COPM and Interviews

Fieldwork starts on Monday. I am so excited, but I am also nervous. I am nervous that I won't know anything. I am also worried that I won't get there at time. I have to be there by 7 am, and that includes going through security. The earliest class we have this semester is at 9 am, and that is only on Fridays. I'm sure it will be fine. This must be what it is like to be an adult. There are two other girls from my class going to the same site, so at least some friendly faces will be around.

We also have to assess a patient by using the COPM (Canadian Occupational Performance Measure). We practiced in class on a classmate, and watched a video, but giving it to a patient is going to be a whole different experience. The OT interviews the client to learn about their strengths and weaknesses. The client then rates all the activities discussed on their importance on a scale from 1 to 10. The client then chooses 3-5 activities that they would like to improve. The client then rates these activities on a scale from 1-10 on performance and satisfaction. The later in intervention the ratings should be taken again to see if there is improvement. There is no norm for this assessment, but it does measure if a person is more satisfied with their performance. I think this would be a great first assessment because you get to learn about the client and what is important to them.

Last week also started the first week of interviews at my school. Is it weird that I was nervous when I saw the signs? It is really strange to see people in suits all over our floor. This year they started putting current students in the individual interviews. I can't commit to being there for every interview, but the students who are involved seem to be enjoying it.  I'm sure we will have a great crop for next year. Seeing the interviewees reminded me why I chose my school. I wasn't going to go here originally, but I was so impressed with the staff and facilities I changed my mind. That is not an easy thing to do. That is why you should always tour the facility before you chose!

Eating Alone

This year my school is integrating current students in the interview process for new students. I think this is a great idea. Unfortunately, I can't participate because I can't be there for all the interviews. However, it was shared that a student suggested asking potential students when was the last time they ate alone. This question would help evaluate  how confident a person is as well as how concerned they are by what others think of them. They have chosen not to use the question for a variety of reasons, but there is some food for thought. Would you eat by yourself?

AMPS

Today in class we learned about the AMPS. This is an assessment that is completely occupation based. It looked really cool, and reminded me what occupational therapy is all about. It does seem hard to grade. My point is proven by the fact that you have to go to a week long training course to give the test. However, once you do that and give the test few times you send in the scores. Then they will send you back a personal calibration code. You send in basic scores, but then they do some analysis and return scores that say if the client can live independently and break it down into motor and process issues. Tomorrow we learn the COPM. We will see if I like that also. I hear good things though.

Ordinary Miracles

Ordinary Miracles is one of our textbooks. It is a compilation of short stories from OTs and OTAs. They are uplifting and remind you of the importance of occupational therapy. It is not very technical and has stories from a variety of practice areas. I would recommend it to anyone who wanted to get a better idea of the different things OTs do. It is not going to tell you all the things OTs do like write notes, and plan sessions, but it will show you some of what they can do.  

Review of Classes

It is hard to believe  I have been in OT school for almost two months. I have learned a lot in these two months and met some great people. I remember a few months ago wondering what my classes would be about. Well now I think I can give you a good picture.

Models of Reasoning

We started off learning AOTA's Practice Framework. We discussed the process OTs use to help clients and what they should consider. Lately, we have been discussing different assessments we can use to evaluate clients and how to interrupt the results. This class started off very abstract, but not it seems very applicable. Our fieldwork is also integrated with this course.   

Evidence Based Practice

This is the class that the majority of the class is struggling with. It is our research course. I enjoy the material, but our teachers don’t have the best execution in teaching the course. This semester we are focusing on how to locate information and evaluate it.

Wellness and Illness

This class is hard because it is our only class on Friday and it is three hours long. The information is very practical though. We first focused on what healthy is because to define dysfunction you have to know what functioning is. We talk about specific diseases and what interventions are used to treat them.

Foundations

I thought this class would be application based, but it is more theoretical. We talked about AOTA's practice framework for a while in this class. Lately, we have been discussing the different theories and frames of reference one can use. We have also done presentations on OT internationally and some of the different specific fields.

Lifespan

This class is about occupations throughout the lifespan. We perform evaluations on different lifespan groups. I like this class because we have mini-fieldwork. We currently at the child stage. It is much like my college lifespan course with OT evaluations sprinkled in. The rest of my classes have been very different than undergrad.

Note Writing

Lately, we have started writing notes for class. It is hard to write notes because right now we are evaluating typical people. You have to know what is typical before you can detect what is atypical. Setting goals and creating interventions for typical people is challenging. I like it though because it makes you think outside of the box. It also challenges my theory that everybody could benefit from having an OT. The other hard part is the notes we are writing are much longer than they will ever be in the clinic. This is because the professors what to know our entire thought process and observations, and they can only know that if we put it in the note. It's hard for me because I am more of a big-picture girl than a detail girl.

Tomorrow, I am going to a childcare center to evaluate a child using the Peabody. We have learned several assessments over the past couple of weeks. It makes this OT thing seem real. In the past, there have been a few kids get a real evaluation because of our results. I hope my kid is ready to be tested and do what I want. We are doing in pairs, so we have a little help in implementing. 

Interviewing

The two big ways that occupational therapists gain information about their clients is through observation and interviews. Our professors have us interviewing so many different people this semester. It is really awkward. Part of the reason is normally we already know the people we are interviewing, even if just a tiny bit. That makes the introduction weird. It also makes it hard to ask the difficult questions, such as what was the hardest time in your life. I feel like that section would be difficult either way though. Most of these interviews are somewhat conversational, but not so much so that I can have a conversation like I normally would with the people I am interviewing. I am glad that our professors force us go out and perform interviews, even if it is on people we know. It is so much harder than it seems. It is also super rewarding because I am learning things about these people that I would not have otherwise. It is also surprising to learn how many different kinds of interview there are. Who would have imagined?