Occupational Therapy
16
Jun
2009
La la la
Ok! Two applications down with minimal hair-pullage, haha. I think I'll apply 1-2 more places and then settle for a while so I can deal with potential interviews and all. I've learned a lot just in the last few weeks and so hopefully I'll do well with the next few.
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
16
Jun
2009
About to send in another application to a very cool place…
I just finished my cover letter. I'm going to go to Kinko's and get everything copied/notarized/sent out. I am thrilled to be done with the longest application. The place I'm applying has an AWESOME culture of excellence and it would be a wonderful opportunity.
I need to be careful about my recent ranting and raving of frustration and all. For people who have been reading my blog for years, I think they overall have a good picture of who I am…but if someone just read a single post or two, well…yikes, haha. We all have our good and bad days! And weeks….and months….lol.
ANYWAY. I better get going. Thanks all for the support and love….maybe today I can get some EMAILS answered?! And finish up the hospital application?!!
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
16
Jun
2009
finally getting things done…
I am pretty sure my blood pressure is 3382828288282 over 3838989292892. I find job applications immensely tedious. I just spent many hours on a 13 page application and then spent a few hours struggling with my new mac and new printer…I am sooo used to a PC that even little things flummox me on the Mac! And then I just started to fill out another online application for a hospital, but its application website was utterly ridiculous. It would list schools/majors to choose from, and then my school and major wouldn't be present, and then it would give you an error if you tried to leave it blank, etc. Ugh!!
So since I already want to tear all my hair out, I decided I'd stop for the night, before I went postal. In the morning I need to write a cover letter, get my oath of loyalty to the particular state notarized (WOW), and then mail the application ASAP.
I am a tiny bit irritated with myself that I let stupid applications upset me, BUT at the same time it's only (tomorrow) been a week since I got my stunningly and exquisitely painful rejection, so I'm just glad I didn't cry the night away! Overall I guess it was pretty productive minus the many hours of frustration.
Ok, tomorrow's goals:
AM: SEND THAT APPLICATION
PM: Work out at some point, contact HR at that other hospital about navigating their website application
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: 1
15
Jun
2009
GOALS FOR TOMORROW
TWO MAIN GOALS:
1) Finish rehab app
2) Finish peds children app
Minor goals:
3) Work out?
4) Don't go insane
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
15
Jun
2009
Good night…
So I am learning to navigate my new Macbook. I love it to pieces but there is definitely an element of hesitancy, I have to get used to it. It doesn't feel the same. The Macbook was an awesome graduation present, although I got many wonderful graduation presents. 🙂
I saw the movie “Up” this weekend and it was absolutely stunning. Amazing. I highly recommend it.
My goals this week include finishing up two big ol' job applications, without crying. I get SO overwhelmed SO quickly when it becomes time to start looking up places to work, places to live, etc. Right now I think Chattanooga is my number one city but I'm definitely strongly considering other places. I need to get started though, it's not like I have a lot of time to look, in terms of loan payback and insurance.
I wish desperately that I was a “better” person and could get caught up on all my snail mail correspondence (sympathy cards, thank you cards, birthday cards etc), but also all my e-mails. I have so many nice emails and/or important emails that I have let slide by me lately, especially in face of this past week's trauma.
Every time I see ads for the hospital, I wince…kind of a mini PTSD for at least a little while…a sting, a slap, to be reminded of the rejection…A rejection with legitimate reasons, but still a rejection. Yet right now I'm wearing a t-shirt that proclaims my love for it…so…I dunno. Just will take a while to get over it I guess.
Just wanted to write in…I'm going to go read for a while…
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
13
Jun
2009
Warm Springs and books
I went to the library today. The librarian probably thought I was insane. I got a few random books but a ton of books having to do with dealing with difficult children, autistic spectrum, self-harm, abuse, being a disabled homemaker, working as a young psychotherapist, etc. 18 books total, it was hard to carry.
Of course instead of reading I should be working on you know, finding a job, place to live, stuff like that…details details
Hey, anybody heard of Warm Springs GA? The famous hospital there, and the polio haven in the 50s founded by Roosevelt? I'm thinking about spending a year there…gonna at least check it out.
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
12
Jun
2009
sadness…at least I learned a lesson
No dream job. But I understand why a little better now, and even though it REALLY hurts, at least I can learn a lot from the experience. I think even in the last two days there's been some substantial shifting of my psyche!
I have to be careful what I write…haven't determined yet what can be shared…not nearly as much as I'd like to share…but…it's definitely time to start up the job hunt again…
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: 3
11
Jun
2009
Ouch x infinity
I'm feeling very blog-traumatized right now…just had a nasty experience related to it, job wise…regrouping and thinking and will post sometime soon once I have figured out what to write & and how…want to make sure I don't burn bridges any further than already inadvertently done…ugh, it's all very sad and disappointing.
In the meantime, here is a picture of Lester that my friend Sarah did, I LOVE IT/HER. Very cheering. 🙂
So, yeah….posting soon once I have words.
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: 1
10
Jun
2009
Preparing for the NBCOT exam
I passed! I was asked by many to give some tips. Here is a start.
NOTE: I originally posted this a while back and got an almost immedaiate anonymous comment that this could be considered proprietary information. This freaked me out and I took it down, but now that I’m re-reading it, I don’t see how any of this is proprietary. I used my own opinion on studying, and on the stuff I talk about such as MAOIs, akathisia – I bring it up because in every possible study book, nbcot or not, they talked about such things! So…..yeah. I’m posting it again for now…..
I didn’t start studying nearly as early as I should have, but I used 3 sources: TherapyEd book & review course, NBCOT book + online practice exams, and friends.
If you can afford it, take the TherapyEd review course. If money is an issue, it’s probably still worth it IF YOU HAVE TROUBLE TESTING (the cost of that course is cheaper than re-taking the exam). If you are a strong student, you can probably get by without it.
I liked the TherapyEd review book that came with the course. I basically memorized the vast majority of the book. You need to be able to spout off the information, NOT just “recognize” it. I did flashcards, not so much to actually use, but to help me concentrate so that I learned while making them. There is what, like, thirteen chapters? So depending on how slowly you study, try and give yourself a few days for each chapter if at all possible. DON’T SKIP ANYTHING. I really only glanced briefly at statistics/research/management, and I wished I had looked closer. Everyone’s test is different, but everyone’s test will most likely include a little bit of everything. The more you know, the more likely you’ll pass, obviously, right?
Now, the TherapyEd questions are kind of weird, I admit. Long and oddly worded. Still good practice. And it has lots of CST to practice with.
The NBCOT book was much more like typical NBCOT questions, although oddly enough, the book didn’t have any example CSTs…those new clinical simulation questions. (I ALWAYS confuse stimulation/simulation).
I HIGHLY recommend purchasing the NBCOT online exam that is 100 questions. According to a classmate who researched it, there is like a .9 (ie high) correlation between your score on that exam versus the real thing. I don’t have the evidence though. Also, one of my classmates went up FIFTY points from practice to real thing so I guess um, well, ….anyway, it’s still helpful to see how you do on that online exam. The other things you can buy I don’t necessarily recommend…if you can afford it, great, it helps with confidence …remember you cannot go back and see the question though…and answers arent always given I don’t think.
My favorite questions are the psych questions…what I discovered – for ME at least – was that all the study guides and study guide questions in TherapyEd, etc, love to talk about akathisia, tardive dyskinesia, MAOIs, and photosensitivity.
Akathisia = restlessness, urgent need for movement, typically a psych side effect.
Tardive dyskinesia = always another answer choice it seems, is more chronic and serious, does not go away, and is result of years of heavy psych meds. The movements are more writhing with a lot of oral motor involvement.
KNOW THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO
MAOIs = drugs used for depression. You have to be on a restricted diet on these medicines because of an amino acid blah blah – so they like to ask diet questions. They can’t have like, pickled, smoked, cheesy things…and one of the first signs of toxicity is a headache. KNOW THE BASICS OF SPECIAL DIET AND WHY.
Photosensitivity = lots of psych drugs cause people to be more sensitive to sunlight than normal. If you are doing psych activities/groups and it involves being outside, there is a good chance you’ll need to remind the clients and/or be prepared to deal with that side effect.
*This is what helped me….go research this stuff further and confirm it for yourself, I take no responsibility….these are just tips that helped me!
I’ll write on the ACLS levels sometime soon in terms of psych, and then we’ll go from there…
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: none
9
Jun
2009
Beauty in unexpected places….
I was thinking about my 3-month fieldwork on a locked ward..acute geriatric psychiatric…and how one day, a single daffodil appeared, that a daughter had picked for her mother…that single flower sat in a water glass for days… and on a unit like that, its beauty was so much more…synergistic I guess, than it would be anywhere els. The start of a poem popped into my head at like 3am last night and then I just wrote it up in a few minutes so NO HATING, I ain’t no Wordsworth. Now I’m going to go try and figure out my new Macbook and try to wake up. It’s been a rough couple of days!!
The Solitary Daffodil
Inside a locked ward
there are no pleasantries
Days march grimly on
survival the only goal
The mutters of the schizophrenics
the howls of the psychotics
the sobs of the demented
will drown your ears
in a cacaphony of sorrow
Senses are assaulted
the salty taste of fear
the tinny scent of sweat
the scurrying nurses
Everywhere you look
is cold, industrial
fluorescent lights
concrete
impersonality
One day there is
a floral miracle.
A singular daffodil
trembling shyly
leaning against its water glass cage
A priceless gift
carefully picked
offered in peace
by an enterprising young visitor
It is the first sign of life
that many have seen in days
weeks
or months
a glorious gesture
This solitary daffodil
timidly luminous
a beacon of hope
is for many
the spring of healing
*daffodil from google, not me
Category: Occupational Therapy | Comments: 1