Occupational Therapy
10
Jul
2011
Prison settings and related populations (mental health)
Did you know OTs can work in prisons and related areas?
NGBRI= Not guilty by reason of insanity.
Pts = patients
Hx = history
SC = spinal cord
CP = cerebral palsy
A former classmate of mine (class below me) wrote this to me a loooong time ago about one of her rotations (she wrote the first part to me on FB, I responded and asked if I could share, then she shared the discharge status part. It took me over a year to finally post though):
All pts have pleaded NGBRI. I see only men and my case load consists of two higher functioning groups that I see twice a week, one lower functioning group I see twice a week, and two individual sessions one of which I see once a week and the other I see three times a week. They are all on a lock down ward that reminds me of a prison. I have warmed up to all my groups, however, I still remain a bit uneasy with my lowest functioning group….you never know if they will be stable throughout the session or not! I have issues sometimes trying to come up with group activities for that group that will keep their attention for the entire group session. Anyway, I feel as though I have put lots of effort into trying to help theses guys be successful and I have been occupation based and client centered at the same time
The discharge status of the patients at XYZ (my current facility) depends on their judges verdict, how heavy of a sentence they hold, how long they have resided at the facility, and how stable their behavior has been over the last year (among other things). Someone who has committed first degree murder will definitely be residing here longer than someone who has been charged with simple assault or battery. Discharge options range from group homes to nursing homes or being released to family. If a pt has a hx of violence nursing homes will usually not accept them and they have to qualify by other means as well such as different physical disabilities (Low vision, SC injuries, CP, ect.) Many of the pts have HIV from extensive hx of IV drug use and their sexual backgrounds. If this is the case, their only option for discharge is basically being released to family members even if their behavior is exquisite. There are many sad, sad cases…and even though I was very nervous in as my rotation commenced (and still am at times) I will definitely miss some of my pts and I hope I have made a difference in there lives.
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
10
Jul
2011
Q&A on OT
QUESTION VIA EMAIL, SLIGHTLY CHANGED TO MAKE MORE ANONYMOUS, from a few months ago: My name is Jane Doe and I am an older mother of 2 kids. I obtained an OTA degree back in the 1990s but never used the degree. I did very well in school but was unhappy in my clinical rotations. I was under two burned out therapists that didn't do anything with the patients. I also did not like the fact that no one knew what OT's did in addition to the degree being so broad; I felt it was hard to wrap my head around exactly what we did. I never used the degree and went on to pursue Bachelors/MBA degrees and then became a mom and have been home for the past 8 years. Now looking forward to going back to work when my youngest is in first grade, I applied for admission to a MOT program for Fall/2011 and think I have a very good chance of getting accepted. I decided to apply because I still really want to work in healthcare and thought maybe I would feel differently now if I were to pursue the MOT degree. I would like to work in a pediatric setting which is something I did not gain experience with during my schooling/clinical rotations. I was in an adult inpatient setting and adult outpatient setting/mostly home health.
Questions for you:
What are the biggest challenges in this field?
Do you feel like you are making a difference in the lives of the kids you work with?
Is there still a misunderstanding/confusion in exactly what you do?
Do you feel the profession as a whole is respected?
What do you dislike about the field?
How do you get away from people thinking you sit with a patient and a pegboard?
Do you still think it's a great profession?
MY (garbled, as always) ANSWER, slightly edited as well:
I am so sorry you had a bad experience in your clinicals. That can really mess your brain up, to see burnt-out and/or poor therapists. I agree it is a challenge that nobody knows what OT is and not only that, it's impossible to explain quickly. I hate being asked what I do!! Because there is no easy response. But at the same time I do love what I do!
Being an OT versus OTA is a big difference in terms of feeling empowered, I think. If you have a MBA you definitely need to be at OT level, and after going through OTA school you definitely are a very strong candidate and will be miles ahead of many of your classmates with your practical knowledge. Now you can add in the theory. 🙂
Working in pediatrics might also be a better fit and make you feel differently. Such a massive difference. Although it may be tiring to work all day with kids then come home to your own.
Okay, to specifically answer your questions.
What are the biggest challenges in this field?
In no particular order, in MY opinion – insurance reimbursement, difficulty quickly defining what we do, sadness that rarely people are aware of our profession, sadness that when people DO know of us its often pegboard related….also trying to do our best work with limited budgets/insurance reimbursements.
Do you feel like you are making a difference in the lives of the kids you work with?
At times yes. It depends. Some kids are just hard. Other kids you will say wow, I made a difference. But it depends a lot on YOUR style and ability to interact with family, other disciplines, etc. If you are a typical school OT for example who pulls the kid, treats them, brings them back, and doesnt say anything to anybody, then um, you probably wont feel like you made a difference bcause you didn't. 30 mins a week is nothing. But if you are proactive and try to really talk to parents, talk to family, look at the child's function within their environment and focus on that….yes, you might feel you made a difference. At times its frustrating. Honestly the ahrdest part of working with kids is the PARENTS – some are great, others are either overly or underly involved. Yes I am making up my own words.
Is there still a misunderstanding/confusion in exactly what you do?
Yes, definitely. I know we are actively trying to change that, but it's definitely an issue
Do you feel the profession as a whole is respected?
Controversial to answer this one. Yes, I think in general its respected, but there are plenty of individuals who had not had good experiences. It becomes your job to change their perspective. 🙂
What do you dislike about the field?
Everything I mentioned above about difficulty defining it, insurance issues, case overloads, etc.
How do you get away from people thinking you sit with a patient and a pegboard?
Role modeling. You show them that TRUE OT is very different and as they learn to respect your work they will see it's not true. I can't think of a better way than role modeling. One of my favorite books is called the Healing Heart by Ora Ruggles. Hard to get your hands on, but keep an eye out for it online. So worth it. 🙂
Do you still think it's a great profession?
Yes – I love it. I think its potential is sky high. Do we have a lot of OTs who dont know what they are doing, or worse, don't care? Yes. Are there times I am one of those OTs who don't know what they are doing? Yes. But I try really hard to be a good OT overall, and I love what we do. I wish I knew more but that will come with time/experience.
Overall I think its a great profession to go into – pays pretty well, very broad so you can essentially change professions within same field (ie adult phys dys, peds, hands, etc) if you get tired/bored of a certain area, or just need flexibility. Its a good job to have with kids as you can choose a job with no weekends or nights and/or part time, and nobody dies if you dont see them. 🙂 I think if you are cut-dry and don't want to deal with all the issues facing OT, then maybe PT or SLP is a better idea although you probably dont meet their educational criteria AND they of course have their own internal issues. I love OT…..it was the right fit for me.
Basically it's all about what YOU make of it. You will encounter plenty of bad apples and plenty of LOVELY apples (are you loving my midnight analogies?). Seek out the good, work hard, and you will rise to the top….don't let the bad ones bring you down. I sincerely hope you are planning on doing plenty of observation in pediatric settings (and other areas)!
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
3
Jul
2011
A google search day in the life of an OT
I found this google searchfrom when I was an OT working in Georgia (I think I saved it to one day post as example on my blog). Clearly my google got quite a work out. 🙂 All of it had to do with patients, whether it was helping the patient read their bible with limited hand mobility, or toileting, etc. I use a lot of paper and people resources, but Google is also really helpful for ideas as well.
Clear ×caregivers personal hygeine knee abductor · Web
Clear ×knee abductors for hygeine · Web
Clear ×cleaning perineal area spastic adductors · Web
Clear ×adductors abductor spasticity perineal hygeine · Web
Clear ×abduction toileting hygeine cerebral palsy · Web
Fri
Clear ×apraxia kids · Web
Clear ×my child has dyspraxia · Web
Clear ×developmental dyspraxia children support · Web
Clear ×developmental dyspraxia · Web
8
Wed
Clear ×sae-bo stretch · Webb
Clear ×aquatic therapy alabama · Web
Clear ×aquatic therapy · Web
Clear ×weighted book magnet amazon · Web
Clear ×weighted book magnet · Web
Clear ×USB mini keyboard one-handed · Web
Clear ×USB mini keyboard · Web
Clear ×multiple sclerosis ICD-9 code · Web
Clear ×rehab page turner · Images
Clear ×rehab page turner · Web
Clear ×Kindle Bible · Web
Clear ×can you read bible with e-reader · Web
Clear ×book butler · Web
Clear ×home exercise program after stroke shoulder
Clear ×exercises for shoulder subluxation · Web
Clear ×paraffin for acute rheumatoid arthritis · Web
Clear ×southern hand and orthopedics · Web27
Clear ×windows adaptive software · Web
Clear ×one-handed keyboard · Web
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
3
Jul
2011
NY Times article on OT in schools
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/fashion/25Therapy.html?emc=eta1
One on “Watch how you hold that crayon”….another possible re-post but this time I am deleting it from my inbox!! This one by NY Times on pediatric OTs working with handwriting etc. A slightly snarky article but still interesting.
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
3
Jul
2011
Sensory processing disorder in Time Magazine
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1689216-1,00.html
An article on sensory processing disorder in Time magazine from a while ago. This may be a re-post, I can't remember. I'm still going through old mail. Down to less than 500. If you've written me and I've never responded, feel free to either re-send (if you sent it more than 2 weeks ago), or wait and see if it gets handled in the next 400+ mails I have left to go through. I had over 1380 old and 150+ new a few days ago, now down to 0 new and about a third of old mails, so I am glad…but still a long way to go.
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
2
Jul
2011
OT books to read
I got an OT blog question about some books to read before starting a master's program in the fall….things to get started. I don't think y'all should start reading textbooks before you ever start, so here are some random ideas me and my OT friend Kerri came up with for for this student…I am in Gainesville, FL visiting her. She is a hand therapist and she rocks. 🙂
Hi “OT Student X”
Do you mean like OT textbooks, or do you mean more normal books? For example, one of my favorite books is The Healing Heart about one of the first OTs, Ora Ruggles……I also like the Out of Sync Child…….and the Out of Sync Child Has Fun is the activity book that goes along with it.
See if this website works for you!
http://myaota.aota.org/shop_aota/
I browsed it and didn't actually see much of interest. There is a Chicken-Soup like book that came out that i want to read but I couldn't find it…if I do I'll post on my blog.
My OT friend Kerri next to me recommends any book by Temple Grandin – especially her older ones, her autobiographies – which I recommend as well. She also recommends Oliver Sacks books. Phantoms in the Brain by Ramachandran….
I personally like first-hand accounts….so autobiographies…of people with various disabilities like cerebral palsy. I go to the library to the health section and browse for what look like autobiographies. 🙂
It depends on how much you like to read and what kind of things interest you. There are certainly textbooks you could start with, but I am sure your school will provide you with a necessary list soon. I'd focus more on the fun stuff to get you excited. The first semester is actually kind of boring with a lot of focus on what occupation IS theoretically (at least it was to me…)….anatomy/neuro is fun according to Kerri 😉 I disagree. ahahaha.
Hope that is a good start…
Karen
PS: Don't be surprised if in some of those first-hand books you get little mention of OT and/or it's somewhat disparaged! We have to keep working to get OT more respected. 🙂
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
29
Jun
2011
Adult SPD
An adult friend of mine wrote this to me when discussing her sensory processing difficulties…I thought it was good insight. A lot of us OTs could probably have stood to have a little OT when we were younger….just like a lot of psychologists went into the field to search for their own healing, a lot of OTs go into the field because of their own recognition/awareness/compassion of people with similar difficulties!! PS: I am pretty sure I am going to buy a weighted blanket (maybe 15-18 pounds) for myself! I think they are GREAT for some kids and some adults too! Wish they were cheaper though. Don't buy one without researching proper weights etc. 🙂
“
Please don't let them put me in the O.T. zoo! If they do put me in the zoo, please make sure it isn't too bright, too loud, too smelly, and they don't make me wear uncomfortable clothes. Also, please make sure that my clothes are on correctly–I don't notice if my skirt is on sideways or my shirt is half tucked. Also, make sure I have a bubble, because I trip up/down steps or when there aren't any trip hazards. Oh yeah, it's super funny that I try to play tennis and ping pong using both hands at the same time and I swing after the ball has wizzed past, but make sure they don't play the clips continuously–I don't think my ears could take roar of laughter.–AND don't let the visitors walk up behind me and touch me lightly or try to put a vibrating Tickle Me Elmo doll on me. I'm terrified of the dark, so make sure I have a nightlight. I need a weighted blanket, a treadmill-or a place to keep moving, and earplugs–not headphones (they give me a headache). Make sure my food is extra plain and not lumpy or bumpy. O.K.?”
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
27
Jun
2011
Enlarged utensils and T-stools, do it yourself
http://www.instructables.com/id/One-Leg-Therapy-Stool-Autism/ I am tempted to try this! Try making this at your own risk – but T-stools in general are pretty popular with helping fidgety kids focus!
Also, I feel really stupid I didn't ever do this when I did rehab! Basically shelf-liner was used to enlarge these utensils!
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-gripped-utensils/
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: 4
27
Jun
2011
Traveling!
I am traveling for the next month. I will have a lot of down time as most of my Southern friends work (I am on our summer break as a school OT), so my goal for the next month is to get through the thousand+ mails in my gmail box, + deal with the 200+ in my work box that need to be filed. That means some OT blogging as I clear out my mail box, and readers may finally get responses – sometimes it takes me days, weeks, months, and gasp, possibly years, but I always eventually respond. 🙂 So….YAY! Catching up!! I also plan to catch up on all my files from the last few months and get everything organized to start up next school year!!
I apparently am about to be featured in an e-zine called “Today in OT”….to any new readers, welcome!
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none