They did it...

So as hard as it is for me to do this... we have a 2011 World Series Champ... As the playoffs were narrowing down the field and as games began for the World Series, the Cardinals fans came out in full force. (Below is a picture of McGee Hall as you walk onto campus from the parking lot.- 'Lets Go Cards'.)

My wife's parents got tickets to the CRAZY game 6, and gave us a call that Friday morning they could get tickets for game 7. Since my Cubbies have been waiting for 108 years, and the Royals haven't been playoff ready for a few years now, I figured this might be one of the only times in my life that I could get up and go to the game. So we packed up the car and headed out to see our family friend, Ryan Theriot...and the World Series.

The game 7 wasn't as exciting as the game 6, but Freese did come through again to give the Cards an early momentum shift that carried them to the 'W'. Theriot played most of the game, which we enjoyed and St. Louis was CRAZY after the win. So in all good sportsmanship- congrats Cards, the celebration looked fun and if it was my Cubbies I would be freaking out as well. I have never been to a playoff game- let alone a World Series- and due to the craziness of cubs fans and my lack of funds, I don't exactly see myself being able to make it up for a Playoff or World Series game in Chicago. The atmosphere was fun, the fans were crazy, and I wore my halloween costume (a STL cards hat). Well played St. Louis, well played. (The pics below are of my game 7 ticket and a picture from our seats.)

Summer's over... Europe trip...Last Fall Semester...EVER

Well, after a rough, but good summer semester filled with neuromanagement lecture and lab I made it through another semester. Since I am part-time, the neuroscience component was completed the summer before and neuromanagement helped bring the science to the application of neuro disorders that we, as OTs, will come across in the field. The lab helped teach us more about neuro diagnoses and what types of assessments we could complete to get a better idea of what is happening with the patient and how to treat him. The semester was capped off with finals and a consumer simulation. The consumer simulation was a random case with a patient that had Guillan Barre and myself and a fellow OT student has to assess what was going on with her, set up a treatment plan, adapt equipment, and see how much she had progressed 2 weeks later. The patient was a professor acting as a patient. It was a great learning experience and it feels like all the time and effort and learning that I have put into this program has started to come together.

             

After summer semester, My new in-laws took a trip to Europe. We back packed it to get the most bang for our buck and see as much as possible over 11 days in Central Europe. We started in Berlin, then to Prague, Czechy Krumlov, Vienna, Bratislava, and finished in Munich. It was an awesome experience and we saw a lot in that week and a half spent overseas. My next posts will be a little breakdown of a day by day what we did- and will have my take on travel tips. What worked and what didn't.

Fall 2012. We started class a few weeks ago- the 1st years are into the fun that is gross anatomy, and 'senioritis' or 'grad school almost graduating-itis' has hit most of us. Peds and Musculo are chocked full of information and are getting our class more excited to get into the field. Peds is helping get us in touch with the current pediatric research out there as well as different pediatric assessments and Musculo has been teaching us more about different PAMs (physical agent modalities) and how to work with different hand injuries. That is all I have for now, thanks for reading.

OTS thoughts: When we entered the program and over the past several semesters we have heard the phrase "After this program you will never look at people the same way." I think we had a general sense of what we were getting into as future OTs, but as I enter this final 'in class' semester I now see what our teachers were talking about. I now see people with disabilities differently, I view diagnoses differently, and my brain is stuck in an OT mode to look holistically at people and see what an OT would to for a patient to adapt, restore, modify the patient or context that they live within. I still have a lot to learn as I work into my level II fieldworks but I am excited for this semester and what my future as an OT holds.

Back to school- Honeymoon Cook Islands

Here is a picture of our honeymoon destination. We were fortunate enough to go to the Cook Islands in the South Pacific. There are several islands and we were told through tripadvisor.com that Aitutaki was the prettiest and least touristy of them. The lagoon surrounds the islands and its smaller islands (picture left) the dark spots are the reef and the island lived up to its expectations of being less touristy with great people and overall beautiful.






We decided to roam around the island for a day as all of the island cruises were booked. So my wife and I tried to see all that the island had to offer via moped. The main road was one giant circle/oval with many roads intersecting it. The picture (left) is of myself enjoying some ice cream. The prices for food etc are a bit higher than the US, the NZD or New Zealand Dollar is a little bit less in exchange rate- but the island has to import many of its goods from New Zealand, Australia, and other locations.

We had a great time and I will be putting up more posts about the beautiful islands and our adventures.


OTS Thoughts: It was hard to leave such a beautiful place, but my wife and I did take note of the possibility of coming back to work with the local population. Their lives are much different from our in the states. They live very simplistically with tourism and local crafts being their main income. If I had more time I would have loved to see what the hospital had to offer as we heard that it was a pretty basic hospital (luckily we didn't need to visit it this trip for health reasons). OT on the island would be much different than what is needed in the states and I had not interviewed enough of the population to see how OT would be used. I would speculate from what I saw that we would deal with energy conservation, hand injuries, and some of the children in the school. The island more or less stabilizes a patient and then flies the patient to nearby New Zealand for more in-depth health coverage. We talked with a massage therapist that was trained in New Zealand for the purpose to come back to the island to work and we talked with our driver from the hotel that said she had never left the island.

SUMMER OT 2011

So it is summer time here in Kansas City. The weather has been rather HOT lately and summer session 1 is in full effect. There are a lot less cars on Rockhurst's campus and the new PT/OT class of 2013/2014 will be arriving soon. Below is a random shot I took on my way into school. It is one of those 'street view' cars from Google maps. (It was right out of a red light so I wasn't fumbling while taking a picture with my phone.)

This summer's curriculum is filled with a Neuromanagement lecture/lab and the second years are doing Neuroscience as well. I will keep the blog posted with new revelations this summer as the class unfolds.

OTS thoughts: 'Neuro' and 'Neuroscience' is the study of the central, autonomic, and peripheral nervous system and we are studying the disorders that go along with it. Thus far we have looked into how the working of this system effects many aspects of the patient. Some examples of persons with this type of disorder are stroke, spinal cord injury, and traumatic brain injury patients. The components of this class compiled with the musculoskeletal course that we will learn over the next couple of semesters will better prepare me for my Level 2 (3 month) fieldworks (to be completed at the end of the program.)

Have a great summer!

Fieldwork Level 1: Peds

This past week I did my Level 1 fieldwork. In the MOT course curriculum you are required to have a 'rounded' experience to give you the most exposure in different OT settings.


Here is a story from the week: A boy was doing an evaluation and he would randomly fart but stayed somewhat focused on his work. The evaluation was testing his executive functioning as well as several other areas in one evaluation. After completing most of the paperwork he had to do a gross motor evaluation which included balancing, dribbling, and jumping. He continued farting and then said "I guess I just have some of them broccoli farts again." Definitely the funniest moment of the week.

When I started the program I wasn't sure what area I really wanted to work in so I chose to have a peds (kids) and a geriatric (older adults) fieldwork for a week a piece. I have completed my geriatric fieldwork after my second semester and this past week I completed my week with peds. Children's therapy group is a sensory integration nonprofit organization located in Overland Park, KS. There are some OT's, PT's and SLP's that work here. All of the staff was very knowledgeable and helped me learn more about sensory integration, home health, iLs with headphones, and OT with pediatrics. This site was interesting because it was a non-profit and worked with the clients to get them coverage. Since some insurances are particular about different treatments- it is good to know that this nonprofit is focusing more on the therapy and the kids getting therapy instead of neglecting clients due to financial problems.


For Rockhurst students- you will need a rounded rotation and I enjoyed my time here at CTG. The staff was all helpful, willing to teach, and approachable.

For more information on sensory integration or on children's therapy group check out their website http://www.childrenstherapygroup.org/. They are working on vamping up the website but it is packed with information.

OTS thoughts: Sensory integration is interesting because most kids have a 'normal' functioning Central Nervous System and for some kids the sensory input can be too much or too little. This imbalance in sensory can make the children act out, shut down, or manifest itself in different behaviors. In the lab they talked about some of the kids 'internal motor' to acknowledge what the child is feeling and educate them on how to react when this is happening. Also at this site you saw OT at work because they took the therapy session and made it pertinent to the children (ie baseball sports teams, or sports they played daily). The kids helped pick out what to do in the therapy session by picking out puzzles versus light bright or what tasks should be in the obstacle course. I enjoyed my time with peds and think that working with kids would be an interesting route to pursue.

Wrapping up the semester

As the semester starts drawing to an end I appreciate the fact that mother nature has sprung with new life and I have made it through another semester. The OT class is getting ready to go on our next Level I fieldwork after finishing up some final projects and I am excited for summer to start appearing more and more. It has been an interesting semester and like the seasons - my attitude has changed over the semester.





When the stress was high and it was cold outside the end of the semester looked out of sight. Now that we are in finals week with our Fieldwork next week, I can see new life and we have some nice weather (every couple of days). The pictures (left) are of the St. Ignatius statue outside of the library. Since I spent much of my time on campus stopping into the library to study- I walk by this new statue daily. It has stayed the same while everything around it has changed.

As this semester wraps up I will continue to put thoughts on the blog. If you had ideas on how to improve it or subjects that an OTS should cover I welcome the opportunity. Enjoy the rest of spring and get excited for summer as it quickly approaches.

Winter 2011












Spring 2011

Arbor Day- early and Happy Easter

Every Easter I find myself going back to visit my parents 13 acres and planting something new or rearranging the acreage in a different way. Several years back my parents had bought some small evergreens that were not so 'ever green' anymore since they were not put into the ground.  Since their future looked so bleak, on Easter Sunday I said "Lord, if these are supposed to live and grow- I will put them into your hands." I put them in the ground and 8 of the 9 are still thriving pretty well today. 

 This year my brother and I, or as my mother referred to us on this day, Ding and Wing- took to the yard with a 4 foot Silver Maple tree, a sledge hammer and some stakes to help brace the young tree.  Since Arbor Day is coming up on the 29th I have deemed this our ARBOR DAY TREE.  My brother usually doesn't participate in my shenanigans of the outdoors, but today he helped me by holding the stakes etc.  Since he did come out of his element to help, I let him use the sledge hammer to hammer in the stakes while I held them.  This image of my brother and I hitting the stakes into the ground with the other one holding the stake wave predestined for injury (hence the name Ding and Wing.)  My mom and sister had the cameras rolling for a rare chance that he would miss and we could win thousands on America's Funniest Home Video, but fortunately (or unfortunately) no accidents occurred.  The picture to the left is me punching in the last stake. I hope everyone had a good Easter and on the 29th- good luck on planting a tree to celebrate Arbor Day.

OTS thoughts:  My thoughts on this entry are how the spiritual, social, and daily activities help give balance to my life.  An OT takes all of these holistic factors into account when working with patients to make their interest inventory and help guide their treatment.  My family, my faith, and the opportunities to work outside are really a blessing to me.  I feel more fulfilled in meeting my purpose on this earth by being able to  get out of the house, play in the dirt,  and enjoy nature in the countryside.  These activities give meaning to my life and as an OT I will keep these in mind when working with clients, especially those that enjoy nature and hard work outdoors like I do.

Spring is in the air

There is something to be said about spring. New life is around you- flowers are starting to bloom, the sun sticks around for a bit longer and the weather (although windy lately) is more tolerable than a cold day. Rockhurst is buzzing with potential new students getting campus tours, OT is talking about finals and projects, and we are gearing up for fieldworks and a small break before summer Neuro. There are many tulips on the street to the west of Rockhurst's campus that help coin the term Tulips on Troost and Rockhurst has some sharp red tulips all across campus. They look nice and are a welcoming sign of nicer weather and a rejuventation in preparation for summer. Here is a recent picture that I took of Rockhurst's campus.

OTS thoughts:
Get out and enjoy the nice weather- If you are in a part of the country that has it today. Be thankful that spring is upon us and start working out- summer is right around the corner.

School

Well as you have seen from my lack of posts that school, capstone project planning, wedding planning, and life have all filled my planner pretty full. I have just received the 1-minute AOTA update which gives OT's (and OTA's) and students some insight into what is going on with AOTA, politics, and new/best practices. I will read through it and type up some thoughts/ ideas from what I received. The one minute update is for AOTA members and I would highly recommend signing up for it (especially if you are busy like myself but want to stay in the loop of what is going on with OT as a profession.)

We defended our proposal to continue research in St. Lucia over spring break (and some of the researchers are collecting data right now.) The process of doing research has been interesting and complex at times. My group is doing amazing work and it will be interesting to see what data comes back from St. Lucia.

Our research group successfully navigated through an IRB proposal which is part of the research project to get approved to do research. I feel as though we presented to information clearly and as a group, we handled the questions that the review board had to ask.

This week I am in Pascagoula, MS for a baptism and although I would enjoy some time on the beach I have been studying in the hotel room for our upcoming tests and quizzes.

More pictures to come. Thanks for reading. Sorry for the long time between posts.

OT thoughts: Research is one area of OT that has had mixed reviews in talking with my classmates, but going through the process makes you appreciate what our profession is working on to create best practices. I have grown quite a bit since entering the program and have grown through the process of doing research.

Earlier this week I attended a support group for TBI - traumatic brain injury, as part of an assignment. The set up was interesting and I took some notes from some of the individuals on what they hoped to receive from their doctor and other practitioners.

We have been talking about the Denver assessment that we will be performing over the next several weeks. It will be interesting to see a child assessment in action.

-John

Getting back in the grad school groove

Well now that the blizzard has come and gone, we are back in the groove of classes again. The Capstone groups are working their project's by setting deadlines, meeting with their mentors, and balancing their capstone work with the other classes. Today we had our first Med Con II test, and the full time students have had their Kinesiology test with their movement lab checkouts coming up soon. Each week in my planner has been slammed full thus far- which is good and bad, but I am sure the whole class's planners are similarly slammed full.

The picture (left) is on Rockhurst's campus right outside of Van Ackeren (where PT/OT faculty's offices are). Since the snowman doesn't have legs- how do you think he got up on the bench? discuss.



Since we had a day off classes- during the snowmageddon- I decided to enjoy the lovely weather by reading, what else...but my Willard & Spackman book (on the back deck). (it's kind of a big deal in the RU OT curriculum)




OTS thoughts: Since I am not a qualified and registered Occupational Therapist or licensed (OTR/L), I thought I would change this section to OTS (OT student) thoughts. This is to both give credit where credit is due and also to show that my expertise is only to the extent of education that I have completed thus far.

My occupational balance has thus far in the semester has been doing pretty well. I have been exercising more, studying more, eating well, and getting more hours of sleep per night. My next post will hopefully include how I believe that 'shoveling snow' is an occupation- to show some of my facebook friends that live in warmer climates that we don't exactly get a 'day off' when a blizzard hits the midwest.

Baby it's cold outside

Welcome back- So KC got hit by 'Snowmageddon' or as others have deemed the blizzard of 2011 as the 'Snopocalypse' and RU closed the campus for 2 days. I snapped this picture in my car of a chilly temperature of -2 on my way heading into class. The cold makes it a little rougher to be a student and make the 40+ minute drive to campus from South KC.






This is the main entrance into RU- right off Troost. I was working late on a project after classes due to our snow days. Hence the large snow pile in front in the Rockhurst crest.










Here is another winter picture that was taken between the Library and Sedgwich Hall looking over the shoulder of St. Ignatius of Loyola (statue obviously) across from Massman Hall. I will be commenting on the library in later posts because it is one of my favorite spots to study on campus. The statue is a newer statue that has been put up within the past 6 months, but the picture shows the beauty of RU's campus at night (even when it is covered with snow).





OT Thoughts: Class is picking up with the first round of quizzes underway and each capstone group getting a better idea of what is in store over the next year. My OT thoughts for this blog is from the OT student perspective and my hopes are to cover more in future posts. Things to come in future blogs are my favorite study areas, how our KELS in St. LUCIA capstone project is going, and more 'snow occupations.'

Break (post Christmas/pre New Years)

Now that the Christmas holiday and events are over I am starting to look into how I am going to spent the rest of my break. I am setting my game plan to enjoy the rest of break while staying on top of my assignments for our Capstone group (more info in future blogs). This is difficult to find the balance between doing things that I enjoy and doing things that I need to stay on top of so that our capstone is on pace for the research and development portion that will take place over the next couple of months. I am hoping to 'recharge my battery' by getting out of KC for a few days to central Kansas and then onto Denver. The weather has been pretty crazy in Kansas City- there has been minimal snow and the temperature today has gotten up to around 59 degrees. Happy New Year.

Christmas Break/Welcome

Welcome. This is my first blog entry so I thought I would take it as an opportunity to say 'hello', 'Merry Christmas' (as I am on break), and 'Welcome' to my blog.

I am a new blogger to this forum and have been chosen to give you a tour into the Masters Program of Occupational Therapy at Rockhurst. I am a part-time student, I have worked for 2 years in public health before going back to school, I am a male (obviously) in a mostly female field (OT), I am originally from Illinois and am a resident of Kansas. If any of these seem interesting or as though we relate, PLEASE follow the blog. My goals and objectives for this blog are to inform you (the reader) of what RU OT Masters program looks like, what OT is, and how I am working to find a balance in life between school, work, and my personal life.

Thanks for checking out the blog and feel free to post comments, questions, or suggestions as this blog will be a learning progress through the semester and my career at RU.

-John