Just Janet on Occupational Therapy

The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining~~ John F. Kennedy

All our ducks must be in a row. It is that time of year. Beginning in September, we will have one class going on a full-time Level 2 fieldwork assignment and our new incoming class will be going on their first Level 1 fieldwork assignments. We must have everything in place in order for them to be placed in their respective fieldwork assignments. It is that time of year when all health forms must be updated with new physicals and PPD tests (TB), data sheets, health insurance and CPR certifications must be updated, clinical contracts must be reviewed, and so on. I shuffle a lot of paperwork these days. I send a lot of emails letting students know they have documents that are expiring and need to be updated as soon as possible – if not sooner!! We talk to many fieldwork sites to assure that our contracts are still in effect and discuss whether they can take students this coming fall semester. We make sure all the behind the scenes logistics are taken care of. It gets crazy but when September rolls around, hopefully all students will smoothly begin fieldwork (and never know what it took to get them there!)

Spirituality for me is recognizing that I am connected to the energy of all creation, that I am a part of it and it is always a part of me ~ Oprah Winfrey

This post is going to be a bit off my usual topic of Occupational Therapy at Sacred Heart.  I also mentioned I co-teach Spirituality in Health Care course.  I just had an epiphany of sorts and feel moved to blog about that.

This past weekend was Memorial Day weekend or the unofficial start of summer.  We went to Rhode Island and opened things up, cleaned up, and basically got ready for another season.  South County in Rhode Island is nicest this time of year and in the fall.  The crowds have not yet arrived; the sky is clear without humidity allowing amazingly clear visibility of Block Island; and the beaches are quiet and unassuming.  We try to enjoy things now because it will not be too long until the crowds arrive and one has to search harder for a quiet, peaceful spot to kick back and enjoy the sights and sounds of the ocean. 

In my Spirituality class, we often talk about ‘spiritual’ moments.  Have you experienced one?  What are they like?  How did your senses react? How did you feel? What were you doing? 

My spiritual moments seem to happen on a deserted patch of shoreline in Rhode Island.  Just walking along the shore, I become completely unaware of time passing and my surroundings.  The sounds of nature such as waves crashing, birds squawking, or a distant boat engine seem to blur. I do not experience multiplicity with my surroundings but a sense of connectedness and oneness.  It is joyful, sacred, the mind, body and spirit connected, innate and personal. 

Students often share that they lose themselves in music, physical activities such as running or dancing, prayer, or reading and have spiritual moments as well.  They struggle to describe the indescribable.  Spiritual moments don’t just happen in churches but can happen anywhere.  We just need to open ourselves up and recognize them.

Holiday weekends and breaks are great chances to ‘re-create’ and renew ourselves.  I know I appreciated this past weekend.  Well I have rambled on enough for today…

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined. ~Henry David Thoreau

Saturday, May 17 was the graduate student commencement at Sacred Heart University.  The Occupational Therapy program held a breakfast for our graduates and their families before the actual ceremony began so we had the chance to interact with the families of our students.  It was a beautiful day, the students looked so nice and their families were so proud.  What a joyful, symbolic event to mark the completion of their academic journey.  Check out the pictures below.  The group shot is all of us taken at the breakfast and the second picture is me and Margo Gross of our OT faculty sharing a happy moment after the ceremony with a few students.  A wonderful, memorable day. Best wishes to the 2008 graduates of Sacred Heart University.

Every end is a new beginning….

And so it is once again that time in the cycle.  We say good bye to another class who will walk in the graduate commencement ceremony at Sacred Heart on Saturday, complete their final clinical affiliation, and enter the Occupational Therapy profession.  Monday night was the capstone presentation which basically concludes the academic portion of the program.  I have attached a picture of the Occupational Therapy Class of 2008.  They sure look happy and relieved! I am just so happy for each of them.  We will miss them certainly; but, as my opening quote suggests, it is a new beginning for the students entering the OT profession and also a new beginning for the faculty and staff of the program as we prepare for the arrival and welcome of our new class of students in September.  So yes, it is an end, but also a new beginning.

I base most of my fashion sense on what doesn't itch. ~Gilda Radner

In a past blog, I mentioned that the Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) does fundraising during the academic year to enable students to attend the AOTA Conference.  This year our students sold sweatshirts and fleece jackets.  Below is a picture of me and the OT Program Director and Chair, Jody Bortone, sharing a smile and modeling our lovely fleece jackets.  After 10 years of working at Sacred Heart University, I have a complete wardrobe of “Sacred Heart” attire.  Sacred Heart likes tee shirts and gives away tee shirts at many events. While I like my tee shirts just fine, I must admit that this fleece is one of my favorites because it is so comfortable.  I like the graphic hand on it as well because it is so appropriate to Occupational Therapy.  Great job and thanks!!

A picture is worth 1000 words…..

The annual AOTA Conference was held in Long Beach, California last week.  Everyone came back quite excited about it.  A group of our lovely second year students actually made the AOTA’s website for the 88^th Annual Conference and Expo—see below.  Glad the conference wasn’t all work and no play!!!

Download aota3.pdf 

The future belongs to those who prepare for it today

Just as I was thinking about something to inspire my blog today, Margo Gross, one of our OT faculty members, shared an article with me that appeared in U.S. News and World Report about the Best Careers for 2008. Here’s the link if interested: http://www.usnews.com/features/business/best-careers/best-careers-2008.html   Guess what is on the list: Occupational Therapist. Students and their parents often inquire about the job outlook for Occupational Therapy. Well, it is excellent. We have not heard of any of our graduates not finding employment. This same article has a nice executive summary which describes what OTs do. Check it out: http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/best-careers/2007/12/19/occupational-therapist-executive-summary

On a personal note, as a parent of a Sacred Heart University Nursing student, Registered Nurse is also on the list. Isn’t it a relief to know your child is preparing for a career with very promising employment possibilities!!

God gives quietness at last~John Greenleaf Whittier

The Occupational Therapy Department will be quiet for the next few days because the annual AOTA (American Occupational Therapy Association) Conference is taking place in Long Beach, CA.  Eighteen of our students are attending, which is probably the largest number we have had attend a conference so far.  Most of the faculty members have gone as well.  A few are even presenting.  I understand some of our past graduates are also attending so everyone will have a great time.   SOTA (Student Occupational Therapy Association) does some fund raising during the year; and in addition, they receive some funding from COGS (Council of Graduate Students) which enables them to go to conference.  One year at the AOTA Conference in Washington, DC, our students won an award for having the largest percentage of students traveling the greatest distance present. (see picture of our past students on stage receiving award)  On Monday everyone will be back, the silence will be broken and life in the OT department at Sacred Heart University will return to normal!!!

April is Occupational Therapy Month!!!

Did you know that April is Occupational Therapy Month?  Well, it really is according to the American Occupational Therapy Association.  It is a month long celebration showcasing the importance of Occupational Therapy. It is the time of year when everyone in the profession goes out of their way to tell the world about what Occupational Therapists do and promote OT as a profession and not just a job.

Every year our OT students have an assignment to come up with some sort of a project to promote Occupational Therapy.  The last few years, our students decided to go to the Today Show in New York City.  They take the train into New York at an extremely early time so that they can get right up front at the fence outside the studio. The last few years, when Al Roker came out to speak with the crowd, he spoke with our students and mentioned Occupational Therapy and Sacred Heart University.  Our students were on TV and everyone was pretty excited.  Take a look at the picture below from last year's class.  The day they went to the Today show, Clay Aiken was a guest, and he also came outside to chat with our students and pose for a picture.  Check out those OT party hats.  The students gave me one as a keepsake that I display in my office to remember them.   Now, how could I ever forget them? Seriously now.  And...check out this link: http://www.sacredheart.edu/pages/18588_occupational_therapy_at_sacred_heart_university.cfm

One secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his opportunity when it comes ~Benjamin Disraeli

Today in one of the Occupational Therapy labs, the students were learning splinting.   If a client had a medical condition or an injury, a splint would be applied in order to maintain a good position of the limb or to assist with using the limb. The OT would prepare the appropriate splint and monitor its use.  Our students quickly transform from students into entry-level Occupational Therapists!!!  They are well on their way to being great OT’s and will be well-prepared to begin their careers. Check out the pictures of some of our students hard at work and having fun at the same time!!!

I get to know many of the undergraduate students who eventually enter the OT program here at Sacred Heart University because I do a lot of advising of undergraduate students who are considering OT and help keep them on the pre-OT track choosing the correct courses to meet the OT program prerequisites.  I also get many undergraduate students (and graduate students) from all the health professions in my Spirituality in Health Care course.

When they apply and enter our program, I already know them.  One of best parts of this job is getting to know the students and watching them succeed!!!