Children Services Center (CSC)

Forms from my CSC orientation

I'm transferring from Patient Safety to Children Services at Casa Colina where I will be able to observe occupational therapist work with children. I went to an orientation earlier this month and was shown the facilities. In the CSC the kids sort of work in a classroom environment and have a playground outside. Mary, a speech therapist who gave me the orientation, was very helpful because she said that if I can't fit my schedule in the group session classes she'd help me schedule one-on-one time with OTs working will clients individually. 

Blog 9: EQ

Content

1) I reviewed the rule of three for writing an EQ.

2)
     a. What is the most important factor in healthy weight loss?

• No, because it isn't specific in terms of healthy weight loss for who. The question should incorporate an age and gender so research won't be too broad.

     b.  What is most important to securing a conviction in a criminal investigation?

• Yes, because it is specific in being particular about a conviction in a criminal investigation. You wouldn't want to specify criminal investigation because research would end up being to narrow.

     c. What is most important in creating a hairstyle that best satisfies a customer?

• Sounds almsot good. I think if specify what satisfaction is, like if they are happy with it or just "meh" about it. 

     d. How can an Anesthesiologist best treat chronic pain?

• Yes, because I don't think you have to specify an area of chronic pain. It can just be general but it would still work if it the pain is specified.

3)  How can an occupation therapist best prepare a child, with special needs, for day-to-day living?

I'm a Volunteer!

My Volunteer uniform for Casa Colina

I don't have to get anymore shots! I finished all my TB test since the last week of October(:

This month I have volunteered at Casa Colina twice (11/4 & 11/13). So far all I have been doing is office work like printing and delivering documents. As of now I am helping out in the patient safety department where I work with the nurses and nurse managers, sometimes with the administration reception office. I am hoping to transfer to the Children's department by December. Once I am in that department I will be able to observe how OTs work with children. 

Almost there!

Souvenirs from the Patient Safety orientation c:

On Thursday, October 24 I went to Casa Colina for the Patient Safety Orientation. Volunteers in patient safety make rounds to specific patient rooms to resolve patient safety issues. An example of this would be if a patient is fall risk and is trying to reach something that is out-of-reach. We don't want the patient to get up because there is a very likely chance that they will fall, so as a volunteer I would do things of the sort.

I am still trying to become cleared, and to do this I need to get my second TB done, which will be done Monday. After that I plan on coming in Wednesday and start volunteering. I'm looking forward to helping out and interacting with the patients at Casa Colina.

Blog 8: Research and Working EQ

Content

1) What is the best way an OT can evaluate a patient in transitional care post-brain injury? 
I'm most likely going to change my EQ because I'm going to be working with OTs for children. I want to change the question to What is the best way to improve a child with disabilities cognitive and fine motor skills?

2) EQ: What is the best way an OT can evaluate a patient in transitional care post-brain injury?

• Educated Observations & Assessments; the evaluations are different for OTs and for the patients depending on their conditions. Educated observations would consist of the knowledge of the brain because the brain does not function properly post-brain injury, affecting cognitive and motor skills. Observations would note a patients progress. After that an assessment could be given to test their progress of certain actions such as evaluating home management skills.

3) The most important source I've used that helps me answer this EQ was my interview with Keri Garcia. 

4) My mentor is Sarah Meredith at Casa Colina, I shadowed with her in the Transitional Living Center and this related to my working EQ by allowing me to observe patients in transitional care post brain injury.

Blog 7: Independent Component 1 Approval

Content

1) What I want and plan to do for my 30 hours is make a portfolio of the patients [but will only address them as Patient A, B, C, etc.] which will explain their type of brain injury and treatment that they need to improve themselves. This will show me different treatments that OTs use to help others. An example would be: Patient A's brain has been affected due to a stroke and has caused them to have short-term memory. Exercised that work Patient A's memory skill is blah. 
If I am unable to do this I plan to just do more hours.

2) To show the 30 hours of work if I do the portfolio activity I will document what I think is relevant and be as detailed as I can. I would do this by noting the patients' results after each treatment. And if I just to the hours, I will update my hours log.

3) This will help me explore my topic more indepth by showing me different treatment OTs use to improve a person's abilities post-brain injury.

4) Independent Component 1 log

Update (12/17/13): Instead I will be doing an online course about cognitive neuroscience because OTs help patients that have cognitive issues so by learning this I will be able to learn about the cognitive abilities. http://ocw.mit.edu/high-school/biology/introduction-to-cognitive-neuroscience/index.htm

Going to be an official volunteer

"As part of the volunteer process, you must attend an orientation. The next orientation will be Monday, October 7^th  , 2013 from 3:00pm – 4:30pm in the Tamkin Room A  located in the Administration Building (please plan to arrive on time). IT IS MANDATORY THAT YOU RSVP TO THE ORIENTATION, THERE WILL ONLY BE ROOM FOR THE FIRST 50 RSVPs. If you do not RSVP, you will not be able to attend the orientation, which is a required step to become a volunteer."

So over the summer I was just shadow at the Casa Colina facilities. Fortunately, I was one of the first 50 to RSVP and so on October 7th I will be attending a Volunteer orientation from 3:00PM-4:30PM. Michelle and Jazmin have already attended the orientation in September and have decided not to continue to volunteer there because they weren't able to attend the second orientation for patient safety which was during school hours. They explained to me that for patient safety they would have to talk to patients and ask them certain questions. If I were to do that, it would be relevant to occupational therapy because OT involves talking to patients, pretty much socializing in that sense.

Blog 6: Second Interview Questions

Content

1) Sarah Meredith OTR/L. She works at Casa Colina Rehabilitation.

2) Possible questions*:

• a. What kinds of OT centers have you worked at and how long did you work there?
• b. Are you involved in OT other than Casa Colina?
• c. What classes did you take that are beneficial to you now?
• d. What school(s) did you go to? Were you in an OT program? (tell me about it)
• e. How do you evaluate patients in transitional care post-brain injury?
• f. What is your highest level of education?
• g. Was OT your focus of study?

*If there are any I shouldn't ask or need editing you can just address each one  by letter.

Blog 5 Project Reflection and Working EQ

Content

The Pentagon:

(1) Positive things that have happened as a result of what I've completed so far:

• After my summer mentorship at Casa Colina I better understood what occupational therapy does and is which has helped me pick my senior topic. As well as help me decide what career I'd like to pursue. 
• The first few research checks have also helped me understand the different ways occupational therapy can help an individual, like a person that has experienced a stroke.

(2) EQ Content

• My interview with Keri Garcia, an OTR/L at Casa Colina, increased my knowledge of occupational therapy by explaining the different types of occupational therapy (hand, acute, community-based, rehab, etc.) and by talking to me about what she does. Keri specializes in Home, Community & Transitional Living therapy post-brain injury. After a patient has done rehab in the hospital, the patient transfers to someone like Keri to prepare them on how it will be like living at home. I also learned that Hand therapist work from the elbow down and Acute therapist is more attentive to patients. Patients who work with Keri, their goal is to be stabilized enough to live more independently whereas a patient's goal in acute care might just be to be able to sit up right independently.

(3) What has worked

• I think my summer mentorship has worked well for me because it has allowed me to get to know a lot of the staff in a department which made it much more simple for me to get an interview.

(4) What hasn't worked

• Getting quality research was a bit rough in the beginning but I found a website where I can get some pretty alright articles for now. I'm working on finding a book about occupational therapy. Probably rehab or transitional therapy because I have better resource connections for that area. 
• Applying to Casa Colina to be a volunteer hasn't worked much either. I applied late in the summer so I have to wait to see if any spots open up in October. As well as not being old enough to work in the department that I'd like do more research in (transitional care).

(5) Finding Value

• "How can an Occupational Therapist best evaluate a patient in transitional care with post-brain injury?" I would try to research the different evaluations occupational therapist use to asses patients because there is no specific way to evaluate a patient.
• For mentorship, I plan to mentor with the lady I mentored with over the summer. 

Blog 4: Interview Preparation

Content

1) I plan to either interview my aunt, an OTA which is an occupational therpaist assistant because she knows as much as an OTR but just has different duties so I can conveniently go to her for an interview.  Although I'm going to contact my mentor's co-worker at Casa Colina who is an OTR, in other words, a registered OT because I observed her work with a patient and said she was available to me if I had questions about occupational therapy.

2) Additional questions:

• What is the difference between an OTA or OTR?
• How do OTs evaluate patients to determine if they can function independently?
• What happens in OT skills nursing facilities?

Occupational Therapy exercises

While shadowing at Casa Colina I was able to observe different exercises and techniques OTs use to help patients function more independently. As well as ways patients could help themselves function better.

The first types of exercises I witnessed in the facilities were memory and scanning exercises
An OT student was working with a patient using a variety of felt shapes and a black felt background; there was a set for the OT and the patient. The OT student had the patient memorize a sequence of shapes of different colors within a certain amount of time. After counting the sequence was covered and the patient had to replicate the sequence using their set of felt shapes. This exercises was to work on the patients memory abilities which is suppose to help the patient remember the physical appearance of things or people [like a persons face].
My mentor had a different patient do a scanning and memory exercise designed to help the patient with those skills. She had set up number cards 1-10 in a room on the walls, non-numerically. The patient was instructed to go in the room and find all the numbers numerically, while being timed. The scanning and memory skills is important because it is needed when you're trying to find something, like your keys, wallet, etc.

The way my aunt explained the difference between occupational therapy and physical therapy is that physical therapy focuses more of getting a part of the body to start moving properly again whereas in occupational therapy everything has a function. An example is that a physical therapist will have a patient lift there arm 20 times until they have no problem doing it, while an occupational therapist will have a patient use that arm to reach for something or clutch on something.
My mentor was working with a patient who had trouble raising his arm who was kind of slouched/ hunched over. She analyzed the patients posture and had them sit up straight and raise their arm. When the patient did it this time, they were able to raise it all the way. As "homework" she had them try to sit up more straight which is a way patients could help themselves.

Blog 3: Topic Choice and Semester 1 ESLR Goals

Content

1) Topic: Occupational Therapy

2) To show growth as an:

• iPoly Citizen I will be participative by participating in spirit week as well as other school functions like dances. Also helping out on senior event committees. 
• Effective Learner I will keep up with all my courses, stay organized by keeping an agenda to keep track deadlines. This will allow me to be prepared for anything (i.e. shows me the amount of time I have to study, how many days I have before something is due, etc.). To effectively learn my senior project topic I will absorb as much information as possible to understand occupational therapy the best I can.
• Effective User of Technology I will take advantage of my accessibility to technology by emailing teachers if I have any questions and regularly checking the blog to keep up with assignments and due dates. I will also use it to research books and resources that will give me in-depth information about occupational therapy.
• Effective Communicator I will effectively come in contact with people who work in the profession of occupational therapy. As well as communicating with my teachers if I have and problems with understanding any of my courses. I will be an effective communicator in the classroom by collaborating with my peers and/or group members when making decisions and enforce participation when it comes to house competitions. 

Summer Mentorship Content

Literal

1) Mentorship Log

2) Sarah Meredith OTR/L (909).596.7733 Ext. 4142

3) Questions raised during summer mentorship

• What is the difference between the different occupational therapy centers? 
• How are the exercises chosen for each of the patients?
• When are patients considered stable enough to return back to society independently?

Interpretive

4) The most important thing I learned through this experience was that there's so much to Occupational therapy. An example is when my mentor was with a patient, who had trouble working their hand, she gave them a gadget that stimulated the muscles in their arm, wrist, and hand. This showed me that in some way OT and PT (physical therapy) can crossover when working in OT.

Applied

5) My experience helped me choose a topic by showing me the different duties of and occupational therapist. I enjoyed seeing that the field can be different every day and that physical therapy can overlap into OT because I am interested in that field as well.

2013 2-Hour Presentation Reflections

Literal:

1) Presentations 

• Day 1
• Bobbie- Marathon Running
• Day 2
• Lucas- Designing a Haunted Attraction
• Danielle- Horticulture (Floriculture)
• Day 3
• Gawen- Criminal Investigation
• Mariah- Social Media Networking
• Day 4
• Ivy- Art Curating
• Day 5
• Joseph- Firefighting
• Arista- Fashion
• Day 6
• Dolores- Theater Technician
• Day 7
• Jose- Music Journalism
• Eric- Marine Conservation Bio
• Day 8
• Dina- Bootcamp
• Lauren- Homelessness
• Day 9
• Amber- Equine Assisted Therapy

2) I had a question if there always had to be more than one answer for senior presentations, but it was answered so I have not questions as of now.

Interpretive:

3) Based on seeing the 2-hour Presentations, the most important part of the senior project is to do as much research as possible, record all the information and organize it accordingly. I found this as the most important because, the whole senior project is research, so one would need to keep all the information attained organized for senior presentation. Information should be organized to also help reach time for senior presentations so no material is repeated. 

Applied:

4) I am considering on doing my senior topic on dietetics or nutritional science, which is basically the study of human nutrition and other sciences in preparation for designing and managing nutrition programs, because I find the influence of food on the human body interesting, and I hope through the project I will learn more about why certain foods are good for certain people [ie. why should people  with kidney disease eat only certain thing].