Life of an OT Student

Why would you use a mixed method design vs. only using quantitative or qualitative methods when conducting research? A: It is more valid than quantitative or qualitative methods used alone. B: To achieve triangulation C: Using mixed methods always leads to a stronger outcome D: Mixed methods is more scientific Answer: To achieve triangulation. Triangulation is a technique that involves the use of two or more separate research methods or date collection techniques to confirm study results. When mixed method is used it may compensate for the weaknesses of one design for the strengths of another. Therefore researchers can have increased confidence their findings are valid.

I chose to watch yet another Netflix documentary called The Real Sleeping Beauty while looking for something I could watch with my family and complete my final neuro note on. The documentary was about a young girl right out of high school beginning her college career as a cheerleader. After making the squad, Sarah and a few of her friends went out drinking to celebrate. As they were crossing the street, Sarah was hit by 2 different cars and suffered severe trauma and slipped into a 20 year coma. Doctors told Sarah's parents she would never wake up and she was put into a long term care facility where she was semiconscious but still in a coma. 18 years later Sarah had a break through and began screaming when her parents and friends came to see her. It frightened them that Sarah was trying to communicate with them but couldn't express herself. 2 years later, Sarah spoke. Her mother received a telephone call from the care facility and on the other end she heard the words "Hi, ...

  Upon the creation of my flower garden I fount it might be a good idea to make multiple of these and put in a vase together as its difficult to get the ball to stay up right on its own. I did not have the adequate amount of supplies to do this. Below shows my second intervention which was easily created by cutting slit into the ball. Then the client will open the ball by squeezing it and place the seeds in the tennis ball one at a time using their fine motor skills.

Today our group discussed the neuro-degenerative disease, dementia and how it affected Ronald Reagan after he was diagnosed. Ronald and Nancy Reagan are a love story for the books, and when he was diagnosed in 1994 this was a challenge fit for no better couple. Lauren targeted her goals for OT with Nancy in mind as she was his main caregiver. Individuals with dementia often have interrupted sleep patterns and an OT can implement things to help him regulate his sleep schedule such as changing his environment to make it more comfortable during sleep. Home modifications and a schedule chart will also make Ronald's day smoother as he could look at the board and see what time he is supposed to be doing something or where Nancy is at that time.

The Fundamentals of Caring is a film on Netflix that I chose to watch after going through the list of potential materials looking for another Netflix original to watch, since I enjoyed the other films I watched so much. It also fit that we just had our lecture Monday over muscular dystrophy. The movie is about a kid with Duchenne's Muscular Dystrophy and his caregiver, Ben. Trevor is Ben's first client and right away their dark senses of humor mesh and they are the perfect fit for one another. Trevor had never been very outgoing or adventurous, in fact the idea of breaking away from his normal schedule would send him into a panic attack. Trevor had mapped out a bunch of random places he would like to visit such as the "world's biggest cow" and "the world's deepest pit" but had no intentions of ever visiting those places. Ben and Trevor challenged each other's limits and Trevor's mom agreed to let him go on a road trip to these places with Ben...

Bradley Walker is a 39 year old country music singer that was born with a congenital form of muscular dystrophy called congenital myopothy which means he has had this condition since birth. Bradley has been in a wheelchair his entire life so which I feel would be better than being diagnosed with regular muscular dystrophy where you are able to walk and live independently then you slowly lose function in your body before the disease kills you. The life expectancy for someone with muscular dystrophy is very short, whereas Bradley will live a long full life. Audrey made her goals for OT to target muscle fatigue and independent living in his household such as cooking and other ADLs. She also made a goal of his to be able to drive an adaptive vehicle on his own which he is now able to do. Bradley said he has never been sad about the hand he was dealt as he was given the ability to sing and that is freeing to him. He wouldn't trade his voice for a healthy body as he is able to reach peop...

Trey Gray was a drummer for many years for Brooks & Dunn before being diagnosed with Huntington's Disease. Huntington's disease is a degenerative disease that slowly breaks down the mind and body. It is a genetic disease and if a parent has the gene then there is a 50% chance they will pass it to their child, but if the child does not get the activated gene there is no chance for them to pass it to their child. Trey became a spokes person for Huntington's Disease Society of America to help people try to associate a face with the disease to raise awareness. After diagnosis Trey still played drums for a while before settling down in Nashville and wanting to focus on his role as a father. With occupational therapy the main goal will be to maintain functioning for as long as possible and to teach adaptive techniques to deal with the symptoms of the disease. I would imagine caregiver education would also be a role for the OT.

Today we had a final debriefing of probably the most important course we have taken in our first term of occupational therapy school. The reason I found this class to be so important was it really built our foundation of our knowledge of what OT is, and the process that goes into working effectively with clients in various settings no matter their disability or background. Starting OT school you think you have a good idea of what OT is and what they do, and you probably do. However, the profession is so much more broad than you can ever imagine and the possibilities are endless. We learned all about the OT process from the time you initially meet your client, to implementation planning, until you discharge them hopefully more independent than when they were referred to OT. Although these past couple of weeks have been so overwhelming and stressful, I feel now more than ever that I am where I am meant to be.

Trans Fatty lives is a documentary on netflix following Patrick Sean O'brien through his personal journey of living with ALS. I chose to watch this documentary after the ALS lecture in class and spoke to a few classmates that had watched it. This documentary interestingly enough was done by Patrick himself with the help of a crew and some editors. Although he lost control and function of his body his mind was still brilliant, and this film portrays just that. It was tough seeing some of the struggles that Patrick and his family faced but Patrick didn't let the disease get him down. He described ALS perfectly when he said it's like someone unplugged my brain from my body. Throughout the film you can see the decline in his physical abilities and eventually his body just seems to be an extension of his head with not much of a purpose. The film also shows us how Patrick was able to get his girlfriend pregnant despite his disability and how he admired and loved to watch his son...

My case study was over Rowdy Gaines, an Olympic gold medalist who at the age of 31 was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre syndrome just a week after swimming in a benefit swim meet over 3000 meters. He was suddenly unable to walk much less be the champion swimmer he was so used to being. He was hospitalized for 2.5 months before beginning therapy and his prior peak physical condition made his recovery much quicker than many others with this condition. Within a year Rowdy was back to performing all ADLs independently and swimming daily in the pool to build back strength. Rowdy qualified for the Olympics in 1996 at age 35, the oldest that year to qualify. However, Rowdy's family was extremely important to him and he turned down the opportunity and instead began working for NBC as an analyst during the Olympic games.

Yesterday we took our final for our foundations of occupational therapy class, and it feels good to be nearing the end of my first term of occupational therapy school. This class has done exactly what the course title describes and has given me a strong foundation of what occupational therapy is, what populations they work with, and the basics of the profession. Over the course of a few months we have learned about documentation, clinical reasoning, code of ethics, therapeutic relationships, and many other helpful tools that will guide us through the rest of our time at UTHSC. I am looking forward to branching this knowledge through learning the lifespan starting with pediatrics in July.

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis is commonly known as Lou Gherig's disease in the United States as he was one of the first well known Americans to be diagnosed with this condition. Lou started to notice the disease after his performance playing baseball started to drop significantly because he was losing strength quickly and even would bench himself for games. During this time the profession we love so much was just a baby and he probably didn't receive therapy however he did receive treatment at the Mayo clinic. After being diagnosed the doctors predicted he had 3 years to live and he lived 3 years before dying at they age of 38. Today the average life expectancy of someone diagnosed with ALS is 2-5 years, so in the past 100 years we still have not made very many advances in this field.

It is important to discuss the significance of the therapeutic relationship between the occupational therapy practitioner and the client they are working with because it plays a significant role in the progress a client can make during therapy. I believe the most important thing in establishing this relationship is following through with what you say you are going to do, not making false promises, and use active listening techniques which will all ultimately lead the client to trust the practitioner. If the client trust the practitioner in what they are doing they are more likely to push themselves to further limits which will ultimately lead to a better outcome for the patient if they fully delve into therapy. Every client deserves respect from their practitioner as most of the people we work with are probably not ecstatic about their situation and we should do everything possible to make them feel important and comfortable.

So today, my boyfriend and I were having one of our various political discussion/argument and he says to me, "You're just a liberal in a hardworker's body". It brought me back to our class discussion we had on May 4 about cultural competence, stereotypes, racism etc. By saying that to me he was pointing to the conclusion that all liberal's are actually lazy, a stereotype made by many people on the conservative side of things. I like to think that I am the type of person that sees the bigger picture and just sees everyone as unique, equally important human beings. Brandan however, has been in and out of the army and has a more straight forward perspective to life and if life strays anywhere off the path of "norm" its a little more difficult for him to accept that. As occupational therapist I feel like we are taught from the beginning that nothing in life is "normal" and we find the beauty in that. We are given the opportunity to see everyone fr...

On April 26th, we had a guest speaker join us named Fletcher Cleaves who was living independently with a cervical spinal cord injury. Fletcher grew up with a love of football and that's where he put all of his hard work, dedication, and passion. Finally a young Fletcher received a scholarship to play football at Lambuth University. However, all of Fletcher's training could not have prepared him for the night a texting driver would run him of the road leading to the crash that would change his life and take his ability to walk. Several years later I meet Fletcher during my time in occupational therapy school and I see this man in front of me with a huge personality and even bigger sense of humor. He educated us on his injury and gave us a look into what a day would look like for a person with his level spinal cord injury. Fletcher also made a really incredible point when he was discussing the difficulty he had finding a wheel chair accessible apartment and I feel that is somet...

I first learned about this certification when we were watching a video in our Neuro OT 537 class about traumatic brain injuries (TBI). This certification would give me a better understanding and knowledge about brain injuries if I plan to work with this population regularly. The certification requires 500 hours of direct contact experience with individuals with brain injury and a completion of training or self study. To sit for the exam to become certified would cost $300 and if you pass it would be a $60 annual fee to keep your certification. If you pass you would be a part of the Academy of Certified Brain Injury Specialists. This is something that I feel would be a good fit with my interest in working in the neuro-field. Relating this certification back to AOTA's 2025 vision, I feel that this certification would help a practitioner more effectively treat a brain injury client to maximize their rehabilitation. Although some clients will return back to normal functioning in thei...

It was interesting to learn about Parkinson's Disease from someone who has a first hand experience with it. The OT's role in working with a client with PD is to prolong functioning for as long as possible as it will eventually break down the body and make life very difficult for the individual. Bob loved his family and had hobbies he really enjoyed such as fishing and gambling which lead the therapist to making goals for his therapy. Sarah mentioned that Bob worked at a paint store with a lot of strong chemicals and a few other men Bob worked with actually developed PD as well and it makes you wonder if there is a connection.

Attention World!  I have found my calling; wheelchair basketball. I was given an opportunity through my neuro class in my school's occupational therapy program to go sit in on the Memphis Rollin' Grizzly's wheelchair basketball practice, and it was one of the most humbling experiences I've had in a while. My love of basketball drew me to this opportunity and that is why I decided to do one of my Neuro Notes on what I learned from it.  I started playing basketball in the second grade and for the next ten years I would dedicate myself to the sport almost year-round. For ten years I took for granted my well-able body and for 15 minutes at the end of practice I got to experience the game from a different perspective. Some of the players on this team were incredible athletes, despite their disability. A few of the guys were amputees that used a wheelchair full time and another had a prosthesis. The most inspiring player I met had been a college basketball player w...

Today we had a documentation lab to give us a chance to gather materials and work on building our professional portfolio. Although we have not made it to the many of the contents the portfolio requires it's helpful to have this system established and organized. For me, I am a very disorganized person and tend to lose things very easily. So this will be a beneficial assignment for me to get my stuff together and have a place for all the important documents we will obtain throughout our time here at UTHSC. Hopefully this will be good practice and lead me in the direction of being a more efficient organizer.

Today Cameron facilitated a class discussion on the fictional character Will Traynor from the movie Me Before You. The character had had a life altering accident that took him from his successful and adventurous life and left him paralyzed from the neck down. We discussed what goals as therapist we would set for will discussing the psycho social aspect of how beneficial it can be to have a companion and some way to express their feelings to someone who can sympathize with what they are going through. For someone like will an occupational therapist could emphasize on adaptive equipment to improve his quality of life such as a swing to facilitate intimacy between two people. Complete independence in a quadriplegic isn't feasible but learning some tools to regain independence will help a client regain a sense of purpose one step at a time.

We were asked the question, "What does it mean to be a lifelong learner?". For one, being almost 23 and have been in school my whole life counts for something right? A lifelong learner means to me that you never give up on expanding your mind on the endless knowledge that this life has to offer. However, once we have become health professionals and are thrown out into the world as newly practicing occupational therapists, we will be required to be a life long learner through continuing education. I feel proud to be a part of a profession that strives to hold their professionals to a higher standard and requires them to never stop learning and growing. Once we are finished with school, our learning becomes more self-directed and we have the opportunity to go out and learn the things that excites us and sparks our interest. Since I decided I was going to be an OT, I've had the desire to work with trauma patients that have sustained a life altering injury. When watching a vi...

This Netflix Original documentary follows Lotje, a young, active, adventurous 34 year old who sustained a hemorrhagic stroke leaving her with aphasia and the inability to communicate or read anything. The reason I chose to review this documentary for my neuro-note is because although strokes are common among older adults and its definite we will be working with a stroke patient at some point in our career, it is more rare to hear of someone having a stroke at such a young age in a relatively healthy young woman. After being released from the hospital Lotje finds herself in somewhat of an alternate universe her brain has created for her. She is seeing the world around her from a different perspective and is struggling finding who she is and her purpose after the accident. Lotje is determined not to become discouraged by this new obstacle in her life and checks herself into an inpatient rehab hospital where she works with occupational therapists, speech and language therapist, psycholog...

Clinical reasoning, like many things in the OT profession has many gray areas and can vary from client to client. There are eight different types of clinical reasoning that will hopefully help you make the right decision for your client. Here are just a few styles of clinical reasoning that we as OT's: ·          Procedural reasoning- strategy OT uses to find out what procedure you will do and what order you will do them in. The OT process. ·          Diagnostic reasoning- relates to how the diagnosis effects the clinical picture. (a component of scientific reasoning.) ·          Scientific reasoning- focuses on the facts. ·          Interactive reasoning- Has a lot of exchange and dialogue with client and/or caregiver. ·          Narrative reasoning- Relying on...

In session 9B we learned about the basics of clinical documentation. The who, what, when, where, and why of clinical documentation guides you in the direction of creating a complete and thorough evaluation. This discussion led us to our discussion of SOAP notes which is an acronym for subjective (what they client says), objective (what the therapist observes), assessments (interpretation of the assessment), and plan (what intervention will be chosen for client). As therapist we will use soap notes in almost any setting we work in and it's important for many reasons to have a detailed soap note to help guide other therapist that may work with the client and for insurance purposes. If it wasn't documented it didn't happen.

With a bachelor's degree in therapeutic recreation I quickly learned what person's first language is, as we often worked with individuals with disabilities. However, after reading the article assigned for session 9a it came to me that I never really thought about it as much for people with a disease such as diabetes. You just always hear time and time again that someone is diabetic, but its the same case as if you were talking about a child with autism you wouldn't want to describe that child by saying they are autistic as it is limiting their identity by the disability. I know so many people in my life that do not know the first thing about person first language and I believe that it should be something that is taught to kids at a young age because kids as well as adults sometimes don't realize how something they say affect those around them.

Professor Jamie Flick came and gave us an enthusiastic presentation over health promotion, literacy and prevention. One thing that intrigued me about her presentation was the section that covered health people 2020 which closely aligns with the OT profession. Their overall mission was to create a society that promotes people to live long healthy lives by identifying problems, increasing awareness and understanding of health and the prevention of disease. One of the overarching goals that I felt would be a good way to advocate for the need of occupational therapy is to promote quality of life, healthy development, and healthy behaviors across all life stages. OT's can provide the information need to individuals looking to improve their lifestyle and lead healthier lives.

I have always had an interest in working with trauma patients in Occupational Therapy. The human brain is an amazing thing and how it can sustain such injury and recover is somewhat of a miracle. However, TBI's can change you. My boyfriend's step dad acquired a TBI after being bucked off a mule on a pavement road. It took months of recovery and he was able to return back to work but he has told me first hand he lost many of his friends due to his accident because people said he changed and didn't know how to act around him. I've talked to him first hand on his experience because the accident happened before I knew him so to me he's just then same sweet Kevin I've always known. Kevin has told me that this has affected his confidence and he doesn't see the same person when he looks in the mirror anymore. He also lost his sense of smell which affects his taste and he doesn't even like the same foods as before. I just feel that people should be more aware...

I know as well as anyone that when teachers start to talk about theories and frameworks that it's easy to zone out because it's easy to tell yourself that you will never use this in practice. However, I believe that taking the next step and applying these frameworks to practice can be extremely beneficial to the client as it will help you see the client holistically and really take all aspects of their life into consideration when treating the client. I think the KAWA framework we discussed in class today added a new dimension to the way people see theories and frameworks as you typically think of these frameworks as meaningless diagrams with words on them. However, the KAWA is adaptable to every individuals and helps you identify the barriers that can affect flow, which is a new perspective that seemed simpler to use.

OTPF and it's domains helps practitioners focus on client centered practices. It takes the client into perspective, evaluates their role and what's important to them and helps the OT assess what treatment will help them get back to their role the quickest and most efficient way possible