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Professional development evaluations

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Fri, 16 May 2008 05:50:00 +0100

PS: I need proof I motivate others and that I'm flexible in unexpected situations and ummm that I inspire trust in small groups and umm that I have a firm grasp of occupation balancing and that I think learning is lifelong and that I value the role of COTAs....so if any of y'all want to share something (something true and appropriate to show professors, that is) that I can use as proof, I'll be your best friend. Like "thanks for the time you sicced a rabid dog on me so id run 3 miles instead of 1 during my marathon training..." ...that kind of evidence. PS2: I do realize that PS's don't normally start a letter...PS3: I'm going to bed now...tomorrow is going to be a long day!!! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

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Wow. emo occupational therapist student, anyone?

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Fri, 16 May 2008 05:44:00 +0100

I just finished reading Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult and I was impressed...I also enjoyed The Condition...many many hours of procrastination from PDE (professional development evaluation) time. I'm about halfway done. It's frustrating to me that we are asked to show evidence of things like "uses APA style". C'mon...you've been our professors for a year and a half in a small school. You know us intimately. Tell us what you don't believe we show proof of professionally so that we can go find evidence for those specific things. The only argument I've heard as to why we do it is to build up something for our future bosses...but um, what boss in their right mind wants to be shown a two inch binder filled with things like a page of citations to show we know APA style? And an e-mail showing we motivate others? Seriously? Also the professors get together to discuss us so that they can give us feedback on a little sheet. I'd LOVE to be a fly on the wall for those discussions. Mine last year basically said I was pretty cool, except that I tend to make morbid comments too frequently. Yeah I agree. I tried to be better about it this semester, although I admit I've had quite a few slips. So now it will be like "You're kinda cool, except you're still morbid and inappropriate, work on that more. And stop slouching. And project louder. ." LOL. And I'll be like, okay, I'm still working on the whole inappropriate comment thing. And I slouch because my body is messed up, not laziness. And my ears are insanely sensitive. But I'll try." and then they will be like, "don't try. DO." and I'll be like, "Geez louise!! Criminy crickets! Okay!" And then I'll promptly go slouching off to speak softly about how I want to fall off a cliff. JUST KIDDING. Today I was supposed to go volunteer in the morning but since I didn't fall asleep until after 5am I ended up calling them to ask about coming in next week to do the database entry instead. I slept in until it was time to go to the Assisted Living facility, where I met my Tai Chi partner Julie, and then we went around scheduling people. Everyone is so nice. I ended up going to Kerri's (who lives near by the place) for a few hours to work on stuff like PDEs, although I was exhausted enough that I ended up playing Super Mario Kart with her and reading a book. I went back to the facility at 6ish to help out with Bingo. It's fun smiling at people and being around so many nice people. I think many "older adults" (the politically correct term these days) have a special ability to see inner sparks...lights within us that have nothing to do with age. A few days ago I clicked on a site my friend had found that was made by a man who buys unprocessed film at like antique stores, to develop it. He put up his favorite pictures, most of which were decades ago. It made me feel odd to look at these flat images on my screen, random strangers looking into the camera, and knowing that there was an entire lifetime of history captured in that snapshot. So many emotions and so many stories that I would never know. I think that's one reason I like OT - you get to know your clients. You get to have an intimate look into their lives, get to live a small part of their journey. You are medical enough to get to help them, but social/non-medical enough that they will tell you things they might not tell a doctor. You, if you do the job OTs are truly meant to do, have become a part of their history...not just a single sentence line in Reader's Digest referring to the grueling months of rehab a person underwent.., but a living human being that worked with another human being, day by day, working together to help create a new fabric...I need to stop reading so many random books. I sound like an emo metaphysicist on LSD. But seriously...I have thrown myself into OT...and it has nothing to do with wanting to do glitter crafts, or stack cones, or measure hand angles...it has to do with watching a woman's eyes light up as she watches her daughter put on her own socks for the first time...in other words...it's not about the skill being learned...it's not about the job....it's about the joy of connection, the joy of participating in activities that bring meaning. All careers have their pros and cons...but there is, at least to me, a special magic in OT...although it's time for another Slagle lecture on why we need to not forget our roots... a famous reconstructionist aide (precursor to OT), Ora Ruggles, explained that it is the healing of the heart that is the most important... One point of clarification since I know "Cookie Gimp" will fuss at me otherwise on how I'm talking about restoring and not about people with congenital issues....the joy of watching someone do something doesn't have to be a physical task or gaining a new skill...it's solely based on watching a person participate, mentally OR physically, in a task that brings that person some satisfaction or joy or enhanced quality of life...regardless of level of ability before or after. :P (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Caffeine induced insomnia

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Thu, 15 May 2008 09:28:00 +0100

Wow...it's 4:24am and I'm still up. I haven't been up this late in years. I didn't even nap today and I only got around 5ish hours of sleep yesterday - but a few cups of iced tea today made me stay up all night :( I just finished one of the new books from Brooke, "The Condition"....pretty cool. And I'm wide awake...augh! Tomorrow is gonna be tough!! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Note to self: caffeine is evil.

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Thu, 15 May 2008 07:19:00 +0100

Southern Iced Tea, you tempt me with your sugary goodness. Then you keep me up all night. Not cool. An OT student needs her sleep!! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

If i were a martian with a bar i'd have a drink called martian mellows and i'd be famous...ot students shouldn't write blog entries at 1am

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Thu, 15 May 2008 05:43:00 +0100

Today we gave our Tai Chi poster presentation. Our research mentors kindly tore it apart - emphasizing that it wasn't bad, but it could be fine-tuned immensely. They had some good ideas and we also got a crash course on body language while standing at the poster! This was our third draft of the poster, I think. Now we have to redo it completely before next Wednesday when we do the symposium. We start doing Tai Chi assessments this Friday. The research has been somewhat interesting and I like the subject matter, but I and everyone else in this project are bitter at the gas money and time our groups have put in compared to all other groups. The gas money especially has become an issue, with every single trip out there now costing me at least $4 and for others, more like 7 or 8. That adds up really quick as a student, especially when you consider we've easily been there 15 times apiece, and that's a low estimate. Ugh. ANYWAY enough ranting. Just had to say it since I can't sleep so I figured I'd throw out what I could. Brooke and I then had lunch before working on our PDEs at school together, which went pretty quickly. Then we went to the gym where we took PiYo, ran into low vision occupational therapist Orli, who is ballroom dancing with her husband! That's so cool! Then we went out east so Brooke could feed some cute doggies she is house-sitting! Then we went to a barbecue place outside and met my our other friend Christa! Then we went to her house and watched American Idol! And I had fun and refused to think about the PDEs, the Diversity paper, the special blog project , the stacking up e-mails, and the other ten thousand things I have going on! Sometimes you just have to go with the flow yo! For sanity! And I sang most of the day, poorly, because for some reason I always feel like singing random songs these days like "Go the frikken speed limit you stupid blue car... la la la". Everything sounds so much better by song. And my blogging always seems like it makes sense late at night but when I wake up in the morning I'm always like, why did I think talking about crackers and chain saws was a good idea? Hmm. Brooke also made me the happiest person in the ENTIRE WORLD today by sharing with me a ton of free books she got from book reps...of course not to keep, but since I read fast and do a lot of skimming, she's letting me be the supervisor of them....on some of the yuckier times in life, having a book to look forward to reading is the only thing that motivates me to get out of bed! I like immersion in the words of others as a reprieve from my own dangledoodle thoughts! I'm happy that our semesters of schooling are almost over in the sense that no matter how interesting something is, sitting in a classroom gets tedious pretty quickly. But I'm sad because I truly enjoy (usually) my classmates and I'm going to miss the camaraderie and fun we've had together. In June I'll be out of town for almost three weeks...and I start my first level II fieldwork, 3 months full-time, at a local rehab hospital, inpatient, on June 30th....so probably my June updates will be a combination of "I'm off-topic enjoying my last student vacation ever so in your face" and "I mean to write this down seven months ago and just remembered..." and "Oh my gosh I'm so scared of fieldwork" and "I just tried to transfer my friend from a chair to the bed and I'm pretty sure I broke the spinous processes off half my vertebral column". La Occupationalie Therapistia opera: MY SPINE!! MUST PINE! FOR IT HAS LOST!! ITS BONY THOUGHTS! FOR I! DO NOT KNOW HOW TO TRANSFER! AND FOR THAT! IM SCAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARED! Delirium strikes. I should stop. I still need to write about Terri Schiavo and the beautiful little girl I met recently with haloproencephaly and spina bifida. And um, yeah. Lots coming up...I have the tendency to always be waiting for the next big event to occur, instead of just like living in the NOW..and appreciating how lucky I am to be in school....I keep thinking I need to start up a blessings journal where I try to work on my negativity by counteracting it with positive thoughts...but then I also want to become a female, less cowboy-ish version of Chuck Norris...and...and...ummm. Tomorrow is a full day between volunteering at a Rehab dept for WEE-FIM stuff (I kept putting it off) and then spending the afternoon and evening out at an assisted living facility doing Tai Chi related things, plus Bingo! (Sarah, you are welcome to come..) (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Non sequiturs are my middle spoon

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Wed, 14 May 2008 01:40:00 +0100

This morning I got to observe an OT at the local pediatric hospital, working in unit that handles children [usually babies] on ventilators. I specifically asked to observe him because if I want to work with just little kids, I need a lot of skills and exposure! Plus, I'd like to volunteer in that unit some, so I wanted some exposure to vents. The first little baby we saw was absolutely adorable. He is just learning peek-a-boo and he is the biggest flirt you have ever seen. Everybody near him got some peek-a-boos. But if he gets ignored long enough, he's figured out how to unhook his vent so that the alarms go off and he gets some attention! His vent came off his trache a few times and I was like AUGHHHHHHHHHHH but the OT always put it back on immediately so it was fine. We also saw a baby that wasn't very fond of weight-bearing, a little girl with A MILLION issues, and a little boy that had a closed head injury and didn't have a very good rehab prognosis. :\ All on vents. It basically turns out that from a volunteer experience, it's just one more tube to be aware of...although a GIANT important one. LOL. ===Tomorrow morning Meg, Katy, and I present our research poster to our research mentor, for a grade and as a dress rehearsal for next week's big research symposium. We all feel pretty confident that we know our stuff, but it's still a little nerve-wracking! I think I'll probably head to St. Jude to do WEE-FIM stuff afterward ...hmmm ====The other day I watched House...the really really bizarre episode involving a bus crash. After participating in that airplane crash drill, it was kind of eerie watching it...seeing the familar make-up, all the milling emergency officials, the sirens and lights...wow. Can you imagine how traumatizing it is? It's one thing to play fake victim....but to go through a traumatic event and then deal with all the lights and noises and chaos and fear....scary!!! =======I have thought about blogging a lot lately...although haven't followed through. It's not so much that I'm lazy, just that I have sooooo much going through my head that it is hard to figure out something to focus on. I feel a strong urge to write a book...although I don't really think I have enough material until I've been practicing a few years...but I want to write it NOW....patience is a virtue...I dunno. Plus I have a lot to share that isn't OT or healthcare related, and I want to do some other completely random writing projects, and well, there just aren't enough hours in the day to do all those things...I feel the creativity crawling through my veins with no release...I either lack the skill or the time or both.... ============I'm going to stop now...my brain has emptied...professional development evaluations, two research presentations, a paper on diversity, a bunch of assessments for Tai Chi, and then perhaps that's about it left...at least off the top of my head. The next few weeks also include a few special events including watching my friend Allison do a triathlon, helping out at a family day picnic for an alzheimer's center, going to my friend Sarah's high school graduation, going to Nashville to meet my visiting Norwegian host family and then entertain them in Memphis a few days, going to my landlord's birthday lunch party, and then just the normal stuff like errands, working out, seeing friends, blah blah blah. Now it's time to set up for work. GOOOOD NIGHTTTTTTTTTTT PS: I'm thinking about changing the name of my blog slightly...anyone have any thoughts on that?? (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

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Random ot-related images

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Mon, 12 May 2008 02:53:00 +0100

And now for some stolen images. Someone found this cartoon....really cool!MOT Class of 2010 goes all out with an OT Month Bake SaleMOT Class 2010 has lab.It's THRILLER!!!!!! Or a neurobiology class or something.Check it out. At least some of the time I'm the first result, ha ha ha I laugh! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Amy grant....

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Sun, 11 May 2008 23:13:00 +0100

We had a presentation the other day in healthcare policy about a kid who had a stroke at a young age and was mostly non-communicative, but HATED the singer Amy Grant and could make that very clear. AHAHHA. Also, I want to post about Terri Schiavo still, plus Second Life (cookie gimp's suggestion), plus Facebook pictures, plus what the last few weeks of school before fieldwork are bringing...gotta get through all my ten thousand errands first though augh! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Some random e-mail things to share

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Sun, 11 May 2008 23:07:00 +0100

It seems like I'm always behind...I'm catching up on e-mails right now and I'm too lazy/time-constrained to make this very good, but here is stuff to share. ----------My friend Arnie left these two comments on some of my blogs and both cracked me up. "A woman with no arms lived in the neighborhood where I raised my kids.It was fascinating to watch her light cigarettes with her feet at theneighborhood pool.I love her advice: "Try not to be a dead person." Come to think of it,that's pretty good advice for everyday living, not just emergencydrills."-------Cheryl left the following validating (and scary, lol) comment on my rant on how uncomfortable the backboard was. "backboards are *incredibly* uncomfortable- a lesson well learned inlifeguard training. The other lesson from lifeguarding was what youfound out- that the emergency personnel may not know exactly what theyare doing 100% of the time, which could definitely kill you. scary."============I had an e-mail exchange with a woman named Julia Fox Garrison, who wrote "Don't Leave me This Way", and her journey of being a young woman who has a stroke and how she deals with her journey toward healing. Unfortunately she had many bad experiences with rehab professionals, and I wrote her after reading it last week and told her how sorry I was that she had such negative encounters, and that OT is soo much more than that. Go read it! She wrote a nice response and I'm enclosing a clip because it has good advice. Karen, please strive to keep that passion and compassion you have for your profession. Remember the simplest gestures are what are remembered. I neverforgot the nurse who fed me a bagel from the nurses station or the aid whosang to me.=============Some interesting articles and/or blogs:http://rehabilitation-director.advanceweb.com/editorial/content/editorial.aspx?cc=112893http://rehabilitation-director.advanceweb.com/Editorial/Content/Editorial.aspx?cc=112892The Centennial Vision in Action:http://www.aota.org/News/Centennial/40313.aspxhttp://www.aota.org/News/Centennial/40313.aspxhttp://funandfunction.com/index.php?main_page=wordpress blog (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Lennys help you forgot your troubles...lol a few more airplane pictures coming up

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Sat, 10 May 2008 02:00:00 +0100

Don't worry, the gruesome pictures will end soon...man that drill was fun! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Measurement issues in pediatric occupational therapy

ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:33:00 +0100

We talk here a lot about evidence based practice, the need for better science in our assessments and intervention, and professional responsibility to make sure all these things happen. On a daily basis we work toward a better 'science' of occupational therapy while at the same time maintaining a close connection to our 'art.' After all, we are often talking about our connections with real people and how we can best offer help. I feel that we are making some changes in the way we think about these issues in our profession, because I hear more and more people talking about real participation and our goals of assuming or resuming normal occupational behaviors. I've been thinking about this topic all week, and now I am kicking myself twice for not going to the national conference this year. Through the grapevine I am hearing about Dr. Wendy Coster's Slagle lecture and how she talked about measurement issues. I wish I was able to hear her lecture now. Instead, I have to wait for the AJOT article...Anyway, I ran across a little newspaper article in an Australian paper that caught my eye - it seems to encapsulate the issues I am referencing here. I don't know that we can norm the number of birthday parties that kids participate in, but I wonder if we can develop data about degrees of social participation that contribute to culturally-accepted quality of life measures. That's an awful tall order - but maybe we can get there someday. We will be better occupational therapists when we do. (Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog)

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Places to see and people to visit or something

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Fri, 09 May 2008 07:00:00 +0100

Ok it's 1:51am and I finished my Senior Expo Reflection Paper (It's like four pages ack!), plus updated my resume and took a health policy quiz.Tomorrow we have class 9am to noon and we need to submit our papers. Then I might hit yoga and walk on the treadil before going to St. Jude for an hour or two to do database entry in the rehab department. Then I can work on my diversity paper and group poster for Tai Chi and do more health policy quizzes and who knows what else. I am going to GreekFest tomorrow night with my friend Sarah's family and then I work 9 to midnight, so I guess it might be a busy day, but that's probably a good thing! The busier I stay the better off I am! Someone commented lately that I don't appear to have a focus, and I was surprised to hear that. I volunteer a lot and do a lot of diverse things because I enjoy it all so much, not because I don't have a focus. I also don't feel like I do too much - I'm tired all the time no matter what I do, so I might as well stay busy! If anything I feel guilty I don't do more! I love occupational therapy school in general and I will be sad to see it end, especially not being able to see my classmates --although fieldwork will be a whole new "era" so to speak and while I'm excited, I'm also nervous! I'm rambling. Now it's 2am, I'm sooo going to bed. PS: I had 409 PAGE LOADS yesterday! My new record by far, I had never gotten past 315 or so! My jaw dropped. And I'm at over 40,000 page loads now since my blog started, roughly a year now. Yay for completely random and arbitrary blog landmarks! PS2: The MOT 1's have been plenty busy with Facebook pictures of their deja-vu labs. Need to start posting those!! PS3: I try and get people to write things for my blog and apparently that is an intimidating request? Why?!! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Oopsies...better get started

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Fri, 09 May 2008 05:39:00 +0100

Today all of us OT classmates spent 4 hours volunteering at the Senior Expo and need to write a reflective piece. And we're working on professional development evaluations, resumes, our research poster, quizzes for health policy, and a few other things. Plus I'm working on a diversity collaborative paper + trying to get started on a long overdue special blog project! But for tonight, it's already close to 1am and I need to write some stuff up for school tomorrow, so this is the shortest blog entry ever, impressive huh. (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

if you can't fix it with duct tape- you haven't used enough — Fri, 09 May 2008 05:39:00 +0100

I'm officially a second year MSOT student! I can't believe how fast this year went. I start a two week Assistive Technology class next week, and I'm also taking a one day serial casting course! In two weeks, I'll have my first "client", whom I'll be co-treating with a speech therapy student, and I'm also working on a manual that will be published for my autism group. We put in a proposal to present our autism research at the NJOTA conference in September. This summer I'm doing a 2 credit GA and working at the rehab hospital again... and hopefully relaxing as much as possible. :)Here are some pics of my first year... No, we're not studying here... we're looking at a book of henna tattoos. Here we're painting birdhouses that we built.Here's my roommate, Alli, and Michele painting their birdhouse. School really isn't this fun generally. ;) These pics are deceiving. I forget what I'm doing here..... stereo vision? Laura and Alanna teaching us some adaptive dressing skills. (Source: if you can't fix it with duct tape- you haven't used enough)

Part 3: the conclusion of the triennial memphis drill. anyone else with pictures please send!

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:49:00 +0100

See Part 1 and Part 2 here (this will be linked eventually for now just scroll down)An ambulance going to Baptist East (one of four participating hospitals taking patients), was used to transport me and one other critical patient, as well as one yellow-tagged sitting-up patient. The yellow patient with arm issues sat upright, the other critical patient was like on the floor part of it which I think is normal, and then I was on some kind of ledge that was higher up, against a wall. The guy in the ambulance was also very nice, but flat-out admitted he really didn't know what he was supposed to do with us in terms of simulations. Our vitals were already on our cards so he didn't see a reason to re-take vitals. He did take the blood pressure of the woman on the floor part who he could most easily reach. Now, I'm still on a strapped-in stretcher while in the ambulance on this ledge thing, but I'm still sliding, this time to the right, off the ledge. My arms are dangling, and my entire body, with straps against my wounded stomach and legs, was being held from falling primarily by straps...ie I wasn't flat on the stretcher, I was hanging halfway off it. I'm assuming that had I started screaming he would have re-positioned me quicker, but as it was, I pretty much had to say something before he noticed. Plus, my hair was stuck in the velcro part of the stretcher, which was quite painful. We were basically out of character the entire way there since our guy didn't know what he was supposed to do, including where exactly at Baptist East to drop us off, and such. He was commenting on how he had never had so many people in an ambulance and could see how overwhelming and hard it would be in a real accident. He also said something about how they were normally just a transport ambulance that didn't do emergencies. I'm kind of unclear on what exactly was going on. Anyway, he did verbally, when he saw my card, state out loud how he would have treated hypovolemic shock/fracture, by like putting pressure on something, IVs, stuff like that. He was probably right, I wouldn't know though. He also was like wow, you should have been the one on the floor here, you are by far the most critical. Well, thanks. LOL.The sirens were going, the lights were on, the ambulance was speeding, and there I was stuck to the stretcher in a neck brace, hoping that we wouldn't get into an accident as the ultimate irony. We finally got there and the floor patient was taken, the walking girl got out I think (i'm fuzzy), and then finally, I got taken out. I was wheeled in and immediately had a bunch of Baptist people peering down at me, asking me questions. I told them I was cold and that my legs and stomach hurt and that I wanted my sister. The registration lady got my basic information, although I claimed I had forgotten my address, and had to think hard to know my phone number. They were very kind. They slid me onto a flat bed and verbally stated what they would have done, based on the card vitals and stuff, including oxygen, IVs, blah blah. I asked for a blanket and was given one. After a while, they came in to take me off the backboard, although they left the neck brace on. My hair was stuck so tight to that velcro that it was VERY painful getting it off. I know most people sick enough to be in an ambulance are hurting enough that getting their hair stuck in Velcro is not their biggest issue, but c'mon - is it that hard to do something to ensure the added pain?Once they had assessed me, put an ID tag on me, then left a green piece of paper on me, I was left alone, lying flat on my back, in the little trauma curtained area I had. I kept listening to the lady next to me hack and hack, hoping she wasn't truly sick. She eventually pulled the curtain and I saw her face was covered with fake smoke/blood from smoke inhalation. She coughed and coughed and they were all like, um, are you kidding or is that for real? She said she was faking it until she did it so much she actually had to do some coughing for real, lol. She is a retired RN and as we compared experiences, she was appalled at all the errors. I was getting bored/tired/uncomfortable with the neck brace and lying on my back, so I looked at my watch. Which wasn't there. Long story short, it turns out it broke off me in the field due to how my arm was rubbing against the stretcher/rocks. Nice. They did find it though so I'll be getting it back soon it sounds like. But my watch is like my security blanket so I was like NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO lol.I would occasionally raise my neck up to see what was going on, watching stretcher after stretcher get wheeled in. I wasn't sure why I was just lying there for so long. At some point I think I heard one of them say something about how I should be in ICU. A few minutes later a man came in and took off my neck collar so I could go, the drill was over for me. I (not on purpose) left grass and fake blood all over the place, it actually looked pretty realistic when I glanced back and saw the bed. The man handed me a certificate for the cafeteria and walked me to the elevator. He explained that after I went up stairs I'd see where to go, could get, food and then I could ::blahblahblah:: to meet up with everyone. I nodded but had no idea what he said and figured I'd be able to find it. I started wandering down, looking around, when a nurse intercepted me and was like, Can I help you? I was like um, I'm one of the plane crash victims and I was told I could go to the cafeteria but I'm not really hungry, I'd rather just go to the meet-up place to get back on the bus. So she was like Oh, I'll help you get to the bus. I was like awesome. She was not specifically a part of the drill but knew it was going on and thought maybe it was a test, seeing if the hospital would be so overwhelmed there'd be victims just wandering the hall. Interesting possibility. I did have massive fake injury so it was obvious I wasn't a normal patient. She walked me to the bus, which was wonderful of her, and she was great and it was smart of her to make sure I got in the right place. The problem is, that wasn't technically the right place had I still been playing victim - so nobody would have known where I was. I guess because I said it was over she figured it was fine to go straight to the bus. I found out the drill eventually got canceled because of weather getting bad, but it was pretty late by then so it wouldn't have to be re-done. There won't be another one for three years. Boo. I've decided I want to be a professional disaster simulator and always be a belligerent head injury because I'm amazingly good at that. :) I was jealous of my new friend Leslie who got to be all nutty. So overall, it was a well-executed/coordinated experience overall, all coordinators, makeup artists, support staff, everyone, was very kind and gentle. The problem was, at least in my personal experience, many of the emergency people weren't quite sure what was going on. I had at least three different times they could have killed me had I truly been suffering. And I didn't expect riding on a backboard to be so incredibly painful on my head, or for it to be so easy to slide off! I now have more faith that the Memphis Health care Community is caring, and I met a lot of neat nursing students, but I hope that in three years they've addressed all the feedback they got from this survey, so that people like me don't die in a real crash!!I enjoyed the experience even though I didn't end up getting home until after 9pm, and even taking a shower didn't get all the dark blood off my arm, so I look kind of dirty, but oh well. It also gave me a better idea of how emergencies work in general, and a greater appreciation of how hard it is to coordinate/communicate on a wide scale in a catastrophe. Even though as an OT I'll never be directly doing things like giving IVs and prioritizing for ambulances, it was still good to see how it works, since every event that happens affects future care. Ok. The End. (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Part 2: faa-mandated triennial drill....memphis simulated airplane crash

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:26:00 +0100

See Part 1 here.We drove to the grassy field next to the airport in large buses. Several buses lined up together to look like the fuselage (?) and they had a torn-up wing there too. There were explosives set up all over the place. We all walked out far into the field to be away from the explosives and scattered ourselves around appropriately. They couldn't make the call into all the emergency places until we were all staged and ready for them. After a while, as we sat there in the grass waiting, they started setting off some initial explosions, to get the smoke going. The wind luckily blew the smoke away from us, so everything was still really clear. A few minutes later, we started hearing the sounds of sirens...many, many sirens, nearing. None of us victims were sure when the acting was supposed to truly begin. The firefighters showed up and started fake-battling the plane explosion stuff. We just watched. The coordinators had a guy in a white suit who was on fire, waving his arms. A firefighter saw him, ran at him, and tackled him. IT WAS AWESOME! Everyone was shouting things like "Stop Drop and Roll!" ahahahaha.Finally firefighters started coming to us victims for initial assessment. A nursing student named Leslie and I had been hanging out together and she was near me, so she started staggering around looking drunk as her head injury required, and I lay down, unable to sit or walk, with extreme lethargy and complains of coldness due to being in hypovolemic shock. Leslie and I decided we should be sisters and would make that part of our acting. An initial firefighter finally got to me, and while I thought I'd have to do acting (I complained I wanted a blanket), he almost immediately just flipped over the card I was wearing with my diagnosis and vital signs. He put a yellow ribbon next to me (Error #1) and assured me he'd find my sister, then moved on. He told my staggering friend Leslie, who had very prominent Battle's sign (pooling of blood under the eyes and sign of serious injury), to walk towards the safety area. She would agree, then veer elsewhere. The firefighter would help someone else and if nearby, direct her again. She kept staggering around, confused and belligerent. After quite a while, more firefighters came with stretchers, prioritizing victims (there were 150 of us or so in the field although many were walking wounded) based on the initial firefighters tagging of those of us who couldn't walk. My yellow ribbon (which should have been red because I was critical) kept them from getting to me as quickly. When they did finally come to me, the firefighters were very nice and sweet, getting me a blanket, assuring me they'd keep an eye out for my sister, etc. One of the men was calling me "baby" as in "It's ok, baby. We'll find your sister." but it was in a kind gentle voice and perfectly appropriate in that context. They slid me onto a stretcher and a neck brace. Unfortunately, their kindness did not make up for the fact I probably would have died right around then, since they didn't put me into the stretcher very securely. I'm sure they were overwhelmed/nervous/etc, but still. I kept sliding down the stretcher until my nose had a strap on it, my feet and arms were hanging out, my head was way low...they'd stop to fix it (they were carrying me on the board, no wheels yet), but to fix it they'd slide me back up, so I'd moan in pain since I was supposed to anytime they touched my legs/stomach. They had to fix it again and again, and at one point one of the evaluators or coordinators even said sharply, "You need to get her back on that stretcher". My legs and arms were dragging against the sides of the stretcher and against the rocky parts of the grass field. It felt like I was being dragged by one person, but it was impossible to tell in my position. My head was banging violently against the stretcher because the ride was so bumpy and I was in pain from that. I almost asked them to stop because it hurt, but decided I'd survive. They took me as a yellow person (not as critical) and put me down. I was next to a yellow tag girl sitting up and I kept lethargically smacking at her, asking her for a blanket. It was fun. I was starting to realize how tags worked based on what I could hear, and realized I should have been red-tagged, as even my card said that was the case. The emergency people were trying to figure out who would go in which ambulance and to which place based on priority. They were talking about red tags/yellow tags and one of them even flat-out asked me if I was a yellow. I said, I'm pretty sure I was supposed to be a red. They looked at my tag and made me a critical at that point. It was clear most of them weren't trying that hard to act. Considering how many times I had been violently bumped/slipped on the stretcher, and that I had been tagged wrong/lay there a long time, I probably would have already been dead from all the internal bleeding. Anyway, they were finally ready for me to be in an ambulance...See Part 3 for the ambulance ride and hospital visit! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

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More triennial drill pics....

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Wed, 07 May 2008 15:14:00 +0100

This dude sent me some of his awesome photos, THANKS! More later. (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Emergency plane crash drill part 1....

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Wed, 07 May 2008 05:05:00 +0100

Dripping blood. Gore. Lacerations. Bruises. Burns. Skin flaps. Massive wounds. Torn clothing. Pale cyanotic skin. CRASH!!!!!!!!!!!Today was the FAA-mandated triennial drill where a major airline crash was simulated. I volunteered. It was a very interesting and fun day, but also a sobering one! I'm going to share in excruciating detail because, c'mon, that's how I roll. The day started out at 1:30pm with a bunch of Baptist nursing students and a few UT people meeting up near campus to get on a bus to the staging area for the crash. We sat on the bus as people trickled in until 2:10. They expected 100 but got far less than that. Other buses were also running and the coordinators were expecting around 300+ people. On the bus, they explained the drill itself didn't start until 6pm and it might be very late before we got home. Well, none of the brochures showed this was the case, so this was bad since it meant I would be missing my shift. Another woman raised her hand and said she was still breast-feeding and needed to be home by around 7pm. The bus driver told her she should be dead then. Which sounds horrible, but it meant that if she played a dead person, she'd get done earlier. They assured her they'd work something out for her. When we got there, we were taken inside to the makeup/auditorium area, where things were somewhat chaotic. Nobody seemed to know what was going on exactly, and finally a bunch of us stood in a line that seemed to be for make-up. They had a minor injury line and major injury line. I figured that if I was going to this much trouble and time, I was going to play it up, so I wanted a major injury with lots of blood and gore. Person after person trickled out with dark black burns, purple bruises, dripping wounds, blood-soaked, torn up, you name it. I didn't want drippiness or anything around my eyes but I was willing to go for anything else (the scenarios were on cards to wear around your neck). I ended up a person with a fractured pelvis and in hypovolemic shock. I had to be made up to look pale/cyanotic around my mouth, and then I eventually ended up getting a deeeeeep full dark purple bruise from shoulder to elbow on my right side. I mostly had to do a lot of acting - it said to act lethargic and complain of being cold/chattering teeth, as well as moaning in pain anytime they touched my stomach or legs. My fake vitals were on the other side. I was a "red" meaning I was severely injured. I believe yellow was mildly injured. They also had some "walking wounded" who were more or less okay, plus a few already dead people. The coordinators were originally concerned that there might not be enough makeup, but since only about 150 people showed up instead of 300, there was plenty. There were about 8 people doing makeup. Anyway. We all got our makeup on, then sat around for a while. The coordinators played some old videos of re-enacted crash scenes from previous years. Everyone was hanging out casually, covered in blood and gore. It was pretty awesome. Then we were brought Lenny's boxed lunches and I thought it was the funniest thing in the world to watch people nibble on sandwiches and cookies all coated in blood. I took several pictures with my phone and I think Lenny's should do a commercial like "Lenny's is so good, even people with life threatening injuries can enjoy it." Hmmm. I should go into advertising. After eating it was time to go to the crash site. We drove to a large field next to the airport........Good night, Part 2 comes tomorrow!! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Exciting times for the occupational therapy profession

Occupational Therapy - educational issues — Wed, 07 May 2008 02:52:10 +0100

I’m hoping that I’ve not lost too many readers while I’ve eben absent from my blog! I find it hard to believe how quickly the weeks have gone by since I last posted. I thought I’d quickly update what I’ve been involved in, and then hopefully, I’ll expand the entries in later postings. I [...] (Source: Occupational Therapy - educational issues)

A response from wfot

ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:00:00 +0100

I received a response from WFOT regarding an email I sent them about a banner ad on their website. Here is their response:From: World Federation of Occupational Therapists [mailto:admin@wfot.org.au]Sent: 03 May 2008 17:25To: 'chris@abctherapeutics.com'Cc: Marilyn PattisonSubject: WFOT: For Info: banner ads on WFOT websiteDear Dr. AlterioMany thanks for your letter and the concerns you raise.I would like to draw to your attention to the following statement on the WFOT website:Placement of advertising either on the WFOT website or in the Bulletin does not imply any endorsement of the advertised products and / or services by the World Federation of Occupational Therapists.Based on this I would suggest your criticism of WFOT is somewhat unjustified and your disappointment misplaced. WFOT is staffed by volunteers and the organisation depends upon donations, individual membership and revenue from products and advertising to fund its international activities. The placement of a banner ad serves as a sponsored link to another site so it is, I assume, the content of the other site that you object to. If this is the case then I would suggest you take it up with Schoodles directly.I would also draw your attention to the fact that the WFOT site also has a tabbed link (non sponsored) to OT Evidence.Please let me know if you require further clarification.Kind regardsMarilyn PattisonRegistered Occupational TherapistDip.C.O.T.(UK), B.App.Sc.(OT), MBA+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I responded to their response:Dear Marilyn,Thanks for your response.I am aware of the WFOT statement about not endorsing advertisors - but I still fail to understand why WFOT would accept advertisements from a company that sells a product that some occupational therapy professionals might object to.There are always a diversity of opinions on any given topic - and then a corresponding opportunity for dialogue. I believe that a discussion about evidence-based practice is legitimate and comment or opinion about products that might not meet those standards that many occupational therapists embrace is not misplaced.In fact, the presence of the WFOT section on evidence based practice is what caused me to voice my concerns. It is difficult to understand why WFOT would promote evidence based practice on one hand and take advertising money for that product with the other hand.Anyway, that is just my opinion. WFOT is your organization and you all are certainly very free to do whatever you want. I just wanted to share my opinion.Regards,Christopher J. Alterio, Dr.OT, OTR (Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog)

Soporific somnolence surly satiation i dunno this post is randomly boring

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Mon, 05 May 2008 03:49:00 +0100

This post has very little to do with OT but y'all will survive. Sorry Mom, don't fuss at me for being unprofessional, I already know. I took my friend Sarah, who just turned 18, to Nashville this weekend to visit some good friends, my ex-roommate Suzanne and her husband Arnie. We were going to leave Friday but weather prevented that. We left Saturday morning, got there in time to meet them for lunch, and then shopped at like thrift stores. The highlight of our road trip was a rest stop in Bucksnort, Tennessee...I ended up with a t-shirt. Because seriously. Everyone needs a T-shirt with a buck on it that says Bucksnort, Tennessee. Especially a Californian girl. Anyway, Arnie made us a yummy dinner that night while I tried not to fall asleep on everyone!! I'm old and tired.Sunday, Sarah and I worked on projects and then we all headed downtown to the Farmer's Market. About 50 miles outside of Memphis on the way home, my check engine light came on, FUN. Luckily nothing bad happened and I'll have it checked out tomorrow. Sarah is a smart cookie and she reads my blog and she walks around saying crap like "Don't be so orally/tactilely defensive." She is going into biomedical engineering but I think she has a career as an OT since she picks up the talk so easily! We are both currently obsessed with sugar gliders since well, what's better than the Australian version of an emo flying squirrel?!!?!! Nothing? Exactly my point. We got to see the edited 10 minute version of the Miss OTPF pageant on Friday at the beginning of famed Orli's Low Vision presentation, which was interesting. There is apparently a lot of controversy and problems in the world of low vision in terms of education and insurance reimbursement. We don't have a lot of classes left...just working on professional development evaluations, and the research presentation/poster, and stuff like that. And I bought Murderball and look forward to seeing it. I want to write a post soon about the Terri Schiavo case...the more I read about it in preparation for tomorrow's presentation, the more concerned I am about how it all played out, the role of rehab, and how it could have/should have played a much more significant role than it did in the trials. Occupational therapy is brought up quite a bit but only in a certain way and well I will save my rants for another post. Like after I give tomorrow's presentation. I am just kind of typing out all the random things in my head..letting the trapped words flutter away so I can have some peace...I had a good time with everyone in Nashville but also glad to be back in Memphis. Have lots of stuff planned to keep me busy and things are mostly looking up! The sun is emerging, at least in a figurative sense considering it's 10:30pm and if the sun were to come out now it would probably mean the end of the world had come, in which case a Left Behind scenario might play out and that would kinda suck. A lot.One more exceptionally random thing...I've spent a lot of time the last two days at www.freerice.com, which is not your typical hoax page....you answer vocabulary multiple choice questions and they donate free rice to people. It's win-win since well, I'm a freak when it comes to vocabulary. I love it a little too much. But my recall these days is horrific, so mostly it's a matter of recognition and I'm like WOW I AM GOOD! Go check it out and beat my personal all-time level high of 41. Pretty soon I'll be like Flowers for Algernon or whatever where I'm the dude Charlie who becomes a genius vocab-wise due to a crazy experiment, and then I'll stop playing it because it's so easy and then I'll forget everything because the experiment fails, and be cognitively challenged again but know enough to know what I've lost, so I'll be unhappy and that's sad. Kinda like how I was all like, hooty-tooty right before GREs with all my vocab flash cards (I knew INSANE!!! words!!!!), and now I just remember that I used to be kinda smart! I'm totally going to bed now. This post was soporific. Sorry. (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

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Charlie, which way to candy mountain? pony prosthesis!

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Mon, 05 May 2008 03:16:00 +0100

Anyone who gets the obscure title (besides Burt or Sarah) gets an airkiss from me.Our department chair sent us an e-mail with the following story and it's like, the most awesome story in the entire world. I've received lots of awesome stories this weekend!!! And it took away the sting of the poor euthanized Kentucky Derby pony :( I've written articles over the years about horses who survived amputation surgery. There was Boitron, the California Thoroughbred stallion who could service mares after amputation surgery. There were Dr. Ric Redden's dramatic cases of founder survivors who galloped around his paddock on artificial feet with "transplanted frogs". Dr. Chris Colles had the never-say-die Appaloosa in England with the spring-loaded foot. And who can forget that paint yearling in India ? Or the landmine-maimed elephant amputee in Thailand ? Longtime Hoofcare and Lameness Journal readers will remember them all. So when I first heard that a pony had survived amputation surgery at Louisiana State University 's (LSU) equine hospital, I didn't run to the keyboard and beg for photos. A few weeks later I did, though. Meet Molly. She's a gray speckled pony wh o was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit southern Louisiana . She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier, and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected and her vet went to LSU for help. But LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know how that goes. But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight, and didn't overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic. Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really begins there. "This was the right horse and the right owner," Moor e insists. "Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. She made it obvious she understood (that) she was in trouble." The other important factor, according to Moore , is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse. Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana . The little pony gained weight, her mane felt a comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg. "The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life," Allison Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports. "And she asks for it! She will put her little limb out, and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes she wants you to take it off too." And sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca. "It can be pretty bad when you can't catch a three-legged horse," she laughs. Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay, the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers. Anywhere she thought that people needed hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired people. And she had a good time doing it. "It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life," Moore said, "She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others." "She's not back to normal," Barca concluded. "She's going to be better. To me, she could be a symbol for New Orleans itself." This week, Molly the Pony, a children's book about the pony who has already inspired thousands of people around New Orleans , has been published. It's not a book about amputation or prosthetics, it's a book about people and ponies. But the photos you see here are from the book. Maybe Molly won't make the vet textbooks, but she might reach more people from the pages of this book for children. If you know a child, a library, a hospital, or maybe a therapeutic riding program that can use a lift, here's a book that can do that. And you can explain how the leg and hoof work! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Emergency drill on tuesday augh!!!

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Mon, 05 May 2008 03:10:00 +0100

Kaelin, an incoming MOT student, wrote me about being involved in emergency drills, it sounds fascinating! I copy/pasted the e-mail....I found your blog a few weeks ago and I've enjoyed readingit. I'm starting OT school at the University of BLANK in the fall(I'm so excited!) and I love hearing about the types of things you do. Aboutthe emergency drills - I've done a couple of these and I've actuallyreally enjoyed them. I mean, obviously if it was a real situation itwouldn't be good, but to me, it kind of felt like being in a movie (allthe make, lights, smoke machines, etc.) and it was fun. I don't knowexactly how one in an airport would work because it seems that therewould be a lot of security and stuff that might change things (I wentto one at a school and one in a big office park) but I'll give you sometips based on my experience. First, all the victims arrive early, andare assigned injuries. I discovered that it's best to get there asearly as possible so you can get the "best" (aka most fun to act out)injury. Also, you should wear clothes that you don't mind getting dirty(fake blood, make up, latex). I think a tank top is best (depending onthe weather), because it's a lot easier to put on the make up forchest and arm injuries than if you were wearing a long sleeved shirt.It takes awhile to do all the victims' make up, so I would bring a bookor something for this part. After everyone's in makeup you'll probablybe assigned a place to be. When I was at the school, they put severalpeople in each classroom. At the office park we were in the cafeteriaand it was supposed to be lunchtime (everyone getting food/ eating).Once they start the drill, the lights will probably be turned out, andthey may have smoke machines, etc. I actually found this part scary andsomewhat realistic-feeling. Everyone's generally moaning andscreaming, and then the firemen/ other emergency people run in. They doa triage and try to get people who can walk to walk out, then carrythose who can't. The dead people are the last to be brought out (trynot to be a dead person - you'll just lay there forever). Generallyonce people are brought out they're separated into groups based on theseverity of their injuries, and then depending on how far your drillgoes, people may be taken to the hospital. I hope this helps you knowwhat to expect. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me and I'lldo my best to answer.Thanks for the blog and keep up it up! I love reading it. (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Two awesome internet videos

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Mon, 05 May 2008 03:08:00 +0100

A Chinese woman who has no limbs and does everything with her feet, ASTOUNDING http://www.elegantbay.com/main/amazingwoman.htm Second one: A blind boy who navigates using echo, similar to what bats use - also astounding http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkDI_spL0HQ (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

New sensory research for children who have autism

ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog — Sat, 03 May 2008 13:53:00 +0100

Below is a feed I picked off of ScienceDaily - reporting on a study that was presented at the recent AOTA conference. I wish that more information was available - and I was unable to attend conference this year. I'll have to reserve most of my comments because I just need more information. I am encouraged by the apparent rigor of a double blind design - but wondering if they just used the Sensory Profile as a pre-post measurement. I'll try to find out and post more... Here is the newsfeed:Autistic Mannerisms Reduced By Sensory TreatmentScienceDaily (2008-04-27) -- Children with autistic spectrum disorders who underwent sensory integration therapy exhibited fewer autistic mannerisms compared to children who received standard treatments. Such mannerisms, including repetitive hand movements or actions, making noises, jumping or having highly restricted interests, often interfere with paying attention and learning. ...; read full article (Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog)

Ot rap for ot month

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:01:00 +0100

I got this via e-mail, it's awesome...."Hello...my name is Natalia and I'm a second year OT student at San Jose State in California. Some of my classmates made an OT rap that they posted on Youtube to promote OT during Occupational Therapy month and I would love if you could post the link of your blog to help spread the OT love!" (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

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New and improved, shorter, miss otpf pageant

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:00:00 +0100

Here is the new and improved 9.5 minute version of the pageant. All extra seconds deleted + all the runway walks sped up. Thanks Orli, Thanks Neal, thanks UT Memphis girls!! Thanks OTPF!! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

An attack on evidence-based assessment in occupational therapy

ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog — Fri, 02 May 2008 01:23:00 +0100

In the past I have blogged about evidence based practice so I don't really feel the need to revisit the topic at length. The use of evidence is not a passing fad but rather represents a real shift in the sophistication of our science. This shift was not just restricted to occupational therapy but occupational therapy was caught up in it. That was a good thing.I am revisiting this tonight because I was visiting the WFOT website and I saw one of their banner ads. The ad was for Schoodles, and the ad said "Changing the way therapists around the world assess children." Kudos to the advertising people at Schoodles because I almost never click on banner ads but I never heard of this assessment tool and was intrigued by the claim.Perhaps the Schoodles people will be sorry that I clicked because I don't really have anything flattering to say about their statements or philosophy.This Schoodles product is antithetical to evidence based practice. Although I understand and appreciate the uses of qualitative and informal assessment methods, I was disturbed by the statements made on the website. Here is a sample of what I found that was particularly objectionable:"Standardized test scores can be valuable, but don't give enough information about classroom problems or starting points for intervention.""Most of the time occupational therapists don't need numbers and standardized scores to 'qualify' children for services or show continued need. Deciding which children could benefit from our services is really an art, not a science.""What do I do when teachers and parents want numbers? Give them numbers! You can give approximate age ranges for most of the skills on the tool. Parents typically understand terms such as '1-2 years below age level' much better than 1.5 standard deviations below the mean or 5th%ile. We have found that approximate age ranges satisfy most recipients of our information. You can also draw the focus away from numbers and instead stress classroom function, which is really what we need to look at for any student."I suppose that their banner ad is correct, and that their assessment system would change the way that therapists assess children. In my opinion, it sets us back around 20 years or so in the sophistication of our assessments. That is a real change - unfortunately, in a negative direction.The Schoodles approach is unfortunate. Even in the absence of norm-referenced assessments there are many wonderful criterion referenced tools that can be used. Why would anyone abandon these in favor of non-standardized methods???? Even worse, why be so flippant about using standardized methods? If someone asks for numbers the Schoodles people tell us to just 'Give them numbers!' Precision in measurement is not something that is important to the Schoodles people, apparently.I do not know about the world that the Schoodles people operate in, but in my world school districts want to have norm referenced testing to determine eligibility for services. The same is true for early intervention and preschool services. Insurance companies also like to know where a child is functioning in relationship to a norm or established age criteria. Most importantly, when parents want to know about the functioning of their children I don't blow smoke at them. Instead, I educate them about what statistics mean.++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++I wouldn't mind if this was marketed as 'an informal functional assessment tool to supplement your standardized measurements.' Instead I am disappointed with the grandiose claim of 'changing the way therapists evaluate children.' I am disappointed with the attack on evidence-based practice. I am disappointed with the flippant perspective on the value of standardized tools. And IF WFOT has any control over the banner ads on their site, I am kind of wondering who is asleep at the wheel over there. In some ways, that is the most disappointing. (Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog)

Babies babies babies...

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:28:00 +0100

I held babies the other day. It was a Monday morning and the census was the lowest I've ever seen - it seemed like half the rooms were empty and/or had parents visiting, which is also somewhat unusual for weekdays. I was hoping to get to follow the OT although I did not want to bother her. I wandered around for a while, but there really weren't any suitable babies. I ended up approaching a SLP and asked if I could follow her for a while, explaining I am an OT student. She didn't have much luck either. She finally got approval to see a baby in an isolette, the giraffe bed things where there are portholes but the top can be lifted up. The baby is awake and this was awesome. Unfortunately, right then, the ophthalmologist showed up, with bizarre magnifiers clipped to her glasses. She had the SLP hold the baby's arms down above her head (to keep her from struggling) and I held the baby against her feet/knees to provide some boundaries/comfort. She put a few drops in the baby's eyes to numb them and then SHE PUT A CLAMP IN THE EYES TO KEEP THEM OPEN IT WAS LIKE REALLY FREAKY AUGH it made me wince. She was using like a pokey prod thingie on the baby's eyeballs and magnifiers and lights to get her data as the baby screamed and screamed. I have a hard time watching this. Ugh. I love me some babies though!! Two of the MOT I's are going to start holding babies too! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Aughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:11:00 +0100

AUGH!!!I am officially a volunteer (one of MANY) for the Triennial Airport Emergency Drill on May 6th!!! I'll be a casualty! With victim makeup! And probably lying on the ground! And possibly transported to a local hospital where they continue the farce! Craziness! My heart rate will probably be like, 400 BPM because I'll be freaking out (this is gonna be a challenge for me, anxiety-wise but I think I can handle it) and they will be like "Yo Bob, this chick is on cocaine or something because her heart rate is insane" and I'll be like "NO ITS BECAUSE THIS IS FRIKKEN SCARY OMG AUGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AND OH YEAH I HAVE A GIANT HOLE IN MY STOMACH DUE TO THE CRASH" .....speaking of OMG, I saw the license plate "LIKEOMG" this morning. LOL. Ok I'm going to go now. Bye!!PS: If any of you find any first-hand descriptions of being like a volunteer for something like this please let me know, I couldn't find any. PS2: Maybe the field of emergency makeup will be changed after my OTS intervention. Kidding, kidding. Totally kidding. (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Whoah

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Thu, 01 May 2008 19:03:00 +0100

Wow! I was looking up "sugar gliders" since I've been fascinated by them since I saw them at a flea market recently. I'm killing about 20 minutes before I leave for Tai Chi. Anyway, I stumbled across an article on self-mutilation! Sugar gliders self mutilate at times when sick or unhappy! Craziness!!I'm headed to Tai Chi in a few moments...then Bingo is tonight. Also, Orli, famed awesome Orli, has cut the pageant from 17 minutes to about 9.5, so it can be put on YouTube! YAY!!!!!!!!! She is a whiz with Windows Movie Maker and I'm sooo jealous! New version coming by early next week!! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

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Low vision lab 2

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Thu, 01 May 2008 04:13:00 +0100

Today we first learned about things like diopters and F = 1/D and myopia and hyperopia and all sorts of crazy things. Then we visited Orli's office where there were 9 stations set up for tasks using various devices to help with low vision including CCTV, magnifying glasses, special glasses, binoculars, reading lamps, etc. Allison wrote a check under the CCTV (which makes it large) for a billion dollars, from me to her, for being her friend. :( So I wrote her one back from Orli, for five dollars, to me, for having such a sucky friend like Allison. Grrr. Anyway it was fun :) (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Low vision lab 1

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Thu, 01 May 2008 04:11:00 +0100

Orli, our Low Vision Rehab Specialist Extraordinaire of the World and I can't Spell Sorry, did a lab with us where we used a lot of goggles simulating low vision (vision bad even with correction). We had to do activities in them including take the elevators. LOL. (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

I don't know why

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Thu, 01 May 2008 02:10:00 +0100

This is my late grandmother, Joan. My mom is over on the right in the little dress. Joan had a PhD and was really really smart. I'm not nearly as smart but I think I'm kind of like her in general. But she would be the last person on Earth to be an occupational therapist, she was into hard science. I don't know why I'm posting this besides that it popped up first on my Picasa screen and I felt like it. So there. (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Completely random brambles that make heads explode

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Thu, 01 May 2008 02:00:00 +0100

What I am working on:Preparing Semester 3 PDEs (Professional Development Evaluations) with Intermediate Professional Behavior CriteriaModifying my resume to be OT-relatedWorking on condensing the research paper into smaller poster-sized chunks, with my research group (Abstract, Intro done)Preparing a 15 minute presentation on the healthcare policy ramifications of the Terri Schiavo case, and how it relates to occupational therapy.Working on collaborative paper with an OTS dude on the East Coast for hopeful eventual publication in a baby OT magazine.Uploading months of OT pictures to Facebook for people to use in their PDEsDoing a low vision blog entry + like other entries I have neglected because I'm a bad, bad OT student.Realistically, I should do the Low Vision Blog Entry, fix the Abstract/condense Intro of Sitting Tai Chi paper, start researching Terri Schiavo, and modifying my resume. I need to scratch a few things off my list in full tonight!! Hmm!! La la la....Today I met a MOT 3 student, Mandi, for lunch to catch up...she is getting ready to take her boards. OTS Brooke and her boyfriend Todd showed up shortly after, so we sat at adjoining tables. Then we had a low vision lab from 1 to 3pm. Then instead of being productive or socially active, I slept for hours, showered, then drove to Kerri's to cat-sit. Her cat was love-starved and I'm kitty-deprived so it's a good match. I decided I'm feeling antisocial today so I didn't try and meet up with anyone, especially since I'm trying to get things off my to do list!!!Tomorrow we have a healthcare policy class 10am to noon, then several of us are going to take gym classes, then I have to go to sitting Tai Chi at the assisted living facility at 3pm. And then I volunteer there at Bingo at 630 so I'm going to go to that too. And then Kerri gets home 9pmish and I'll spend the night just for fun! So tomorrow will be social. :) (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Volunteering at the alzheimers day center

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:47:00 +0100

I recently went back to volunteer at the place I did my Level I fieldwork for two weeks. Of course none of the participants "remembered" me in a "Hi where have you been?" kind of sense, but they were warm and friendly and knew somehow I wasn't a stranger. I enjoyed walking around spending time with them. I also fell right back into "therapeutic fibs", which tickle me. lol. One sweet lady, let's call her Julie, said to me:Miss Julie: "I'm looking for my black pants. These ones I'm wearing are nice, but they aren't mine."Me: I'll go check for you, I'll be right back. ::disappears, confirms those are in fact her only pants, comes back::Me: Hi Miss Julie, I just checked on your pants. They are in the washing machine and should be ready soon.Miss Julie: Oh my I hope they don't get lost.Me: Oh, it will be fine Miss Julie. They have a wonderful labeling system.Miss Julie: Okay, great then, thanks. (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

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I had no idea i was so bad

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:43:00 +0100

I have a tendency to make inappropriate morbid comments. Which has been pointed out to me. In fact, I've been recently warned not to go into the field of psych. I agree that there are a lot of populations I probably shouldn't work with, psych-wise, but some psych populations I'm awesome with!! Like inappropriate dementia patients are right up my alley. :) During a meeting:Me (after hearing news I didn't like): Please kill me now.Me: Oops sorry, I'm trying not to be so morbid, that just slipped out.::more meeting conversation takes place::Professor: ::makes random odd comment::Professor: "Ooh, that was just evil. ::glances at me:: You're rubbing off on me."AHAHAHAHHA--------This is my patented "Too overwhelmed to start a project or homework" protocol, used a lot last semester.1. Make patient (usually a classmate) list all needed things to do, task by task. Help/encourage.2. Make patient prioritize list for that session only. Help/encourage.3. Make patient assign amount of time needed for each of those tasks. Help/encourage/negotiate/discuss.4. Set timer for assigned time for first task. Be nearby to encourage. Negotiate time when timer goes off as to whether person can stick with task or not. 5. Rinse and repeat.It works, I swear :) Ask my happy consumers. (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Karen cares!

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:35:00 +0100

More discussions in health care policy...sorry they are vague...I wrote down the quotes but forget the exact scenarios. And now I want to quote that lost mind quote except I can't remember it. Which is startingly appropriate. Ok my friend Suzy helped me out: "Of all the things I've lost, it's my mind I miss the most."Girl: It trips me out that blah blah blah...Professor: "It trips a lot of people out."Professor asks question about who cares about something.::I raise hand to make a comment:::::Professor points to me:: "Karen CARES!" (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Most of them are in jail now...

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Thu, 01 May 2008 01:30:00 +0100

Our health care policy professor was discussing how we need to be advocates for our profession, including talking to our congressman. We had to do mini simulations with 30 second sound bites on why OTs are concerned about athletic trainers widening their scope of practice. The professor threw all sorts of twists into the simulations to make them harder. She said..."I've talked with Congressmen before...::thoughtful pause:: Most of them are in jail now." (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Ramble bramble briar rose

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:59:00 +0100

I have been hesitant to cover up the pageant, but we're going to be trying to shave seconds off here and there to get it under ten minutes if at all possible, so I'll post the shorter version soon. WHICH MEANS NOW I CAN BABBLE AWAY HAPPILY!!! I've been dying to ramble!! Ramble like a rose!! Or is that a bramble. Or a briar. I have no idea what I'm saying. I'm sleep deprived. And I've been reading a weird version of Sleeping Beauty. Anyway...I want to discuss holding babies the other day because I got to see a really interesting but hideous opthalmology procedure done on a baby..UGH...and put my hands in an isolette for the first time!! You know, going through the portholes! Also, I'll be trying to get exposure to vent babies, by following an OT who works with them...I'm scared but I have to face my fears! AND...we had a TOTA meeting last night...with SEVENTEEN MOT 1's there!! Shocking!! Plus a bunch of my favorite OTs!! AND...we had a fun Low Vision lab recently with lots of pics...AND....a honor society banquet...and...I need to go shower so I'm going to stop now, but the point is, I have lots of stories and pictures to share...bye for now though.... (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Myofascial release and evidence-based practice

ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:32:00 +0100

File this under 'required reading.'Please head over to myphysicaltherapyspace.com, specifically to the entry on evidence-based practice and myofascial release interventions. This is an excellent discussion and I hope you all have the chance to take a look at it.Myofascial release is a modality that is much more widely used in physical therapy than occupational therapy, but it still crops up in OT interventions from time to time. I am especially concerned about so-called craniosacral therapies and the ways that some therapists combine these dubious interventions with other OT quackery.I really don't have more to add than what was posted by Jason Silvernail, DPT - so please go read his excellent entries! (Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog)

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Miss otpf 2008 is here!

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:57:00 +0100

Even if you aren't in the OT world, this pageant should be pretty amusing!! Please enjoy! APRIL IS OT MONTH!Notes:OTPF stands for Occupational Therapy Practice Framework...a VERY important document in OT Student Land, with specialized vocabulary and everything. :)Brooke is the announcer.Karen (me) is reigning Miss OTPF.Stereotypical contestants are: dorky Meg, cheerleader Stephanie, snobby Kim, mean Allison, one-upper Kerri, and South Carolina ditzy Emily. Neal, our tech guy, helped a TON...and HE put in the "does it all" part in my name in the credits...I swear I didn't ask for that. lolFilming took place in our big OT lab, made possible by.....I can't say until we get permission. lol.Our department chair okayed the videoIt's a SPOOF...and based on limited time, money, editing skills, budget, etc. For all these reasons it is not very occupation-based. Don't point this out, we already realize this.Feel free to make your own Miss OTPF 2008 even BETTER and post it!YouTube can't accept 18 minute videos - Google Video can.This was primarily aimed for an audience of other OT students - but hopefully all can enjoy.I became Miss OTPF by default last year one day when I had the OTPF with me and nobody else did...every time the OTPF was mentioned from there on out, my name was brought up....from now on I'll hopefully win by dictatorship. We'll see if there are any other Miss OTPFs out there that are cooler. We could have a champion Miss OTPF contest....hmmm. (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Adhd - stock question and answer

ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 16:33:00 +0100

I recently got this email question, again. It is a relatively common email that I receive so I thought I would post the question and my stock answer here...The Question:My school district/teacher keeps telling me that my child has ADHD and needs to be medicated. They have been harassing me at every IEP meeting and want me to medicate my child. I have absolutely refused because I never believed that medication would fix the problems my child has.How do I know if my child even has ADHD, and what should I do about it? How do I get the school to stop harrassing me? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.The Answer:The school district is not qualified or licensed to make medication recommendations for your child. Medication suggestions should come from your pediatrician/other physician, or psychologist who is working in concert with the physician. The point here is that medication is a medical recommendation and not an educational recommendation. Only people who are medically qualified should be making medication suggestions.Frankly, I am always a little shocked when I hear that a school district or district personnel (teachers, etc.) are making medication recommendations - but it happens frequently. Some municipalities have even written laws to stop school districts from making these recommendations, or to stop districts from funneling students to doctors who will provide the diagnosis and medication.Try to work cooperatively with your child’s educational team to coordinate an appropriate educational plan. That plan may include behavioral, educational, and therapy interventions. Use this plan to inform your physician of how things are going in school. Choices to medicate a child should be made only when the physician has all of the appropriate information from the educational team and parent so that an informed and correct decision can be made.If you are dissatisfied with one recommendation, seek out additional opinions.If there is any way we can help you at ABC Therapeutics with occupational or physical therapy evaluations, second opinion reports, or ancillary therapy please give us a call at (716) 580-3040Regards,Christopher J. Alterio, Dr.OT, OTRABC TherapeuticsBackground reading:Sax L. & Kautz, K.J. (2003). Who first suggests the diagnosis of attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder? Annals of Family Medicine, 1, 171 –174.Schneider, H. & Eisenberg, D. (2006). Who receives a diagnosis of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in the United States elementary school population? Pediatrics, 117, 601-609. (Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog)

Vestibular book - the brain that changes itself

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:46:00 +0100

My friend Joey sent me an e-mail titled "Vestibular and brain plasticity" and I'm copy/pasting some of it! The book sounds great. Hope it's at the public library! """""I read your post on Vestibular rehab and it piqued my interest. I'vebeen reading a book called " The Brain that Changes Itself" by NormanDoidge. It's about brain plasticity and so far it is incrediblyinteresting. Anyway, he begins the book by speaking of a woman namedCheryl Schiltz who feels like she is perpetually falling, hervestibular aparatus is not working because of gentamicin (a drug givento her following surgery). Doidge then goes on to speak of PaulBach-y-Rita (a neurolgist who seems AMAZING). Bach-y-Rita and hiscolleagues are trying to find a way to help her constant dizziness andlack of balance. It's a very interesting endeavor. She wears an oddlooking aparatus and has a small plastic strip which she puts under hertongue. To make a long story short, Cheryl regains vestibular functionbecause of brain plasticity. I thought the story was amazing. Andmakes me want to learn more about the brain!"""" (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Airport drill...

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:44:00 +0100

There is an "Airport Triennial Emergency Drill" that will take place on May 6th, as mandated by the FAA. I may get to be a volunteer - being a victim - but it's unlikely. They wanted volunteers in the health care field to help provide feedback on how things go. Awesome huh! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Article:cuddling helps preemies bear pain

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:40:00 +0100

Cuddling helps preemies bear pain: study A reuters article: "Cuddling up against mother's bare skin can helptiny premature babies recover more quickly from the pain of being stuckwith needles and other procedures, Canadian researchers reported onWednesday."Thanks Arnie for the link!Speaking of cuddling, I plan to go hold babies in the morning and if I'm lucky, observe some OT with them. :) (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

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Linkages linkages...

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:38:00 +0100

My blog is linked on the AOTA Conference blog!http://aota2008conference.blogspot.com/The presidential address from P.Mo is up on that blog :) (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Yay i passed my fake boards

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 01:35:00 +0100

Test Taken: Occupational Therapist Registered (OTR®) Practice Test Your Scaled Score: 469Examination score required to pass is: 450Thelowest possible score is 300, and the highest possible score is 600. Atotal examination score of 450 or higher is required to pass theexamination. Your total scaled score is computed based on the totalnumber of correct items.Yay! I passed (barely) the NBCOT Practice Exam without studying at all! Of course I'll study a ton when the real one comes around, just in case - it's really expensive to re-take it if you fail! (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))

Dangerous things happen when flights are delayed

ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 20:06:00 +0100

I am currently stuck in Chicago, and have been for the last several hours. To an action-oriented person like myself free hours feel like they are taffy-time - stretched beyond any point of recognition of what they originally were.This means that I have uninterrupted opportunity to mentally operationalise some plans. Mental operationalisation is somewhat oxymoronic, and I will need to explain that at another time. Also, I don't mean to use spelling that would more likely be found in other countries but a certain letter on this laptop is not working (the letter after 'y') and so I can't spell things in the way I normally would.Anyway, I spent some time thinking about occupational therapy 2.0, which of course is stolen from the web 2.0 lingo which I actually kind of think is funny. Again, a story for another time. Anyway, it is time for occupational therapy 2.0. The blog was the first foray for me into the 2.0 world, and I have talked about the power of social networking on the blog in the past. Now it is time to take a larger step into the open source world, or at least invite the open source OT world to start behaving in a more 'open source' mode. I wonder if it will work.I had an idea a couple years ago for an open database project (secured, of course - and participation after approved application, of course) for a certain assessment instrument. The open source format would have allowed us to collect a tremendous amount of raw data that could be used for research purposes. At the time, I couldn't get the authors interested, or the publisher interested. There were too many proprietary interests in the way, and that is kind of unfortunate - because it would be a good format for knowledge generation.I need to dust off this concept again, and begin to apply it to open source data collection in the OT world. There is a wealth of information that exists in unpublished manuscripts, half-baked ideas, and even full baked ideas that have not been put to the rigors of traditional peer review. Knowledge collection facilitates knowledge creation. That will be the working policy.I'll post more of the details soon. It is an opportunity and a fun idea. Will you join me?? (Source: ABC Therapeutics Occupational Therapy Weblog)

Otpf pageant time....in time for ot month

Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G) — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 06:28:00 +0100

Functional Reach Test...ACLS....Digi-Flex....Ohhh the cone-stackingWhat a splint. All bandaged up....Hello all, I have been quiet a few days after the recent belated AOTA conference marathon postings. My blog is linked on the AOTA Conference Blog Links now, woot woot. Some of my classmates, our amazing tech guy Neal, and I, successfully completed our Miss OTPF Pageant on Thursday afternoon - it is about 16 minutes long with a casual wear (scrubs), evening wear (khakis/polos), OT-related equipment photo shoot, and OTPF-related interview questions. It's pretty awesome and, in our opinion, hilarious. It has to be SLIGHTLY edited but with any luck it will be up on Monday, on YouTube, and I'll link it here. It's been somewhat of a yucky week overall, health-wise and project-wise, but at least the research paper has been submitted, and with any luck, next week will be a nice sane week. I just skimmed an article on how Twitter saved a dude's life and so I was inspired to quickly post and say I'm around....oh and I have a TON OF PICTURES!! From LOW VISION LAB! FROM THE IMHOTEP HONOR SOCIETY BANQUET! FROM THE PAGEANT!!! To share asap! The pictures above will be inserted into the pageant video...we have dorky Meg, one-upper Kerri, mean Allison, ditzy Emily, snobby Kim, and cheerleader Stephanie. And yes, none of those activities in the pictures are truly occupation-based, but that's because THE PAGEANT IS A SPOOF. HA HA! SEE? IT IS FUNNY!Ok moving on...lol. (Source: Occupational Therapy Students (B)e(LO)n(G))