinder my ability to answer any unexpected questions. One thing that was different than I expected about this interview was that
Post a Comment
Read more

Occupational Therapy and Sign Language

In class several days ago, there was an interesting presentation on the topic of sign language. This is a topic that I know only a minor amount about, however it can be a very useful skill as it allows one to communicate with those who have verbal language difficulties. It is also a skill that has a benefit of making one more marketable in a job setting because it provides a valuable ability to communicate with clients in which others may have difficulty. In this presentation, I learned that while there are hundreds of various sign languages used in the world today. In America, we use the type referred to as American sign language or ASL. The use of ASL can be wide ranging and is used by as many as 1 million deaf individuals. The Mayo Clinic also suggest that baby sing language might give a typically developing child the ability to communicate several months earlier than those who only use vocal communication. Another important topic that was covered during th
Post a Comment
Read more

Aging and Sexual Health

Today in class, the topic of sexual health was discussed. While the original subject can make many feel uncomfortable, it is important daily occupation for many individuals. If the client finds the idea uncomfortable, they may be waiting for the health professional to bring it up in order to know that it is appropriate. In general, it is important to know that this is in the OT scope of practice and we can bring unique components in order to help individuals fulfill their daily occupation. One individual intervention that could be done if someone was experiencing difficulty with fatigue during sex, we could suggest energy conservation techniques such as positioning to allow the partner to have more movement or even time of day when the individual feels that they have more energy. As a population, the older adult population could be targeted with intervention techniques with specific conditions such as arthritis, if the individual is having trouble with grip during sexual activity, ther
Post a Comment
Read more

Driving and Rehabilitation

Today during class, we had with a guest lecturer who was an expert in the field of Driver rehabilitation. He provided very useful information on assessing and adapting the occupation of driving. One of the key takeaway points during today's lecture was that visual skills are a vital component to the occupation of driving. Within vision there are components such as Acuity and perception. Other skills associated with driving are cognition and active ROM. Driving requires a constant state of reacting to your environment and skills such as cognition and active ROM help an individual in their reaction. All of these components are what a driving specialist analyzes and keeps in constant consideration as they interact with a client. One intervention that can be done with clients in a driving rehabilitation setting is working on scheduling and planning times of the day when the individual may be driving. For instance doctor's appointments or visiting with friends can be scheduled durin
Post a Comment
Read more

The Times Have Changed

Image
Over the course of OT school, I had the opportunity to draw a glyph based on my perceptions of leadership from the beginning of school to current. The picture on top was the drawing I made at the beginning of my schooling and the bottom is the one that was drawn as a second year. When I first saw the two pictures, I was surprised at the similarities that were occurring between the two pictures. Each component of the drawing held a different significance and some of the major differences were the hair, eye brows, and ears. In the first picture, the was the length and curliness of the hair. The curliness of the hair showed a need for creativity in leadership as opposed to the straight organization factor in leadership. I think my opinions on this have changed as I have seen the importance of both organization and creativity in a leader. Another major component in the picture that showed change was the shape of the ears. Round ears showed that technology was an important component of le
Post a Comment
Read more

OT role in Nutrition

Today I was able to participate in a lecture that provided me with an opportunity to see the importance of nutrition in its relation to patient care and therapy intervention. One startling statistic that was addressed over the course of this lecture was that 1 in 2 older adults is malnourished. That is half of all of these individuals that are entering the hospital. Patient nourishment is important for many aspects of an individual's hospital stay including wound healing and prevention of muscle wasting over the course of their stay. This is not to mention the significant nutrition needed to sustain the increased metabolism of the stressed body and needs of the body as it goes into rehabilitation. As the importance of nutrition in an older adults hospital stay was revealed, the follow up question is what does this mean for me as an occupational therapist. One possible intervention that could take place to address the issue of nutrition is a support group and cooking class for widow
Post a Comment
Read more

A Day in Their Shoes

For this blog, I was searching for a story that would help me to realize the central theme of OT in a manner that didn't seem corny or cliche. I chose this episode of On The air because it gave a unique story of someone who could personally and professionally identify with occupational therapy.  I was able to listen and learn about an OT, Danielle Watson, who had an experience being in a wheelchair. Her experience was even more unique because she participated in her OT education while maintaining her status in her wheelchair. As I was listening to this podcast, I came to the realization that the whole process that she went to in order to get into OT school was really an entire OT story. Following the story of her injury, she began to discuss the process of applying for physical therapy school and being denied the opportunity because the programs felt that they were not conducive to her injury. Then came occupational therapy. I personally believe that it applies very much so to OT t
Post a Comment
Read more