quick note on SillyBandz

Hey – I mentioned the SillyBandz as a fidget tool – notice I did NOT mention it as like chewelry – I doubt it's good for chewing on as it's thin and could easily break and be a choking hazard – definitely only for fidgeting with your HANDS, not your mouth. Just had to quickly say that!! More later – am getting ready for work but wanted to clarify that.

Other idea of day

Sometimes when doing an assessment you have to calculate the child’s age EXACTLY and it can be a brain-challenger. I know there is a formula and I plan to re-learn it, but when you are feeling truly brain-dead, try this!

http://www.pearsonassessments.com/hai/images/ageCalculator/agecalculator.htm
It’s an age calculator for assessments done by Pearson. Caveat, I have not tried this yet but I presume it is accurate. If it tells you the kid is like 89, probably you should double-check the math.

Working :)

So the paperwork is going through and I have started shadowing (tomorrow will be my 5th full day), and I will have gone to four schools total. I start formal training Monday and my first “real” day is coming up in a few weeks. Lots of names and students to remember. I can never talk in much specifics about my job (beyond to say it’s in a school district) but I do hope to start blogging soon about school OT in general….as one of my blog readers (and one of my OT school heroes) Tonya said, tongue-in-cheek, she just can’t wait to hear about the french fry people I promised to talk about, haha.

I am EXHAUSTED – and tonight need to write up my notes from today (each day I end up with about 4 full pages of notes from that day’s school), plus prep a little for tomorrow’s training by a developmental optometrist. So I’m going. I hope this weekend to share a little of the tips/tricks I am learning!

SCHOOL TIP OF DAY: The OT I am shadowing mentioned this. Consider using those SillyBandz(sp?) – those little rubber oddly-shaped bracelets that are so popular, as a fidget tool for kids. They wear them anyway and are really popular and kids can “fidget” with them without drawing attention the way they might with say, a Tangle. (I do think Tangles can work for some kids though).

OT job

hi y'all….let me get the official paperwork under way before I say anything specific but I am pretty sure I have a job!! Starting immediately! Very excited….more news/information to come shortly when that paperwork is underway. Oh and I updated my sidebar with more new links based on recent comments, including Dani's, Matthew's, Motor Story, Linda's, and maybe a few more I am blanking on. And I added in TherapyFunZone.Com which is an AWESOME website/resource that I plan to stalk thoroughly…and hopefully soon add in my own ideas. For example I need to write about french fry people soon.

Alright….back to “work”…going through all my ten thousand bazillion OT binders searching for material applicable to this job. Plus I should try to get my taxes etc stuff done ASAP since I'm about to be much more busy!!

Thanks again all for your support. The comments/e-mails make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, much like a caterpillar! Hmm…note to self: work on my metaphors/analogies/similies/brush up on my clearly forgotten knowledge of English grammar

Need your OT blog links! Updating my OT sidebar

Hi everyone,

After years of sidebar neglect (sorry beloved sidebar), I have updated the OT blog section and OT-related section, removing broken links. I have kept in a few blogs even if they haven’t been updated in literally years, because they may have posts that are still relevant/interesting. I have put Meredith and Kimberly’s, two new OT students, into the blogroll. I am a little behind on keeping up with new OT blogs, so if you have an OT blog that you don’t see on my sidebar, send me an e-mail or comment with your blog name and full link. And if you’ve sent me a mail recently with a question I haven’t responded to, feel free to re-send. I’m slowly culling out my mailbox of comments/questions related to my OT blog.

I recommend the two above plus also OT in Public Schools as a great source! Alright, now I’m going to put up all the papers I have scattered around me (in preparation for a recent interview) on the ALERT program (How does YOUR engine run??!), Sensory Dysfunction, TherapyFunZone resources, handwriting, Guidelines for OT/PT in Public Schools, my resume, information on the VMI, DTVP-2, HELP, and Sensory Profile, handwriting adaptations, etc. And I’m going to get off the computer now. But I felt it was time for an update and therefore a “blogging blizzard” so to speak.

Have a great day everyone.

Some new blogs to check out from this link

http://mastersinoccupationaltherapy.org/2010/top-50-occupational-therapy-blogs/

I started working on updating my blog when I saw a traffic source was from this link…which I was unaware of! It's called “Top 50 Occupational Therapy Blogs” and I am number one on the list (I don't think it's in any order though). From what I skimmed, it may be the work of a bot, considering that its descriptions of each blog are somewhat off. For example, the ABC Therapeutics blog is next on the list and it says it focuses primarily on hand therapy, which is a big fat lie! The author, Chris, writes a lot about evidence-based practice, policy, and work within pediatrics. I have followed him for years. I recommend you take this list with a HUGE grain of salt (maybe an entire salt shaker), but it may give you some new links to peruse, at least.

Oh the OT job interviews. :) Must be zen!

Hello everyone!

I've finally completed quite the flurry of interviews lately, and I have my heart set on a certain one. We will see what happens. All I can do is hope and ask everyone to send good thoughts out. I mentioned this blog which now makes me a little nervous. I am very proud of many of my older posts way back from when I started OT school, and I still get a lot of e-mails/comments from people who chose OT partially because of this blog. I also think I frequently share helpful information. I'm being written about (along with another awesome OT, Cheryl, and a few others) in an upcoming OT Practice article on social media, and I've had an article published on social media and OT in OT Practice as well. I feel like it can be an incredible tool in practice and I love all the networking that has taken place because of it! However, what worries me is that even though I am never completely unfiltered, I do frequently ramble, and I don't know how popular that might be if job interviewers were to review my blog. I try to avoid controversy and do a very good job of it, but that doesn't change the fact of my rambling!

I know that if I get this job I want, I will need to be more careful about my grammar and rambling since I would be working with the type of people who like to Google. I can't blame them, I totally google EVERYONE. It's a good way to learn about people. I try to never post something I wouldn't let my grandmother see, which I think is a good rule of thumb. But that doesn't mean I am proud of some of my ramblings. ALTHOUGH….I do hear from people that say they like the ramblings because they are true and honest. So, hmm.

I am proud this blog has now had over 200,000 views and has well over 1,000 posts…many of them in my first few years of OT school and fewer as I evolved into a practitioner due to concerns over HIPAA. I hope this blog continues to evolve and that my voice remains the same, true and honest and real, yet perhaps a little less ramble-y and a little more articulately thoughtful. For anyone coming here for the first time, I recommend glancing through the archives at some of the beginning pieces, and I will be working on updating links to more recent OT blogs. I love reading the OT blogs of new OT students, fresh with passion and excitement (and stress and fatigue! But it gets better).

Thanks everyone for being supportive readers. Please send good thoughts my way that this job goes through – I am VERY excited about it and hope with all my heart that it becomes a reality.

A link about occupation in relation to the recent NZ Earthquake

http://healthskills.wordpress.com/2011/03/01/an-occupational-view-of-the-christchurch-earthquake/

I thought this was a very thoughtful piece on occupation in the wake of a massive earthquake. A friend/blog mentor of mine, Merrolee, posted this on her Facebook and I wanted to share it.

job search x infinity :)

I had one formal interview yesterday, an informal one tomorrow, and hopefully one more next week. I have to remain mum about all interviews (ie details) until I have a job so I don't shoot myself in the foot. I did that once and don't want to repeat the process!!

I think one tip I have for people preparing for interviews (on top of ones from previous post) is to focus on S A T Y R – I don't remember where I got that from but it's not my idea. (Does it count as plagiarism if I admit I have no idea where it came from? Probably. Hmm) It's Situation, Action Taken, Your Result. Basically when they ask you questions they often want examples. So you can't just give a vague answer of “I would probably do X…”….well you can, but ideally you would have a stronger response by stating an example of when this occurred. I'd probably think back on your past experiences and come up with a list of times you learned something, helped someone, etc….then figure out what it applies to….have those past true scenarios fresh in your brain to use as examples for questions you get asked…..you always get the typical…what if you don't get along with someone, stuff like that.

My first aid card came this week but I am waiting on the paper CPR certification….hope it comes soon. I also got my brand new driver's license! Hey, I got to meet a blog reader (or at least she read it once)  – I got to actually briefly shadow a therapist who had commented on my blog about six months ago. SMALL WORLD. She was awesome.

still job searching

got a few sweet emails lately – one letting me know all the pediatric OT jobs are in Tampa FL apparently – ahahaa – and a few asking questions about HIPAA etc. Gotta respond to them. I have over 1,000 mails in my gmail box that need to be dealt with. I'm uh, a little behind.

So I'm still job searching and still intent on the school OT thing if at all possible – thanks to all the school OTs who have emailed me lately – I appreciate hearing from you and plan to respond, albeit apparently slowly…I love hearing from y'all.

So a few words of recommendation for people on the OT job search…..A) network as MUCH AS YOU CAN, B) listen to your gut when warning bells go off C) make sure you have current CPR (and occasionally they ask for first aid, so it wouldn't hurt and may help to have current certification in first aid too – i'm scrambling to find a first aid course right now) D) try to make sure you have several semi-generic letters of recomendation ready from people you have worked with….make sure they include a date (so they know its like 2011 and not 2002), ideally a signature, and that they mention where/how you two worked together, and contact information for that person. Ideally you would have at least 3 on hand since many jobs ask for 2-3. Also keep copies of your NBCOT certification, and state license. And your resume. And maybe a cover letter that can be modified to fit various jobs. And….hmmm. Keep track of all your start/end dates, with addresses and phone numbers and job duties, of every job you've had for at least like 10 years. :O

My BIGGEST pet peeve in job searching? Okay well a big one to me is when ads are not current – if a job app calls for you to jump through ten million hoops, I recommend you call first and verify the ad is still accurate. Some of the job sites have inaccurate postings. BIGGEST pet peeve though is having to either re-type or re-handwrite EVERY SINGLE JOB I've had, for every single application. I get sooo tired of spending hours tediously redoing that part. I wish there was some sort of website with a universal job application where you could put in graphic detail all your work and volunteer and other info, and then submit that along with resume to job sites….it seems like many of the jobs all have their own drop box forms of many many pages that make me re-type the SAME INFORMATION each time….so each takes hours. Frustrating to me that it can't be more universal in this day and age.  I'm not writing that all out to sound like a diva….just that for efficiency sake, it doesn't seem a great way to do it these days. I'm working on a handwritten app right now – my hands keep cramping up as my muscles are underdeveloped! Time for some OT

I guess that's all I have to share for now. I do want to re-iterate for people looking for OT jobs who might be concerned I still haven't found a job….there are PLENTY of OT jobs out there. San Diego CA is a little harder to find a job in because it's a paradise and everyone wants to live/work here so jobs are less plentiful and pay slightly less here compared to rest of CA. IE tons of school jobs in Northern CA near Sacramento etc, but almost NONE in Southern CA. Also, I'm trying to get into the school district which is hard to do – if I was willing to work in rehab or a skilled nursing facility I'd have a job by tomorrow. And who knows maybe I'll go down that road….but I have a few more school OT leads to try first.