The little things

THIS WEEK- Well hello followers in the blogosphere.  I have been busy this week with a musculo lab practical on Monday (Carpal Tunnel patient), an orthotics/splinting assignment due today, a capstone meeting tomorrow, a quiz today, and then 2 more quizzes tomorrow. I have worked 4 hours and will be working 14 by the week's end.  The sad part is that is how this semester has been going.  My stress levels have been high, my tiredness has been high, and the fact of being wore out from class is also running high.  However, get me to January 9 and I will be to the next step of this program- Level II fieldwork.

NEW INSIGHTS- As I was thinking about what to blog about, I realized that my life isn't all that interesting.  Sure I can offer insights into being a nontraditional student in a Master's of Occupational Therapy program at RU, or about being newly married and balancing grad school, but overall I feel as though there are more insightful people, smarter, more creative, than myself. This is not a discredit to me, but a credit to those creative, genius minds that are at work 24/7. With that being said, it made me think today about focusing on the little things.  My life is very busy and my focus is very much in this program and getting through it, while doing the best I can to balance all areas of my life.  My hope for this blog is to begin blogging more frequently and that you, the reader will gain some insights into my life, as well as think about your own.

STOP AND SMELL THE ROSES...They say to stop and smell the flowers, which means that we all need to stop in our busy days and have a look at life and see the little things that we pass up on by not slowing down more often and see these GOOD things in our life.  This program at times makes it hard to do that, but it is a goal and there is a reason it is called a Master's degree.

DAILY MOMENT- So my moment today was- COFFEE.  I have had a cup of homemade Starbucks the past couple of days and drank it on my drive into class, with the brisk air of fall coming in quickly I enjoyed the moment of having a cup this morning.  I thought about the good things in life, and today's good thing was the gift of coffee.  I thought about the hard work that goes into harvesting it, the warmth it provides on a cold day, and the caffeine that helps me get through the day's work.  So today, if you have/had coffee- enjoy the moment.  I thank God for the good in my life and for letting me take a moment to enjoy one of the many gifts I have in life. 

OTS thoughts: long week, I survived- bring on the quizzes and next week.

thanks for reading.

-John

Making some splints: lab

Quick quiz- What is one major skill that sets OT's apart from other disciplines?    ...SPLINTING

Over the past few weeks we have been getting into more peripheral nerve injuries (ie Carpal Tunnel, Cubital Tunnel) as well as other hand injuries (ie DeQuervain's Tensosynovitis, Dupuytren's Contracture). Our first test was this week, and I will let you know how the practical goes (as it is after break).  These pics were taken in lab the other day.  My partner and myself fit these splints using some pre-fabricated splinting material that was heated in a simmering pan.  They are some of our first attempts at a wrist cock up splint.  We learned about how well the material molds, how to roll some of the edges so that it does not cause skin breakdown or irritation, and we made sure that it fit the right dimensions of our arm.  We also made a resting hand splint, which looks like the picture below.  We have been learning about the protocols behind making splints like what injuries to wear them for, the wear schedule, and what type of anatomical position the splint should be made in. These splints are not finished with the velcro straps to make sure that keep the splint in place.

The wrist cock up splint helps keep pressure off the Median Nerve, who is the main culprit in Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.  The splint helps keep the wrist from bending backwards (extension) or forward (flexion) too much.  This gives the wrist a nice neutral position to rest the 'Carpal Tunnel' which is comprised of nine tendons and the Median Nerve- kind of a tight squeeze already.  You hear of this injury in occupations that do a lot of typing, writing with bad hand position, chefs, doctors, housewives, musicians, cyclists etc. Anything to put a continuous stress on the tunnel squeezing the median nerve and tendons that run through the tunnel. 

OTS thoughts: The musculo class and lab has reinvigorated my love for occupational therapy.  We have learned about splinting and an overview of modalities that we will encounter in the clinic.  I enjoy building and making things, and it will be even more rewarding to know that it will have a functional purpose that will help someone get back to living their life. Hand therapy is a long road to get certified and is hard to get into, but as I focus more on my area of practice I hope to still be making splints in some area. 

fantasy football anyone?

FANTASY FOOTBALL (FF for this blog)

As I mentioned in last week's edition of the blog, football tends to consumer my fall semester and tends to make it hard for me to balance class and doing any homework on Sundays, Mondays and Thursday nights.  I have been doing FF with my in-laws for the past 3 seasons (and now this season).  I was the league champ last year, pretty much by luck and a certain DeSean Jackson returning a punt return against the Giants to seal the deal for me to win.

WHAT IS FF?
If you have never played fantasy football (FF), it brings in a new element to just having a favorite NFL team.  The gist of it, is that you 'draft' players at the beginning of the season, you are allowed to play a QB, Running backs, wide receivers, a tight end, a kicker, and special teams/defense and they each score points based on how well or not so well they play (my starting line up from last week is posted- left).

 Each league can set different rules for how to score points and how many players each team can have.  The nice part about FF is that it makes you tune in to many of the NFL teams across the league and the individual performances of selected players that add points based on the productivity for the day.  Even if my Bears go 0-16, I could still win the league in FF by drafting the best team and having FF team play well. 

 

LEISURE ACTIVITY

                 The Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF) defines leisure as "a                 

                 nonobligatory activity that is intrinsically motivated and engaged in during discretionary

                 time, that is, time not committed to obligatory occupations such as work, self-care, or 

                 sleep." 

 

Watching football and playing FF is an occupation that I enjoy because it is part of what OT's call 'leisure activities' (or a hobby).  When I used to watch football it was a good social event but we did not get into the logistics of who is doing what on the team as long as your favorite team won.  Now with the added dimension of being able to compete with other people and having to think of each individual match-up, there is more to think about in 'competing' week in and week out.  It is my 'break' from school work and the much needed element of competition in my life.

SO JOHN, WHAT'S YOUR POINT?... (OTS Thoughts)

My point is... I love fantasy football and my brain tends to look at every activity how an OT might view the activity.  An OT takes every situation and thinks of how it can be adapted, made relative, and be functional for our clients to keep them engaged in daily activities.  I think that FF is such a great idea for competition that puts people with all different abilities on the same playing field.  FF adds a level of competition as it has been doing for several years now and could be a functional yet fun activity to possibly work into therapy one day down the road.  

There is many executive functions (ie planning, working memory, attention, problem solving, verbal reasoning, inhibition, mental flexibility, multi-tasking, initiation and monitoring of actions) as well as social factors (sportsmanship, competition, dealing with stressful situations) at work here .  As an OT we must think of 'functional activities' to elicit the therapy that patients are in need of and helps meet our goals.  FF might not be that therapy for everyone, but I feel that it is thinking in the right direction to meet the client in the goal planning. As of now, it is just my leisure activity.

Good luck this season (if you have a team), and make sure to not let FF or football overrun the focus on the semester. Thanks again for reading. 

Assistive technology: OT

So to cover the ACOTE requisites we have to have a module on learning about 'assistive technology' as used in an OT setting.   We participated in a 2 day lab last weekend which was interesting, but tough because we gave up our precious Saturday.  I had pictures to post, but my phone has blown up (figuratively speaking) and now there are in some digital limbo.  So what is assistive technology?  It is hardware, software, and peripherals that assist people with disabilities in accessing computers or other information technologies.



Items Covered in lab: Ipad, headmouse, track ball, software, keyguards, specialized keyboards, ergonomic devices, short cuts and how to use them (ie on Microsoft Word or shortcut commands for your pc), and dynavox (or similar related communication devices).
Cost: $30 up to several thousand dollars.  (This includes any software, peripheral devices, or other specialized equipment used.)

It was interesting that after having this lab, and typing up this blog the AOTA 1-minute update came into my inbox.  (Again, if you aren't signed up to receive it, its worth the minute(s) of your life.)

Its headlining story was about how Ipads are making it easier for patients with disabilities, (ie spinal cord injury, cerebral palsy (etc)) to participate in reading books easier, changing the channels on the tv, and communicating with simple commands than had been previously used.  There are pros and cons to any situation as well as the legalities behind creating new apps, but as a future therapist the Ipad and technology are making huge strides in the therapy and rehabilitation field.  I posted a 2 minute video (below) from CBS Miami news.  If you are interested in reading the story- (click onthe CBS Miami news hyperlink).  Very cool stuff.

In the lab we were shown how to use the software, hardware, and peripherals and we had to think about how they could be applied in the lab and to patients with different diagnoses'.  It was fun and interesting to learn the technologies and wrap our brain's around how they could be used.

**NOTE: I do not endorse any of the titles or brands above.  I highly encourage to research each of them and learn more about them and how they can be used in a therapy setting.  This is a point of reference blog of what we covered in our lab.

OTS Thoughts:  Technology is booming.  As if we haven't learned that fact.  In our lifetime we have had from the birth of the internet (for some of the readership) to the birth of the ipod/ipad.   In the economic situation that we are in, the use of technology is a huge step for us in the therapy field and rehabilitating patients to their prior level of function or to get them back to doing the things they love.  I am excited to be coming into the field and the possibilities of the newer technology helping out our patients.

YOUR INPUT: Let me know what you think of the Ipad and the apps, will it delete the need for other devices or drive competitors to decrease prices dramatically? Will the field work the apps into evidence based practice?  Will it drive companies like dynavox or other specialized companies out of the therapy realm? Post your thoughts/questions/discussion and see ya next week. Thanks for reading!

Unexpected Football season thus far...

So now that the fall semester has started, it brings to light one of my favorite occupations... watching football.  Since the University of Kansas is my Alma Mater, Rockhurst doesn't have a football team, and I now live in Kansas, I decided to cheer to add a KC team to cheer for this season.  This doesn't mean that I have let go of my roots (Chicago professional teams always), but I have broadened my scope of being a fan to the KC Chiefs. 


KU (left-a picture from the older stadium) is coached by Turner Gill for the second season. After last season it was painful to watch our limited amount of W's in the Win column, so I was hesitant for this season.  After 3 games, UNEXPECTEDLY KU has been 2-1, prior to Big XII play.  I am not sure how the season will end up but after seeing KU win in the final seconds against NIU and losses pretty bad against GT the other night, I hope for more of the same type of gameplay they showed against NIU.


Now onto the Chiefs... If you have watched any football the past two weeks you have seen the pain that has been the 2011-2012 Chiefs.  With major injuries and blowout losses this season is looking to be painful, I hope that they find a way to win- but we shall see. The Chiefs had an amazing season last year and UNEXPECTEDLY look terrible now. (Right- Picture of us at Chiefs Training camp in St. Joseph, MO)

The Chicago Bears- (if you are keeping track) have looked decent in the preseason and still have the same problems of a poor offensive line.  The Bears are 1-1 and hopefully will go well into the playoffs similar to last year.  UNEXPECTEDLY- I am unsure of what to think of how well this season will go- but either way I always enjoy watching my bears.

OTS Thoughts: After filling out my degree candidacy form the other day and having meetings to finalize our capstone project- the reality of this 3 year journey is starting to come to and end.  The light at the end of the tunnel is getting nearer and the 'grad school-itis' has started to kick in.  Each week we are slammed full of new and interesting info on Peds and Musculo assessments, but the fatigue of grad school has wore me out a bit.  The fall season never helps with all the football and cooler weather, but knowing that the goal is near keeps me charging forward.  I have always enjoyed the Fall semester and am excited that this is potentially my last fall semester of my college career.

Last comment- As I keep this blog going for the next couple of months- if there are any questions or topics you would like me to cover- shoot me a comment on here and I will do my best to cover it.  My ideas are primarily what is on my mind and what I feel will suit the reader the best with what is going on.  Thanks for reading.

-John

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.

Summer time in KC

So here is another post about the heat. This summer (especially the past few weeks) have DRAINED the life out of me and decreased my desire to get things done. Here is a random shot that I took of the temperature in the middle of the day (left). I haven't said too much about the heat because honestly, what can we do about it and secondly I wasn't sure what to think of it myself. Yes- obviously it has been unusually warm in KC, but its summer. Yes- its hot, but posting all over fb or complaining about how hot it is does nothing more than to point out the obvious. Yes- I don't feel like going outside and the a/c doesn't seem to be able to run enough to keep up with it (not gonna lie, a little concerned about the a/c bill this month). HOWEVER, with all that being said I have to count my blessings and allow those people that have it worse off than me (especially those stricken by the heat, ie homeless/working poor) to do the complaining because they deserve to complain. I saw on fb how someone posted about the heat and followed it up with the temperatures in the middle east where our armed forces are deployed and followed it up by 'we really shouldn't be complaining.'

SOO whether you have vented it in some social realm or kept it to yourself about the heat, I hope that it relieved some of the pressure that the heat has caused on your life. My other hope is that you count the blessings you have in your life, the heat will subside (someday, I hope), the pressures of life will still need to be faced in the morning, and more troubles will always be knocking on your door waiting to see how you will face them when you are faced with adversity.

OTS thoughts: First, a side note: For all the first year OTS's, you will be fine, especially if/when you made it through this QUICK summer semester. OK, The heat has made me re-evaluate myself and life and what I bring into the day to day 'workplace' which I currently call school. I haven't complained much about it, or really brought it up at all because it only was negative commentaries that I would bring up. The heat is acts on us, just like a difficult/unmotivated patient that gets so down and focused on the problems instead of the solutions. I need to keep him driven to reach his goals, and let him communicate some of his worries/problems before we can start making gain in his treatment. Yes, the heat is a burden but as I dig deep to finish the semester I hope you dig deep and internalize some of the complaints to get the tasks done that you are working on. Also, as I have said throughout- take a moment and count your blessings, especially for ice water and a/c.