Occupational Therapy Student

I thoroughly enjoyed making glyphs and comparing the glyph I drew at the beginning of occupational therapy school with the one I drew towards the end of our didactic education.   Overall many characteristics of what I think defines a leader have not changed.   I still believe that leadership stems predominantly from nurture over nature.   I believe people can be equipped and trained to be leaders, and they are not necessarily born leaders.   I still believe that all OTs are leaders as well.   Occupational therapists lead their clients, occupational therapy assistants and technicians, and can be managers and hold leadership positions within their practice settings.   The only aspect of my glyph that has changed over the course of OT school is my most recent glyph has a hat indicating that my approach to leadership has changed since the start of OT school.   While the foundational aspects of what I believe defines a leader have not ...

One of my favorite things about occupational therapy is that therapists look at the whole person and all of the activities a person does on a daily basis.   Nutrition and ensuring that someone receives the food and calories they need every day is an important activity for many people in the hospital and the ICU especially.   The guest speaker was fantastic today, and I learned a great amount about the role of registered dieticians in hospital settings and the ways occupational therapists can address nutrition through our interventions.   One of the most important takeaway points for me today was understanding the increased calorie and protein needs many older adults have after they have been in a recumbent position for several days.   Their body can be in a hypermetabolic or hypercatabolic state as they recover from illnesses or injuries causing their body to break down protein resulting in muscle atrophy and generalized weakness. They need a si...

The following link will take you to a video on YouTube where I talk about my experiences on my last Level 1 fieldwork.   https://youtu.be/_wo8mjXtjGk

The most significant thing I learned throughout the course of this assignment was how to repurpose everyday items and turn them into therapeutic media or adaptive equipment for clients.  Learning about the many useful ways plastic soda bottles can be repurposed for our clients by creating objects such as sensory integration bottles, plant holders, scoops, sock aids, and more was the most meaningful part of this assignment for me.   I thoroughly enjoyed the creative process involved in producing something useful for Susan, whose strength is deteriorating due to the progression of ALS she is experiencing.   Her profile said that she currently did not have any adaptive equipment but needed moderate assistance with many of her ADLs.   A sock aid will help her to more easily put her socks on and maintain her independence in this aspect of dressing for the time-being.   Through this project I created a sock aid using a plastic soda bottle and other househo...