Life of an OT Student

Reflection Using worksheet 1-3 as a guide I critically assessed and broke down each part of my group facilitation to examine what I believe I did well on and what I could improve on in the future. For the introduction I had each member introduce themselves and identify one fear they had about getting older to show that their fears may be becoming their parent's reality. I pointed out the similarities in members answers to build connections between group members. I then discussed the importance of having patience, showing empathy, and keeping humor alive during this trying time.  During our sharing portion of our session one member began crying when sharing her experiences of caring for family members. I felt that it altered the dynamic of our group a bit as one member approached me after the session and apologized for not sharing. They stated they were afraid they might start crying and didn't want to let the rest of the group see them cry. It is important to make sure t...

On Tuesday, March 6, I met with my fellow classmates to discuss our group facilitation procedures we will be implementing during our life skills group sessions. We each introduced our topics and each went through our protocol and discussed each of Cole's 7 steps and how we are addressing each step throughout our group session. We all had different topics we selected such as communication, providing care for aging parents, seeking volunteer opportunities, and home management. Open discussion occurred and feedback was provided when discussing concerns about goals or if we had any suggestions on modifying their current protocol. The leadership summit session helped me feel more confident in my work and gave me insight on what the group member's experience might be like when implementing my group intervention on Wednesday, March 7.

Testing an  Occupation-Based Cultural Group Intervention for Residents in Long-Term Care Settings In today's society adults are living longer and one challenge these adults face is a relocation that often happens late in life when they are no longer able to live independently, whether that is for financial, physical or cognitive reasons. Some of these adults are leaving their life long homes where they raised their families to move closer to their children (or move in with their children). Some are moving to retirement communities, long term care facilities, or into assisted living. Whatever the reason they are leaving these people are just looking to be able to call some place "home" again. The purpose of this study was to look at the effect occupation-based cultural heritage intervention (OBCHI). The intent of the intervention was to improve the occupational adaptation process for older adults who experience recent relocation.The group was led by a well trained ac...