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.

Bachelor Party- KC to Chicago, IL

In this edition of the blog I will be posting about a recent trip to Chicago, IL for opening weekend of the Cubs game as well as my bachelor party. I will discuss my thoughts on the train system (Amtrak) and public transit in Chicago. The picture (right) is the crew that was around after the ball game.

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Overall- the weekend was a lot of fun. The blackhawks won, the cubs won (the game we went to) and the bulls won.  We traveled via public transit and got a pretty nice deal on a hotel.   Thanks to my co-best man and brother Will Cuffe for hosting and getting it all together as well as all of the guys that came out.  Also a big thank you to my future brother's-in-law and father-in-law for being part of the day and getting to a cubs game with me.

TRAIN TRAVEL: 

KC to CHI

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AMTRAK- The train experience overall was DECENT.  

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PARKING: Union Station (KC,MO) is $10/day.  

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TRAVEL: On the train we didn't have any problems with other people on the train.  One suggestion that I would say is that if you are traveling for a long time bring something to do and some bedding to make your seat more comfortable.  

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Baggage: You can check your baggage or choose to keep it with you.  The nice part is that you can get up a

nd moving on the train- but the downside to that is the sometimes frequent stops which leave an opportunity for a traveler to grab your bag and walk off the train. (Picture to the right is after the game and singing 'GO CUBS GO')

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SECURITY:  As we chatted with some people on the train they commented how several people had been arrested since California at different stops, since AMTRAK is connected with the feds.  Security was pretty minimal which was nice- there were police and other checks points but mostly we walked right on without having to remove our shoes and belts and walk through a metal detector. 

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 TICKETS: Book at least 21 days out.  We fell right under the 21 days and the trip from KC to CHICAGO jumped from $61 each way to $96... this college kid was not too happy about that, but it was my mistake.

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 TRAVEL SAAVY: Always Google PROMOTION CODES for AMTRAK (or any other place of business) and see if others have posted any coupons or travel codes.

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STUDENT ADVANTAGE CARD- it helps if you are a student to purchase this depending on the length of your trip. I saved 15% on the trip each way.  The card cost twenty bucks but one trip evens your money and two trips saves you money.  If you are thinking of purchasing one- use me as a referral and it will help me with future travel. (Click here  http://sa.tellapal.com/a/clk/CRZYJ)

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Chicago Public transportation- I do not take much public transit and I am sure that most of the time it would be fine but I have heard those horror stories.  We talked with a homeless man on the train and he said that he was pistol whipped the day before and all he had on him was $3. Also, I got to talk to Sherron Collins on the phone via his friend that was on the train.  My buddy was wearing a JAYHAWKS t-shirt and Sherron's friend said "Rock Chalk" and told us what Sherron has been up to.  I got on the phone and talked with him and he said about how he is going to try-out in Vegas and has just been training to stay in shape.  Overall the experience on the train was good and we had a good sized group which helps.  The 3 day pass was worth it since we traveled everywhere by train.

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OTS Thoughts:  Balance was not part of the weekend as one would expect with a train trip to chicago with a group of guys.  Sleep was hindered on the trip and diet was not a high priority either.  We participated in leisure activities of hitting up the baseball game and socialization with the group of guys and really just took a weekend to relax and have a good guys trip in chicago.  My tips- research well, bring something to do and eat, stay hydrated, and have fun.

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.'

Rough Week- First FULL WEEK of class

HERE WE GO...

This blog will include 3 reasons of why my week was/is going to be a little rough.

(Reason # 1) Chicago Bears lost--

That means no Super Bowl shuffle this year... BOO! On the positive side, I can now focus better over the next two weeks on OT work and not planning a Super Bowl party. (Not sure what the Super Bowl Shuffle is? Click the picture- [left])

(Reason #2) KU lost...

After blowing a lead, they never recovered.

Here's the story from espn.com. (KU is my Alma Mater)

(Reason #3) CLASS STARTED...

...OK, ok. So it isn't that bad- but any type of schooling has its stressful moments. Last week we had a short week due to a dumping of snow in the KC area (which happened to include RU closing). I am excited to get back into the groove of school/work/schedule but also am getting a better idea of the work that will be necessary over the next 5 months. Our research group is starting to plan and I appreciate their open communication and planning work ethic. The research should be interesting but there is a lot of work to do. (More on the Capstone Project to follow in later posts).

OT Thoughts: Balance is hard to find in any setting and stage in life. Eat. Sleep. Exercise. Work. Study. Family time. Fun time. Hobbies. Relationships. Etc. OT's try to help their patients/clients find a balance in life while achieving independence in their day to day life. My goal (as it is every semester) is to plan well and balance my life between school, work, studying, wedding planning, and leisure time- on top of my hierarchy of needs to eat well, exercise, sleep, and not be a bear when stress starts to rise. Have a good week.

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