Living Life Worthy of the Calling

I was surprised to see that my two glyphs had not changed much since the beginning of OT school! I liked how I have the same features but they are drawn so differently. A couple things stood out to me where the glasses and the nose. One thing that I noticed different about the two was that the second one has glasses as the first one did not. The glasses indicate that you have had more experience in leadership roles than most other people your age at this point in life. I was not surprised to see this addition as I have had numerous leadership positions since the beginning of OT school. Another thing that I noticed was the nose. In my first image the nose is triangle indicating that seeing yourself as a leader is necessary to being a leader. In the new image I have a round nose indicating that I believe a person can be a leader without seeing themselves as a leader. I have had a lot of experiences throughout OT school that have shown this to be true. During group assignment...

Locus of control refers to how an individual perceives what happens to them. An individual can have an internal or external locus of control. If you have an internal locus of control you take responsibility for the things that happen and focus on the things you can control rather than the things you can’t. An individual who has an external locus of control often blames uncontrollable events on others or things around them. They don’t necessarily take responsibility like individuals who have an internal locus of control. Understanding individual’s locus of control allows us to communicate and understand them more effectively.  As a future occupational therapist, it’s important to recognize our client and colleague’s locus of control in order to understand how they respond to our interactions with them. Erik Meira (2016), a physical therapist, wrote in a blog post that locus of control can even explain why some patients self-discharge after a couple visits and why some never leave...

Overall, I believe the SIM encounter went well. I felt nervous but I knew I had prepared to the best to my ability. I believe I showed empathy towards the client’s mother and asked for reassurance to make sure she understood everything I was telling her. I made sure to assure her that I know this is a scary and overwhelming experiencing and that we were here for her and her child. I felt like overall this SIM went better than previous SIM encounters. I believe SIM encounters are beneficial to my learning and help me gain the real-world experience in a more relaxed setting. It’s nice to know that SIM encounters are for practice! Although it is a grade, I try and focus on it being more about the experience and the take-away rather than looking at it as just another grade in the grade book.              If I was given the opportunity for a do-over, I would have brought the notes I had prepared prior to having the meeting t...

I have gained so much from the Neuro Aspects of Occupational Performance course. It has been one of my favorite courses thus far. The media project was meaningful for many reasons. One reason I found this assignment significant was because it required me to think outside the box. It required me to be creative and unique. Secondly, it gave me the opportunity to do what an occupational therapist does. Lastly, I was able to apply what I have learned in class. I have learned that intervention is most effective through meaningful and engaging activities. After reading my client’s case study I had to use my creativity to come up with an activity that matched her values, interests so it would be meaningful to her.   Throughout this project I learned that with creativity you can turn anything into something useful and valuable. I realized that fancy equipment and expensive materials isn’t always necessary for a productive intervention. We can often find things around that house that...

Movie: You’re Not You – Amazon Prime $3.99 Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SE0m-N-b1VA You’re Not You is a movie with great insight on the neurodegenerative disease, ALS.  After Kate was diagnosed with ALS, they hire a caregiver, Beck. Beck has little experience working with individuals with this disease and that’s made evident throughout the movie. Throughout the movie we see the relationship between Kate and Beck grow into a close friendship. I liked this movie because of how real it was. Beck is so real and honest with Kate. This movie also shows how progressive ALS is and how it can take a toll on not only the individuals life but the lives all around them. Another thing I liked about this movie was the fact that Beck treated her like a friend and took her out to do things. It’s a great reminder that just because someone is disabled doesn’t mean they aren’t able to participate in fun activities that everyone else gets to enjoy.  One thing I took aw...