OTs and DMVs, sitting in a tree…

Check it out, OT mentioned in the DMV CA website!!

Vacationing with a child with autism

Vacationing with a child with autism, three part story by a mom! Saw this in the ADVANCE newsletter last year

Toy Shopping for kids with special needs

I like this! 

Blogging as a pre-OT student

Question Received:

I am a undergraduate college student completely in love with OT and

will be applying to MOT programs in the fall! Anyway, I found your

blog about a week ago and have been reading as much as possible ever

since! I started from the beginning so I’m still not caught up, but so

far I have loved your enthusiasm and all the great information on your

blog. Thank you so much! It is very encouraging to hear your passion

for OT and the joy you obviously feel practicing it.

Reading your blog has made me seriously consider starting an

OT-related blog of my own. Starting from right now, talking about

things to do to prepare for OT school or issues that pre-OT/healthcare

people in general should be interested in. I know I’ve stumbled across

quite a few of these type blogs for pre-Med students, but I haven’t

seen nearly as many for pre-OT students. I guess my main questions for

you are: do you think there is still a need for more OT blogs on the

internet? if so, do you think I would have anything to contribute to

that as an over-enthusiastic, over-achieving pre-Ot student? and do

you have any general blog-writing advice or medical blog writing

advice (what info people seem most interested in, how to avoid

breaking hippa laws, how to avoid plagiarism on a blog, etc.)?

Sorry if that’s a lot! I know from reading your blog you are probably

busy with OT things and already bogged down in unread emails 🙂 Even

if you are too busy to reply, I hope you will at least read this and

know how much you’ve inspired me and helped to remind me of why I

started on this OT career path in the first place.

Thank you so much!

Answer:

There is at least two pre-OT blogs that I know about, LOL. I guess that’s it. And I think there is ALWAYS room for another OT blog as long as it’s because you have passion. Every personality is different and all the things you write about and reflect on will be different from other people, since we are all unique. So you will have different viewpoints. The key is that it has to be something you want to do! Just be careful not to use identifying information about people, and write what YOU care about – at first you will be talking to a wall as it will take a while before people can find your blog on search engines, but as you write more and more, you will get more readers.

Addition: I think the two pre-OT blogs I know about are Emma Jasmin Spink (spelling?) and Im’ma make OT?

Typical OT questions

I get a lot of questions, and I get frustrated with myself sometimes because I just don't always have the time to answer them. I'm just now getting to a lot of questions, an entire year late. As I always say, I do respond, it just takes me sometimes a LONG time. Here is a typical question:

I just recently stumbled upon your blog and I have been interested in pursuing a career as an OT.  I am currently a sophomore at XY University and a Public Health major.  I wanted to ask you about how you got to be an OT (if you have a blog post on it, you can just direct me there) and in your words the upsides and downsides of it.  I am in the process of figuring out how I will be able to get my prerequisite course done and if it would be detrimental for me to take the course in the summer, as my advisor said not to do this.  Please get back to me when you can and thank you for your time.

Good post on travelling OT

http://travelsizing.wordpress.com/

OT student feels down for getting a bad grade….

I get a lot of questions in my email….here is one I wanted to share as I am sure it is a rather universal thing to happen/way to feel!!

Question Received: I’ve been a fan of your blog since I started the OT program at XXXXXYYYYY. I don’t know if you’ll get to this email ,but I felt the need to seek advice from someone who recently used to be a student, but is now working as an OTR. I just finished the didactic portion of the program and will start my fieldwork level II’s in September. I’m emailing you to see if you can impart advice to me since i’ll be starting FWII soon. Actually, to be honest, I just got my test results back from my Geriatric Assessments class and i received a “C”! It’s actually the first time I received a “C” on a test in this program. It was case study where we had to list out the problems and recommend the most essential assessments to use as well as how to administer, the purpose, etc. I didn’t get the test back, so I’m not sure what I missed, but I’m feeling unprepared for my internship and worried that my clinical/critical thinking skills are not good enough. After 2 years of studying all these assessments and going over case studies, i thought that this test would be a breeze…boy, was I wrong. I’m feeling down and doubtful that I can be a good therapist. Do things get better? When did you start to get the hang of it? I’m feeling lost and disappointed.

My answer:

I know it is disappointing to get a C, especially when you thought it would be a breeze, but that in ABSOLUTELY NO WAY means you don’t have the hang of it!! A test does NOT equal real life. Who knows why you scored low – if at all possible I recommend you find out why, if it’s not too late to contact the professor. Especially since it affected you so much. It takes a while to get the hang of things, but you have support from your fieldwork supervisor and others. You are not expected to be a walking textbook. A lot of it comes from intuition based on the theory you have learned.

I promise you, do not let that C bring you down and make you feel you are not ready! As long as you bring your best attitude and a willingness to learn, you’ll be fine. You can learn everything you need to know knowledge-wise for OT, what they can’t teach you is the stuff you already possess, like a strong work ethic etc. Believe me, I’ve heard repeatedly from higher-ups, that it’s not about what you know, it’s about your attitude – they can teach you the rest. So focus on your strengths and work on your weaknesses and it will be OKAY. Do not start your fieldwork down on yourself! Have confidence in what you CAN do and the rest will follow, I promise.

So….cheer up my friend. I promise, the fact you doubt yourself, is a sign you will be a great OT, because you care and will try hard. 🙂

Her response: Thank you so much for the encouraging words! I feel so much better after reading your response. I am even more determined to be the best OT I can be.

Do I have the right personality to be an OT?

I have to tell you guys, my favorite questions from blog readers are in regards to things like anxiety, personality, etc. Personal issues. When prospective students ask me things like what is the difference between PT and OT I get a little frustrated because it can be found out through exploration. But when someone writes me and tells me their fears/worries/concerns about being an OT, it really means a lot to me. I was scared too. I have all sorts of anxiety issues and it’s definitely been a challenge for me, but I love what I do. I just need a lot of downtime to make up for the psuedo extroversion…lol.

Question received form a prospective student:

My first question has more to do with the type of personalities that work well with OT. I would like to start off and say that I recently discovered the profession of OT — I am embarrassed to admit I did not know it existed before. However, when I found out what being an OT entails I already got the intuitive feeling and “chill” that I knew this would be something I would love and feel passionate about on a daily basis, something I could really see myself doing for the rest of my life (as super cheesy as it sounds). I still feel that way especially since I always knew that my life goal is to help people on a more personal level. I have even had many daydreams of doing missions or volunteering abroad in developing countries, so I know that the passion for being an OT and helping patients is there. However, I have a little bit more of a shy personality, it is not too bad — I am just more of an observer in the beginning of new situations until I feel comfortable (takes several days, nothing too drastic). I know this is probably a silly question but I also know how extroverted people excel easily and more quickly in patient related occupations as opposed to introverts like me. Do you think there is a “typical” OT personality that mainly includes more extroverted people?

Okay, now on to more of a normal question :-P. When it comes to OT schools and programs– does the ranking of the program really matter when it comes down to it?

My answer:

Rankings wise, no, it doesn’t really matter as long as you have the drive and initiative to make the experience good. The school is just a vehicle, you are the one that will make it worth it. Obviously a good school high in rankings might be better than other schools, but if you don’t have time or resources to make it happen, just go to whatever school you can.

Regarding personality – I consider myself an introvert. I’m shy too, believe it or not. I do also like to have a few days to kind of figure out what’s going on before I speak up. You will definitely be challenged to be an introvert in the OT world, but it is 100% doable, you will just be out of your comfort zone at times.

Addition: (I didn’t put this in my email to her but I just reread the question and saw something I missed). There will definitely be people that tell you that there is a typical OT personality, and yes, life in a patient-centered healthcare field is certainly a little easier energy-wise if you are an extrovert, but even as an introvert you can be a wonderful OT and love your job. Just know your own strengths and weaknesses and find a job – there are so many options – that will allow your introversion. IE, perhaps don’t sign up for a job doing lots of big groups!!

Yay!!

Part of the PRO of having an OT blog is getting lovely letters from people telling me they went into OT at least partially because of my blog. I've gotten quite a few of those over the last 5 years, but sometimes I get a really extra nice one and I would like to share it. Many of you have written or commented about considering your own blog, and I think when you see letters like this from readers, it really helps in making you feel like it was all worth it. 🙂 You won't even necessarily realize it until one day when you get a message from someone who was helped by it even though they had never commented. Unfortunately it took me a long time to reply, but hopefully Mary is doing well and I would love to meet her some day! Maybe she will show up at conference in San Diego this April. 🙂 Thanks again Mary!!!!

Closed webspace…OT pencil grips…