Last Fieldwork Level I

SO its hump day of the work week.  I am learning quite a bit from the Daniel Carney Rehab Engineering Center.  The site is very cool and so is the staff, I will take some pics tomorrow and hopefully post them.   Over the past 3 days I have been doing wheelchair evals and seeing all different types of people with different diagnoses.  From Cerebral Palsy to Muscular Dystrophy and complications with scoliosis to a patient with a trach and an NG tube.  Each day I have followed a different OT, but the experience has been very rewarding so far and I feel as though I have learned a lot.

The other thing I wanted to blog about was that I PASSED my semester with a 'B' average- the finals were difficult as expected, but we got our grades back and I am excited to see the good news. I have studied long and hard to get the grades and to get into the field and the light at the end of the tunnel is starting to show.  Check back soon to get a follow up on my level 1 site- thanks for reading.

John

Finals! Fieldwork

Well finals are over. The two and a half years of work, stress, strain, learn, confusion, and clarification come together for a great moment of celebration to close this chapter and prepare for the next. The knowledge learned over the past 2.5 yrs is starting to come together and reading through medical notes the used to be 'greek' to me now make sense...well, more sense- I still have a lot to learn about diagnoses. Yesterday, I volunteered at the Rehab Institute of KC and had a great experience, I know there will be many ups and downs through my career but sand am excited to start my Level II fieldwork in January.

What is fieldwork? Well, the term explains pretty much what it is- 'Work' in the 'Field' to gain more competency in OT. Each OT program does it a little differently, at Rockhurst you have 3 Level I's (which last 1 week) and 2 Level II's with an option to do a third Level II to gain more competency in a given field (these last ~3 months). For instance if I wanted more direct training in a hands or prosthetics area I would opt for the level II optional fieldwork.

In a 2003 Addendum to "The Purpose and Value of Occupational Therapy Fieldwork Education" from "The Reference Manual of the Official Documents of the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc." it states:

Fieldwork education prepares students to become competent, entry-level generalists who can function and thrive in a rapidly changing and dynamic health and human service delivery system.

Level I fieldwork is almost like job shadowing with the goal to learn more about the field of OT and to start applying some of the skills learned in the classroom. In a level II we are working towards the quote above- to become competent, entry-level generalists. In a level II the OT student gains more knowledge and freedom to get us ready to be entry level OTs. The level II supervisor expects more out of the student and we are also given more freedom to help in the plan of care for patients.

OTS thoughts: It feels good to realize the investment in school, the stress, and the knowledge gained is all starting to pay off. This is one small victory on my way to getting through my Level II's and passing the NBCOT (board exam) to become an OTR/L (occupational therapist registered/licensed). If you are looking into OT at Rockhurst and you have any questions feel free to shoot them to me. I knew coming into the program there was many things I didn't understand and some things have changed within the past 2.5 years with the program. Thanks for reading.

Harrisburg, PA

Well in the midst of FINALS my cousin decided to get married in Pennysylvania. The wedding was beautiful and it let me get my first taste of the east coast, but with final projects behind me and Finals week ahead of me, the timing was less than optimal. We were near Hershey, PA where Hershey's chocolate and other chocolates are made at the Hershey's plant. Here is a video if you never get an opportunity to visit the visitor's tour. It was brief, but fun and reminds you of 'It's a small world afterall" ride at Disney with animatronics etc. We walked around and saw all the different chocolates and candies and they even had a child sized gingerbread house made of all candy with candy deer as well.

The other video I posted was of the Sandwich Man shop. I forgot to take an outside video of the place as we were on our way to the wedding, but here is a small video of the food and what not-it had a "Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives" feel to the restaurant for sure. I am posting this video because lately I have used Tripadvisor.com quite frequently and enjoy letting others know what is cool and what is not so cool when I visit places. I enjoy good food, good atmosphere, and good service at a fair price. This restaurant had all of those, and it lets you appreciate the small businesses in America working hard for the money.

OTS thoughts: the finish line is near, stay calm and graduate