Real World Lessons

This week many exciting things have been happening. First, I have started one of my camps for kids with special needs, but before I go on and on about it I am going to tell you about a lesson that I learned this week that I think it is going to be important to keep in mind as an occupational therapist. I have started to furniture shop for the apartment I am moving into for occupational therapy school. The biggest worry was a couch because I cannot put together a couch and my car certainly cannot fit a couch into it. I did my research and determined Craig's List was my best bet for a couch and I was going to have to pay $100-150. I did checked out a few couches and I was disappointed, and it was finally suggested that I check out Goodwill, which is 10 minutes from my house. It is my new favorite store for at the very least housewares. I got a nice couch (for a college kid) for less than $40. That means I can get a chair now! I learned that you may think you have done your research and discovered the best way, but there are always things you did not think of or that you underestimated.

Okay now onto camp and some more lessons. I am with 8 5-7 year olds and three other volunteers. I was warned about two of the campers being a particular handful. I was excited that I had three typical children that could lend a helping hand,and that one of the volunteers had done the camp last year and knew what was going on. I am happy to say that those two "trouble" campers have been not been the biggest handful. The biggest handfuls are the typical kids because they have a full range of movement and always have a counselor tied up literally. The staff and the counselors have been trying to encourage them to help, but they just want to have fun and we want them to have that too so it is a weird balance that I have not quite figured out yet. The challenges that you thought would be hard can be not an issue, while the non-issues can become hurdles.

One of the most interesting challenges was a child with autism came in and would not sit by everyone because they were weird. He was not trying to mean, but he was overwhelmed and did not know how to process everything. I told him that everybody was just being themselves because it was true that the situation was weird. He did end up integrating into the group; however, he still avoids the less functioning children. Progress is being made though. His mother was so horrified when I told her about his original behavior and took action by talking to him and having him apologize the next day. It was nice to see a parent not let child slide by due the child's own challenges, which I might have done.

One more quick story and I will sign off and maybe do some real homework. In one of the hippotherapy sessions, the therapist had a child lay out a Special Olympics course. As a natural reaction, I asked if he was competing this year. His mother was so appalled. I was shocked that a family member of someone with special needs could find the idea degrading. On the other hand, I do understand from where she is coming from. Everyday I am learning something new and I am so happy that I am having this experiences even before I enter school. I having a feeling this experiences will be quite valuable. I might not post for a while because camp wears me out, but keep looking because I am sure there are more stories to come.

Kinesiology and Online Classes

So this month I have to take Kinesiology as a pre-req for my Occupational Therapy program. The class itself is interesting and from my shadowing I can already see much of the information is actually applicable to my future career. That is a good feeling. I don't enjoy taking a class over the summer, but it is good to keep my mind working and it is only a month so I still have a lot of summer to enjoy.

This is my first strictly online class. So far I feel like I am still learning most of the information. I typically read my textbooks anyway, but I am worried that the information will not stick as well since I am only receiving the information one way. I was told by another occupational therapy student to really pay attention to the material because it will be used in other classes.

Stuff has gotten moving to make occupational therapy school real. I went looking for a place to live last week and I found some decent places. The place I am trying to get into has a pool, which is a real plus especially since I was looking in 90+ degree temperatures and it was only May. Now I just got start hunting down some cheap furniture.

I also got a tentative schedule for my first semester in occupational therapy school. I thought there would be more hours of class, but we warned that a good portion of our time should be reserved to work on projects. The nice thing is there are no choices of classes to take, so they are scheduled together with a lunch break. I will no longer have to fill an awkward two hours. I am going to have to find new recipes for packed lunches. I am not a fan of sandwiches. The classes I will be taking in my first semester are a research class, something called OT Models of Reasoning, Lifespan, Professional Foundations, and Wellness and Illness. Hopefully, they do not demand expensive books, but that may be asking too much. Well to pay for those books I better finish my scholarship application and start reading my chapter for class. Only three weeks left.

R-Word Commercial

This commercial has been shown on t.v. a few times and is getting a lot of hype on the internet. I really think it is teaching an important lesson. Often times people forget that their words are hurtful when they pertain to things other that they have not personally experienced. Often times words seem to be a simple jab or just bantering. A good reminder to everybody to use their filter and to advocate against the use of these words and others.

As I was finally getting around to posting this I read the comments. Many people felt that this PSA was trying to infringe on their first amendment's right to speak freely. I take the position that the word should not be banned or bleeped, but it should be used carefully in the correct context (not that there is necessarily a correct context). To me this commercial reminds me to be aware to not say I am a retard when I do something dumb or say I am ADHD when I can't concentrate and to not let those around me get away with it either.

My Favorite Sites

In celebration of Oprah's final episode I will share some of my favorite blogs. I decided to start an occupational therapy blog because some of the other great blogs out there. When I read them, they got me excited about my upcoming profession. There are a lot of them, and I have only been searching for a couple months. I use Google Reader to help me keep up. I would highly recommend it to anyone otherwise the websites get to overwhelming to stay with them. Here are some my favorite occupational therapy related blogs, and I highly suggest looking at their links to discover more sites:

Belong OT: http://otstudents.blogspot.com/

This blog started as a student blog and is now a school OT blog. I would highly recommend reading the blog from the beginning. Her blog is very detailed as a student and covers the highs as well as the lows. It has many personal stories, but she also covers her classes and other related OT adventures. Her pride and enthusiasm for occupational therapy is infectious.

Master of Occupational Therapy: My Student Blog: http://myotstudentblog.blogspot.com/

This is from a second career occupational therapist. She is currently doing Level II fieldwork. She recently posted a wonderful list of things to do to prepare for fieldwork. She also has posts about trips she has taken to different countries and the occupational therapy she observed there.

OT Notes: http://otnotes.blogspot.com/

This is a blog by a current OT that is updated about sporadically/biweekly. She has worked with may different populations that occupational therapists work with. She also keeps a twitter if that is something you use.

horseot: http://horseot.blogspot.com/

This blog is written by an occupational therapist that practices hippotherapy. Many of the posts include photos and videos that are helpful. Although the activities are meant to be done on a horse they can be adapted to different environments.

M-OT Student: http://m-otstudent.blogspot.com/

This is another student blog. It is fairly new compared to some of the others, but it has a nice balance of professional and personal stories.

Putting it into Practice: OT Student Blog: http://community.advanceweb.com/blogs/ot_12/default.aspx

This is what I consider a metablog. I'm not sure of the actual definition, but I consider anything a metablog that has a wide number of contributors. Several different students contribute on what is going on in their OT learning. Some of the entries are mostly professional, but others offer a personal view on OT school. This is a part of a website called Advance.

The OT Student Perspective: http://community.advanceweb.com/blogs/ot_7/default.aspx

This is also a blog on the Advance site. This is the blog of a specific student who currently is about to start her Level II fieldwork. She does a weekend program, so if you are curious about the demands of a non-traditional program I would suggest checking it out.

Kids at Thought: http://kidsatthought.com/

This is not an OT directly related site. This is a website that offers new perspective on how to deal with children. It is surprising how often it leads me to new OT ideas.

Jezzabella and Oranges

So since it is summer and slow going for occupational therapy learning I am going to explain a little about this blog I have created. Jezzabella is not my real name. I hate my real name because it is so common. Okay hate is a strong word. There are much worse names. However, by not using my name it makes it harder to use this blog for professional networking. So I kind of mixed it up. If you click to see my whole profile on the sidebar you can send an e-mail to me, which includes my name, but I don't make it easy to find me. Even though it is hard always feel free to click profile and send me an e-mail. I would love to hear your feedback.

Next week is going to busy. My online kinesiology course starts next week. It is only a month long. I hope that I actually retain some of the information and cover the information in enough detail that I am on a equal playing field with everybody else. I am also looking for housing for when occupational therapy school starts. Let's hope I find something decent in my price range.

P.S. The oranges are because orange is my favorite color and the fruit is awaking. They are one of life's simple pleasures to me.

Swim Team

This past Sunday was the swim meet for the group I work with. It was amazing and crazy. The girl I focus on most of the time won first place in her race. I was so proud of her. Most of the kids still don't get the concept of jumping at Go. Also, a few of the kids that had practiced diving would not at the race even though they could. I realize it is overwhelming to be at the swim meet, and it is a different environment than they are used to, but it is frustrating when they are not showing me their best. One of the kids had a melt down because they did not get to keep swimming like they do at practice.

Overall it was a fun experience. It was fun to see the different skill levels and abilities. Some of the kids on different teams I know from different events. It was also fun to see the family members that do not usually come to practice. I'm really sad that I cannot continue to coach the team in the fall. I hear in the fall there are even more swimmers, and the kids would make even more improvements than I saw in one season.

It is the first week of summer and I have been a lazy bum. I have gone to the gym everyday. I hope to get in shape this summer since I don't have any other girls. This week I also have to get together some stuff for school. It is amazing the amount of paperwork required even after you are accepted.

No Stress

When I am procrastinating from doing work sometimes I will do a Google News search for occupational therapy. A while ago I found a few articles talking about how occupational therapy is one of the lowest stress jobs around. It stated that most job stress is caused by high expectations in the workplace. This got me to thinking do occupational therapists not exert pressure on themselves or do they think failing is okay or does occupational therapy just not have a lot of inherent stress.

When I first thought of occupational therapy it did not seem like a low stress job to me. One is working with individuals that require patience to work with. Quite possibly that is just an issue for me. I am a go, go, go person and I pretty sure one of the hardest parts of this career for me will be sitting on my hands and letting the patient do their occupation without interference. Many of the clients will also have issues communicating. Someone trying to convey a point and me having no idea; that is one of the most frustrating things in the world. However, I do believe there is a difference between frustration and stress. Often the two are inter-tangled, but there is a difference. I think frustration is caused more by when you want to something but you can't, and stress is caused by needing to do something and you can't. Maybe there is more inherent frustration than stress.

One of the reasons I suggest that occupational therapy might not be a high stress environment is because occupational therapists do not exert pressure on themselves. I would say this is a possibility because moving up the ladder is not the way occupational therapist measure accomplishment. However, I believe most occupational therapist have the stress of helping as many people they can without sacrificing their own life. Often an occupational therapist will see patients that run out of insurance, money, or time and they will want to help. However, the therapist still needs to bring a paycheck home and spend time with family or friends or whatever they desire to have a full life. I also believe most occupational therapists exert pressure on themselves to create successful treatments for the clients. I believe occupational therapists exert pressure on themselves, but they do in different ways than other careers focused on upward mobility.

So I have covered my theories of inherent stress, and not exerting pressure, so I guess the final theory to consider is that occupational therapists think it is okay to fail. This may seem like a strange theory, but working in any field there is not a success rate of 100%. In this particular field, full recovery might not be achievable. So not so much that it is it okay to fail, but ok not to succeed. I don't really believe that is the case either because I feel like at least I as an occupational therapist I will want my patients to overshoot their goals if possible. I also think occupational therapy is such a goal setting job that failure would not just be water off the duck's back.

I do feel like one of the reasons that occupational therapy is a low stress job is because high tolerance people take the jobs. Compassionate, patient people take this career path because it is what they believe they are best suited for. This career demands a lot, but people know that going in and self-select. Ok, that was a lot of rambling. I am not saying occupational therapy is a horrible or tremendous job (that is for you to decide), but this was just my thinking process when I read the article and looked at others saying similar things. I have read about 5-6 articles saying OT is a low stress job. I have just taken my last final and my graduation issue got fixed, so as long as I get at least a C in everything I will be golden! Hope you are having as much luck.