Group Projects

We have so many groups assigned to us currently that I had to start keeping a list of them in the front of my binder. Some of them are short-term group projects, others are long-term, and some are just classwork groups for the semester. It is good the groups keep on changing because you learn about the other students, but it is overwhelming to keep track of. So far the groups have worked out well, but most of the projects have not been started. In the classroom groups, they require us to assign roles to each person that they have pre-created. Nobody ever really sticks to the roles unless they are the writer. This week's highlights have been practicing taking blood pressure, and going over the framework some more. The excitement has worn off a little bit, and the work has settled in. That isn't a complaint; just a change in mindset. I think I need to take a good look at the calendar and start getting to work on a few things before the due date hits me.

Week One Check

So I have successfully survived my first week of class. It was a little misleading because two full days were orientation, and one day only involved going over a syllabus. This coming week we will get a little more idea of what the workload is like. One interesting assignment we had was to read the 1966 Slagle Lecture. Every year AOTA has a Slagle Lecture at the conference that is given by someone who has creatively added to the profession. The one in 1966 was given by Elizabeth Yerxa. She led a movement to critical analyze the body of knowledge that occupational therapy encompasses. It is a very inspiring lecture and has many valuable quotes, but one that really stuck out to me was, " Occupational therapy begins when everybody else has given up". It really struck a cord with me because often the people I am working with will be discouraged because of personal beliefs, previous assessments, family's beliefs, and/or societal beliefs. It will be my career to get them and the community to believe in these people again. Here is a list by AOTA of all the Slagle Lectures if you would like to read them.

Another assignment I had was to read the OT Practice Framework. This lays out some of the general terminology and processes that are used. Right now it seems pretty basic but as we delve deeper into it I am sure it will mean more.