a new semester + level 2 planning

First off, if you have a Tumblr, or just want to add it to your bookmarks- one of my classmates started one to document our last year in OT school.... I'm sure you will love her! http://student-to-ot-in-365.tumblr.com/

We're just a few days away from starting a new semester, FIVE classes- i think this is the first time we've had five. These are the classes we'll be taking:
Occupational Therapy Leadership and Management
Physical Dysfunction Practice: Musculoskeletal
Physical Dysfunction Practice: Neurological
Special Topics in Adult Rehabilitation
Working with Older Adults

I went and bought all of my books- luckily I already had one we needed from a previous semester but I had to buy EIGHT new books, and they cost $590 total...is that not ridiculous?? I don't see why textbooks are so expensive!

Its hard to believe these are the last classes that I will take! I'm getting nervous that I haven't learned as much as I should have by now, that after these 5 courses I'm going to be thrown into Level 2's and expected to treat a whole case load..
Speaking of Level 2's we are in the process of figuring out where we will be this summer and this fall..None of us know where we'll be placed for the summer session and seems that only a handful of us have some idea of the area we'll be in for the Fall...this just seems a little last minute to me- like we should have started planning for these placements last year, the last semester of classes...but what do i know??
As of right now it looks like I will be at the Riverside Regional Medical Center or the Riverside Rehabilitation Institute in Newport News. I went out there for a couple of days the other week to look at the area and the facilities just to see if I would be comfortable with the area... luckily I have a couple of friends that live there o I think I would be fine! I'm meeting with our fieldwork coordinator on Tuesday to tell her about my trip and hopefully finalize the places.

Riverside Regional Medical Center

Riverside Rehab Institute- Right on the James River

Rehab Institute

For those that have been through a Level 2 already

What is your advice??

Student Conclave 2011- Day 2

Day 2 started bright and early...at 8:30 with two sessions on the NBCOT exam.
The speaker went over the steps of what to do before taking the exam
Said we should set up an account at www.nbcot.org (its free), read the handbook, keep up with NBCOT on facebook, twitter and linkedin.
The exam is about $500 !! which seems crazy and I feel like I will have to take out a loan just to take the exam!
It's all on the computer, multiple choice.  There are practice exams available online as well as a self-assessment so you can see what areas you need to focus most of your attention when preparing for the real exam.
They also went over how the NBCOT is created- which is by a large scale survey of entry-level practitioners and a practice analysis that is completed ever 5 years which you can apparently download a blueprint of on the NBCOT website.
There are 4 Domains covered on the exam:
1. Evaluation- assessment tools for different populations, setting up treatment environments, theories, models of practice...
2. Interpreting  information- form conclusions regarding clients needs and priorities, i.e. appropriate short term goals
3. Selection/Implementing Evidence Based Practice- A majority of the questions come from this domain
4. Standards- documentations, ethics, supervision, scope of practice

They also went over some myths of the exam:
- Exam is based on all info in OT programs
- Exam is mostly pediatrics
- NBCOT changes the blueprint annually (this is changed every 5 years)
- You have the right to request a paper copy
- If you skip the tutorials at the beginning, you will have more time to take the exam  (the 4 hour time limit begins when you reach the first question)
- If I pass the Clinical Simulation questions, I'm likely to pass the exam
- Clinical Simulation questions are much harder than the multiple choice
- Its better to select all choices in the clinical simulation questions because you are bound to get the right answer

Next they discussed the Clinical Simulation questions
these are designed to simulate various types of focused experience that an OTR encounters in daily practice. They are like mini case studies and measure clinical reasoning across continuum of care
The problems consist of an opening screen and then there are 4-5 sections in which you choose an action to take and the one you choose determines the next screen/question.
Answers in each screen (actions) are categorized into 3 types:
1. Positive: correct answers -optimal route- adds points to your score
2. Neutral- may be helpful but not necessary- no points added or deducted
3. Negative- hinder/distract appropriate therapy- points are deducted from score


Multiple Choice Questions have 4 answer choices.
Be sure to understand what the question is asking, identify key words (best, initial, first, next)
you are able to mark questions and review them at the end of the exam if time allows

After the NBCOT sessions, I attended a Mental Health info session that talked about using Sensory Integration techniques in the acute mental health setting which I thought was SO interesting since I completed my Level 1 placement in a State Mental Hospital.

Then we went to explore Providence a little bit on our lunch break!

my attempt at a panorama on my iphone

the ones from my class who went :)

If we had gone all the up this hill we would have ran into Brown University

We may have skipped a session that we probably shouldn't have but we were just wandering around the city! oops. We made it back for the Policy and Advocacy session which I know is SO important but it was terribly boring so I will spare you.  If you want to know all about this- check out AOTPAC.

For the last session, I went to Rehabilitation, Disability and Participation which I thought was going to be great since it was supposed to focus on SCI/TBI but it was the worst session. The lady just stood there are read her powerpoint slide verbatim. it was so boring and i mean, i could have just gotten up there and read words from a power point! She didn't even put her paper down to tell us what an OT's role for someone with SCI/TBI is...which i mean she should be able to just explain that without reading a list from her slide.  Needless to say, I didn't take many notes in that session. I was wishing I could leave the whole time and go to another one but I felt bad, even though lots of people walked out after the first few slides of her just reading them.

That night we went to a local bar/restaurant for dinner/drinks and then a few of us went to a pub that turned into a dance club haha we didn't stay out too late since we had to be up early for our flight back to Charlotte.

annnd that, my friends, concludes my Conclave recap :)

Sorry!

I had every intention of finishing my recap of Student Conclave over Christmas break

BUT I came home and left all of my conclave notes at my apartment, 

my goal now is to try and get those done in the next few days 

since I will be making a trip to my apt tomorrow afternoon

I have started to see some tweets from AOTA about the Conference this April...

is anyone going??

I really want to but will have to see if I can afford it!

Student Conclave 2011- Day 1

We left Radford right after I had my peds client on campus...I rode with three other people from my class and we got almost to the interstate when I realized I had forgotten my wallet back on campus so we had to turn back around so that I could get it. Ha great start to the trip! :)
We made it to the Charlotte airport safely though and in plenty of time :) We ate a small dinner at Chili's in the airport and hung out a bit before boarding the plane! This was my VERY first time on a plane so I was pretty nervous/anxious! I really enjoyed it though :) I kindof want to plan another trip just so that I can fly again!

Kalyn, Me and Mary on the shuttle to the airport

OT girls at the airport

Aaron, Kaley and Rosemary on the plane ready to go!

We got to the hotel in Providence at like midnight and we all were just exhausted and decided to call it a night.

On Friday, we got up and headed out to get coffee/brunch at Panera before exploring around a little bit.

all of us on Friday morning, pic courtesy of a local bus driver

After brunch we walked around the HUGE mall that was attached to our hotel- we went there at least once/day. It had everything...I just wish I had had money to spend =(
Around 1:30 we headed to the Rhode Island Convention Center - that was also connected to our hotel-  to check in and browse the exhibits that were open. There were about 50 health care companies there that had set up tables giving away pens, notepads, and lots of bags! We talked to pretty much all of them over the two days of the conference.
The first concurrent sessions were from 3:00-4:00..and 4 of us chose to go to one titled "Your Fieldwork, Your Future".

me, mary, kalyn and catherine at our first session

We thought it was going to be a great session since we are all thinking about our level 2's coming up this summer. It was quite what we had expected. They had 3 students, that I think were all in peds, a clinical educator and a physical therapist (?) who each spoke for a few minutes before opening up the floor for questions.
Here are the main points/advice I got from this session:
be culturally competent/sensitive
use clinical reasoning
build a therapeutic relationship with clients throughout the OT process
be aware of what is expected of clients (peds in school) and the developmental milestones
build alliances with colleagues
get a Frame of Reference quick reference book
start a binder/folder of  'go-to' tx activities to take with you at all times
take textbooks and class notes from relevant courses
NEVER BE AFRAID TO ASK A QUESTION
trust your education and what you have learned
practice good communication skills
have a good attitude
and keep your tx client-centered

Have any of you been on a Level 2 Fieldwork- if so, what is your advice ??

After that session, we headed to the Welcoming Ceremony where we heard from the president of AOTA and other members of the board...

our group at the opening ceremony reppin' Radford :)

After the welcoming ceremony we headed back to the hotel to get ready and head to the mall and dinner at PF Changs -it was my very first time eating there and it was deeelicious!!

I did take pics of our food, but I'll spare you :)
After dinner we headed to a local bar/lounge and hung out for a while before heading back and calling it a night.. Sessions started at 8:30 the next morning....but I'll save that post for another day :)

Student Conclave 2011

Just got back from a great weekend in Rhode Island at the 2011 AOTA/NBCOT Student Conclave! I can't wait to post all about it...but for now here's a tease...

the 8 of us that went from Radford at the Opening Ceremony

with AOTA's president Florence Clark...our new role model!

check back later this week/next week for more pictures and my experience at the conference!

RU Occupational Therapy Video

Graduate Programs in Health and Human Services at Radford University from Radford University on Vimeo.


posts coming soon about...
-Our Student Occupational Therapy Association
-My Level 1 Fieldwork in a State Mental Hospital
-The AOTA Student Conclave 2011 - It is in Providence, RI this Friday-Sunday so when I get back, expect posts about the sessions I attended and the experience as a whole! I am so excited about it =)

Pediatric Client: Treatment Session 2

Last Thursday we had our second treatment session with our little kiddo! And our prof videotaped us...yeah I don't ever want to see that video haha I hate how I sound on camera.

We worked on finger identification, handwriting and radial digit isolation and shoe-tying
*For finger ID- we had 3 pairs of gloves (working on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th digits mainly) and had one of those fingers cut out of each glove so when he put the glove on either his 2nd, 3rd or 4th digit was sticking out and not covered by the glove. Then we had him close his eyes, i touched a finger and had him identify it by name.
I was so happy that he met his goal of identifying fingers with 90% accuracy by last week :) We will still review it these next two weeks tho.
*For handwriting, we flattened a piece of play-doh out on the table and gave him a stylus. Then we traced a letter with our finger on his back and had him draw the letter in the play doh. Once we did a handful of letters like that, I just had him write the alphabet on a sheet of lined paper so see how he was with writing every letter like he would be expected in the classroom. Only one reversal, but some inconsistent letter sizes and spacing between letters.
*For radial digit isolation we "fed the tennis ball". Kate had gotten two tennis balls and cut slits in them for mouths, them we decorated them with faces. He was to use his radial digits to pick up beads/pom-poms and put them into the tennis ball's 'mouth'. we also worked on handstrength with this too- sometimes we would be holding it open for him to put "food" into, and then sometimes he would hold the ball open while we put the 'food' in the mouth. He REALLY liked this activity so we may repeat it :)
*Annnd then there was shoe-tying. Oh I wish it were easy to teach this! We went from a shoe-tying book and tried to go page-by-page. He has the first step down pat, but its the from the "bunny ears"/loops and on that gives him trouble. This week we are going to do some backward chaining to try and teach him to tie his shoes. I REALLY want him to reach this goal in the next two weeks- I know his mom would be SO happy if he could tie his own shoes! =)

Only TWO more tx sessions before he will be discharged!