Post-Interview Reflection

• How did feel the interview went overall?
• Overall, I felt the interview went well. There were a few questions that caught me off guard that I wasn't expecting to be asked. However, I was able to answer all the questions.
• How did you prepare for the interview?
• I looked at AOTAs mock interview questions, trie to think of common interview questions on my own, as well as reflect on my personal strengths and weaknesses and what it is I wanted from that job position, and I also reviewed a few of the websites provided for preparation for this session. 
• What, if anything, was different than you expected? 
• I would have to say some of the questions I was asked. I've sat through a few interviews, but not many, so I don't have a stock pile of common interview questions that I have been asked before. Thanks to this mock interview, I now know how to better prepare for future interviews. 
• What's something you would change if you could go through this process again (or something you will do differently when you're in a real-life interview situation)? 
• When preparing for my first job interview, I will make sure I am very familiar with the company/organization I am applying for, the employer/s, and any additional information about the facility that I can find. I did my research this go around but I didn't have much luck. However, for real-life situation I will dig deep. 
• What is something you learned during this process that may be helpful to you as you prepare to enter the workforce as an OT practitioner? 
• Remember i am interviewing them as much as they are interviewing me. Ask lots of questions and if I really want to be a part of a specific facility, I will make myself known. 

 

Self-Portrait of a Leader

Glyph Key for Drawing A Self-Portrait of a Leader

Face Shape: If you believe that leadership is an inborn trait, draw a triangle-shaped head.  If you think that leadership stems from nurture over nature, draw a square-shaped head.

Eyes: If you think the vast majority of OTs are leaders, make big circles for the eyes.  If you think there is a fairly equal mixture of leaders and non-leaders in the field of OT, draw small circles for the eyes.  Fill in the pupils.  Add glasses if you feel that you have had more experience in leadership roles than most other people your age at this point in life.

Eyelashes: Draw one eyelash on each of the eyes for each of the five themes you can name based on your personal Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment from earlier in the curriculum.

Eyebrows: If you like to take the role of the leader in an out-in-front way, make curved eyebrows.  If your leadership style is more behind the scenes, make pointy eyebrows.

Nose: Draw a triangle nose if you think that seeing yourself as a leader is necessary to being a leader.  Draw a rounded nose if you believe that a person can be a leader without seeing himself or herself as a leader.

Skin:  Add a freckle anywhere on the skin of the face if you believe that self-awareness is vital to effective leadership.  Leave the skin clear if you don’t think it’s an essential trait.

Mouth: Draw a smiling mouth if you can think of at least one leader who has had a positive impact on you.  Draw a frown if you can’t think of a good example of a leader.

Ears: Draw round ears if you think technology is an important part of effective leadership in many situations. Draw pointy ears if don’t think so.

Hair: Draw the hair based on a continuum, based on your personal viewpoint in two areas:

What’s more important in leadership:             Curly hair  <------------------------->  Straight hair 

          creativity or organization?                   Creativity  <-------------------------->  Organization

                        AND

Can an introvert be an effective leader?         Short hair <-------------------------> Long hair

                                                                           No way  <------ I’m unsure -----> Definitely yes

Accessories: Add at least one accessory (example: a piece of jewelry) if you see yourself as a leader.  Add a hat if the way you think about or approach leadership has changed as a result of what you have learned since beginning in OT school.

Finishing Touch: Label your paper with your name, writing in cursive if you have a written plan or goal about to serving in leadership roles in the future; write in print if you do not yet have a written plan.

Since starting OT school, I do not think my perspective of leadership has changed much. I am still a firm believer that anyone has the potential to be a leader with the right mindset. We have our own unique abilities that make us better at leading some groups than others, but that doesn't mean we aren't capable. Everyone has to find where they are comfortable, confident, and competent. 

Locus of Control

Locus of control is a concept that was developed by Julian Rotter in 1954, and has since become an aspect of personality studies. He defined this concept as "the degree to which people believe that they, as opposed to external forces, have control over the outcome of events in their lives" and are described as being internal or external. After completing the Rotter's Locus of Control Scale with a score of 7, I can say that I err on the side of internal locus of control. I believe that in order for me to be successful, I must put in the time and effort to receive the results that I am aiming for looking to achieve. 

As a future occupational therapist, this is an important characteristic for not only myself to possess, but also my future clients when it comes to injury, illness, and recovery. To some extent, we have some control over our injuries and illnesses; however, there are many that we do not have control over. It is important that our clients be confident in themselves and their abilities and be internally motivated during their recovery phase. After experiencing an injury or illness though, they cannot just expect to get better, they have to want to be better. I cannot do it for them. I most certainly can encourage, motivate, and promote participation, but I cannot force them to be better. 

Wikipedia. (2020). Locus of Control. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_of_control 

Post SIM encounter

Overall, I feel the SIM encounter went well. I thought I did a decent job of sitting next to the client's mother and making eye contact and being fully engaged in the conversation. I also feel I did an adequate job of addressing the parents concerns and questions, but my explanations could have been a little more clear. I know the information in my head, but under stress it all gets jumbled and I have trouble collecting my thoughts. I don't feel like I let that show too much during the encounter, and I did an okay job of explaining sensory processing disorder and what a bystander is to the parent.

If I had it to do over again, I would be sure to try to have my thoughts together a little more and ask a few more open ended question. I would also slow down my explanations even though I did run out of time. I think that may have been a little bit of my problem. I felt rushed because I knew I had to get all the information relayed to the parent in a short amount of time in the most efficient way possible. I put more stress on myself than I should have. In future encounters, I will remind myself to slow down, and just do my best.

An attitude of caring can go a long way with any parent. Specifically, in my encounter, the mother asked about sensory processing disorder meaning her child had autism. Which is a concern of many parents. By addressing the parents concern and informing them that you are not at liberty to diagnosis that, but if they would like to do further testing that you will provide them the resources and contacts necessary to assist in the process, is an act of caring in and of itself. Just showing the parent you are willing to help out with the confusion and emotions related to a new diagnosis of their child builds trust and rapport, not only the parents, but also the client as well.
Another example of an attitude of caring is just listening to the concerns of the parent and letting them know they are not alone in this new "normal" for their family and you are there to help or assist in any way possible and help their child lead as typical as a  life as possible. Like I said before, a new diagnosis is very hard for a parent to wrap their head around and process without blaming themselves for being the cause of it or wondering "why my child". The reassurance of having support and help from the therapist, and others experiencing the same thing, can go a long ways.

Going ahead in future SIM encounters, future fieldwork rotations, and even clinical practice in general, a very important take away to carry with me is it doesn't matter what you say to the parent or client, it's all in how you make them feel. Did I do my best to make them feel like they can trust me? Did I do an adequate job of relaying information in a way that is understandable for them with an ensuring attitude that I am here to help and serve their child or family member in the best way possible? It is very important for us to take a look back, and think about if this were us in this situation, how would we like to be treated and spoken. Letting that guide our tone and empathy for the individuals we are working with.

Media Project - Plastic Milk Jug

The Media Project allowed me the opportunity to put my future OT mind to work and come up with a fun, creative activity for my client, Barbara, with relapsing-remitting MS. This project showed how tough creativity can be with some items. Since Barbara enjoys crafting activities, I thought what better way to work on her deficits than with a low-tech, homemade cow planter made out of the plastic milk jug I was assigned. With Barbara’s recent decline in memory and limited supply of daily energy, I decided to focus on restoring upper-body strength and energy to maintain function and engagement in her daily occupations as well as promoting independence in these tasks. Working on cognitive tasks to maintain her current state is important to address as well  and I did this through throwing in the use of different materials to make the planter into a cow.

One of the most useful things I learned from this project is the importance of looking at every aspect of a person’s life and focusing on what is truly important to the individual and what goals they have set for themselves as well. What is going to grasp and hold their attention and make them want to do and be better. As a result of this project, I feel I am more competent in goal writing that is client-centered and occupation-based as well as focused on function and measurable time frames. This project shows the level of difficulty and various components that must be considered by therapists when trying to create an intervention for specific clients. As a future clinician, I can take what I learned from this project and implement the creativity and usefulness of household items in my clinical work. 

Neuro Note 4

Stress: It's Bad for MS

Kathy. (2019, Aug. 16). Stress: It's Bad for MS. Retrieved from https://fumsnow.com/stress-its-bad-for-ms

I chose to do the blog post of Kathy with MS for this neuro note to dive into the life of someone experiencing it first-hand. It is interesting to see the many ways people adapt to living with this autoimmune disorder and the different ways they handle it.

Kathy, a mother of 2, is extremely overwhelmed with moving her oldest daughter to college and planning a sweet 16 birthday party for her youngest daughter. She is tired, worn out, and beating herself up because she cannot get everything done without another task piling up on her to-do list. Between moving, the party, her messy house, her job, and pilled up bills she has a constant "OMG I'm behind and I'll never catch up and I suck" thought going through her mind. With this much stress and a MS diagnosis, there's no surprise she woke up early one morning with her heart beating out of her chest, nausea, fatigue and pain with her to-do list running through her head. She is an advocate for "me time", rest, and stillness, but she can't seem to find it these days. She tries to push through but knows she will pay for it later.

As discussed in class, Kathy would be a good client to implement the energy conservation model on. Through this method, Kathy could work on prioritizing and distributing tasks that could be broken up and made easier by doing the heavier, work-intensive tasks first followed by the not-so-strenuous tasks. She could plan her day ahead of time, reminding herself she only has so much energy for one day. She can schedule in breaks where needed to help monitor her stress and gather her thoughts on what task she will complete next. Kathy could also designate an area in her home to place all materials she will be using on that specific day to keep from tiring so easily. Using this technique will allow her to be more efficient and effective in getting her to-do lists of tasks done.

Neuro Note 3

Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hawking

"The Theory of Everything"
Bevan, T. (2014). The Theory of Everything. Retrieved from https://www.netflix.com/title/80000644

 I have always heard of Stephen Hawking and his battle with ALS, but did not know much about his story. This movie was recommended to me by a friend and will now be added to my list of recommendations for others. It brings major insight to what persons dealing with this terminal, progressive, neurodegenerative disease go through.

"The Theory of Everything" is a  story of the life of Steven Hawking and his journey with ALS. Stephen Hawking was an astrophysics student at the University of Cambridge. While pursuing his degree and research, his muscles began to fail him. There were several signs leading up to his fall that were alarming - hyper-reflexia, fasciculations, and muscle weakness - but it wasn't until he fell and hit his head that he was diagnosed with ALS, a motor neuron disease. This came as very shocking news to Hawking. He did not know how to cope with having two years to live and what this meant his next few years would look like. His biggest concern he proposed to the doctor was his brain and how ALS would affect it. To his surprise, the doctor assured him his thoughts would not be affected, but soon no one would know what they were because he wouldn't have the muscle strength to express them. He eventually lost all voluntary movement in his upper and lower body as well as muscle power and control.

Despite being given two years to live, Hawking lived with ALS for 55 years. He was diagnosed in 1963 and passed away in 2018. He led an otherwise normal life with 3 kids and a wife. As we discussed in class, he made modifications and adapted to using a power wheelchair, a trach, a letter board to communicate, and a computer with a built-in voice synthesizer. He went on to write an international best-selling book, A Brief History of Time and presented his thesis arguing that a black hole created the universe in a "Big Bang" and will end in a "Big Crunch". He received his Order of the Companions of Honour from Queen Elizabeth II. While attending a lecture in America, he gave an inspiring speech expressing "There should be no boundaries to human endeavor. We are all different, however, bad life may seem, there is always something you can do, and succeed at. While there is life, there is hope". Regardless of Hawking's diagnosis, he was among the small percentage that defeated the odds and lived a good life while facing many obstacles.