Just Janet on Occupational Therapy

“When one door closes, another door opens" ~Alexander Graham Bell

So I am feeling inspired to write a blog.  I am enjoying this calm before the storm.  One week from today classes start up again for the semester so these are the last few days to get organized and enjoy the quiet.  It is late in the afternoon and everyone has left the office suite.  I just put on a Blake Shelton CD (yes, I am into country!!) and I am singing along putting together my thoughts.  I just put the final touches on the Spirituality in Health Care course and made it available to students online.  I am just about ready for the new Occupational Therapy class to arrive and get down to work.  We have 29 new students to welcome here to campus, while all our second year students are going out on their first Level 2 fieldwork this fall.  This is always something to look forward to—even though the students are a bit anxious.

 

It actually felt like fall this morning and fall seems to signal the start of school. As my favorite Staples commercial proclaims…”it’s the most wonderful time of the year.”  A few more days and we will be back in full swing. 

 

We just graduated a class on August 31.  They are getting ready for the boards and completing necessary paperwork for temporary state licensing.  I have heard from most that they have had multiple offers and opportunities for jobs so the employment outlook sounds great for occupational therapists.  Congratulations.

 

So what’s been happening in the Occupational Therapy program at Sacred Heart University lately?  A few things have actually been keeping us engaged.  The faculty is working on a new curriculum.  This change will begin with the September 2010 class.  I am getting up to snuff on this for advising purposes and for providing information to inquiries for September 2010.  There are many positive changes with this curriculum change and certainly meets our goal of continuously striving to improve and develop the program.  Graduate Admissions is now accepting applications for 2010 so if you are interested in applying start getting your application and supporting documentation together.  The time is now upon us. 

 

So it is true…when one door closes and we say good bye to one class, another door opens and we welcome a new one.  So it goes . . .

 

In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life: It goes on. ~Robert Lee Frost

I have been neglecting my blog lately but life has gone on.  I have no excuses except for the fact that I have been extremely busy from the moment I arrive at the my office in the morning until the time I leave and haven’t felt particularly inspired to blog.  For some reason this morning, I feel a bit inspired.  The sun is shining which is something we have not seen a lot of these days and it just seems to be developing into a great day.  So,  to catch up on things in the Occupational Therapy Program.  Another class walked in the commencement in May which was a memorable and happy day. They are on their final Level 2 fieldwork and all is going well with that group. They completed their capstone projects and were pinned and are on their way out into the working world. (see picture) Congrats -- I know you will be successful. 

When we were completing our last report ACOTE report, we realized we have a 91% success rate, meaning that 91% of the students who start the Occupational Therapy program at Sacred Heart University graduate with a Master of Science in Occupational Therapy degree.  Not bad and I don’t mind bragging over that fact because our faculty and staff are very dedicated and care about every one of our students!

 Our first year students are getting ready for their first Level 2 fieldwork experience to begin in September.  They will  finish classes at the end of July and actually get the month of August off from class.  A break well deserved and earned.  Many have travel plans – enjoy!

I am in the process of accumulating paperwork (getting the ducks in a row) again for the new class arriving in September to begin the cycle again.  I am also involved in a big research project which I will fill you in on later.  I am answering a lot of inquiries and talking with a lot of potential applicants about the program which is always fun.  So, things have been a bit crazy…but as a side note, we managed to get away to Key West in May and it was one of our best family vacations as it was relaxing and fun and just a chance to hang out with each other.  It is amazing how regenerated one feels after a change in scenery.  We have opened up things in Rhode Island and stayed there over the 4^th of July and we will go back weekends and probably in August. Hopefully, the weather will improve but I am thinking it is going to be a short summer this year (if we get anything at all).  On the upside, I have managed to get more reading done than normal and inside projects completed.  Life goes on.

Nobody says you must laugh, but a sense of humor can help you overlook the unattractive, tolerate the unpleasant, cope with the unexpected, and smile through the day~Ann Landers

So yesterday I am sitting in my office.  I caught a flash of something out of the ordinary walking by.  I got up to investigate and realized it was a student walking by wearing a bathing suit.  Now, this is March.  We are in Connecticut. There could be no after class run to the beach planned.  This is a Masters in Occupational Therapy Program.  What is going on was my first thought?  It turned out the entire class had on bathing suits for lab that day because they were practicing transferring patients in and out of the shower.  The students were encouraged to wear bathing suits in anticipation of getting wet!  Some pictures were taken but the students would not allow me to post them on my blog.  In one picture our four males students were lined up like a chorus line.  Considering it is March and no one is tanned and looking good for the beach scene, it is probably just as well they did not want the picture posted.  (trust me on this one.. only kidding guys)  But seriously, I doubt that there is any other program on campus that encounters these kinds of daily activities.   No two days are ever the same in this department

Inspiration never arrived when you were searching for it. ~ Lisa Alther

So on my drive into the office, I was trying to think of something to blog about.  As I walked into the Occupational Therapy office suite, I was greeted by our two Occupational Therapy Graduate Assistants, Kaitlin and Matt, and was immediately inspired to blog about just that: The Graduate Assistants here at Sacred Heart University!!  You will find graduate assistants working in many areas of the university.

Here in the Occupational Therapy program, we offer two graduate assistant positions for first year students which are compensated with a $5,000 stipend.  In return the Graduate Assistants work ten hours per week in the department for the first year (three semesters) they are in the Graduate Program in Occupational Therapy at Sacred Heart University.   Our OT Graduate Assistants are never bored and never have routine tasks.  They can be found researching topics for faculty, assisting me with fieldwork information packets, compiling distribution lists, preparing mailings, setting up monkey surveys, organizing and categorizing equipment – just to name a few.  They also attend open houses, accepted student days, and other University events where they speak with interested students and give their perspectives as students already in the program to inquiring students. 

So anyways, Matt and Kaitlin, you were my inspiration for today’s blog.  We are definitely glad to have your help around the department.  Don't they look happy??

“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.” -Jimmy Johnson

So this past week was fairly uneventful. But, when I think about Jimmy Johnson’s quote, no week is actually ordinary.  I did my typical thing – answered several inquiries about the program, tracked down some fieldwork contracts, helped a former student with paperwork – particularly program information for a license to practice in England -- and started the ACOTE Biennial report in earnest. (I cannot even remember how many of these ACOTE reports I have helped organize, prepare, and accumulate information for but it has been many in the 10 ½ years I have now been here at Sacred Heart University).  The extraordinary part of any week here at SHU is all the people I come in contact with. 

This week the Occupational Therapy Program, along with Athletic Training/Exercise Science students sponsored a successful blood drive for the Red Cross.  It was a two-day event held on main campus at Sacred Heart.  The Student Nursing Association sponsored one day and our OT students together with Athletic Training and Exercise Science students sponsored the second day.  The Red Cross coordinator was pleased with the results even though we dealt with some weather and scheduling issues.  Anyways kudos to all the students who helped in anyway—you are extraordinary to feel moved to want to help others in this way!

We have another round of interviews of applicants scheduled for next week.  It is always fun to actually put faces to the people I have been talking to on the phone and through email so I am clearly looking forward to that day.  It is also enjoyable to see all the Sacred Heart undergraduates that I have been talking to since they were freshman or sophomores finally reach the point where they are being interviewed to enter the program.  You are also extraordinary.  You set a goal for yourself to enter the Occupational Therapy program and worked hard to get there.  Here you are at the threshold and that is extraordinary. 

Let’s hope for an early spring as this extraordinarily cold and snowy New England weather is starting to get to me.  I will work on some new pictures for my next blog.

Better Late than Never (I think?)

Some time has passed and I figured that it is time for another post to my blog.  I actually had this in my documents and forgot to post it. So, anyways, here it is-even if it is a little older news.

 So the Fall semester ended in mid December.  All our second year Occupational Therapy students successfully completed their first Level 2 fieldwork assignments and our first year OT students successfully survived their first semester of graduate school and PBL (problem based learning).  Good for them.  My Spirituality in Health Care class completed another successful semester with enthusiastic, interested students. 

 

The University closed for almost two weeks for the Christmas break.  I must admit I really enjoyed this break.  It was a nice chance to relax and enjoy the company of friends and family.  We attended some Christmas parties and visited some friends and family. We spent a snowy weekend in Newport, Rhode Island.  I had never seen Newport in the snow and it was actually peaceful and beautiful.  Since we walked to everything, we did not need to worry about moving our car and driving so we were not bothered much by the weather.

 

An online version of Spirituality in Health Care was offered over the Winter Intercession.  It is a condensed, fast paced version of our course but I think we cover the basic content and students successfully complete it. 

Oh-- and I put my daughter who is a SHU Nursing student, on a plane on January 2 to Ireland to Study Abroad at Sacred Heart University’s Dingle campus for a Winter Intercession course.  I have been getting daily reports and viewing some pictures and it sounds like she is having a wonderful time and fun experience there.  There is a group of SHU students there who are taking a class and participating in field trips, hikes, sight seeing, and many other activities.  The pictures seem to indicate they are also exploring the pubs and local hangouts of Dingle.  What a wonderful opportunity for students!

 

Our Occupational Therapy students returned to class on January 5, 2009…oh yes, it is now 2009 (happy new year!) and all I can think is … here we go again as another semester starts.

“Live and work but do not forget to play, to have fun in life and really enjoy it.”~Eileen Caddy

I took a few days out of the office last week for our annual fall getaway.  This year we decided to go to Niagara Falls and stay on the Canadian side.  The foliage was beautiful and the falls were breathtaking. The sound of the water almost surrounds you with its powerful thunder yet it is not unpleasant at all.  A rainbow was constantly visible over Horseshoe Falls. The air was misty…and so on and so on – indescribable-- yet, surely, nature at its finest.

In talking with some friends about the experience, it seems to become clearer all the time that while we think we (mankind) are the masters and centers of the universe, we are really insignificant when you consider the magnitude of nature and God.  And so it was with Niagara Falls: the volume is somewhere around 700,000 gallons of water per second going over the falls.  It is powerful and beautiful yet almost surreal in its furiosity

The streets and sites on the Canadian side were empty as it was off season.  We had never been to Niagara Falls so we did all the touristy stuff like Maid of the Mist. We found ourselves surrounded by people from all over the world. We seemed to walk and walk and walk more (well, I got my steps in those days for the SHU walking contest).   We also took a road trip to Niagara on the Lake and explored some of the wineries.  We took a tour and learned the proper way to taste and drink wine (chugging is not acceptable).  We learned all about ice wine which I think may be unique to this area.  As I have always believed, learning is a never ending process!!

I was wearing one of my Sacred Heart fleece jackets as it was a little cool that far north.  As we went into a restaurant, a waitress asked me where Sacred Heart University was located as she had not heard of it.  We had a pleasant discussion about Sacred Heart and I suggested she check out the website as there are many Canadian students at Sacred Heart.  I seem to recall that many of SHU’s hockey team members are Canadian. Anyway, I hope she finds a college that is a good fit for her.

Well, enough of my musings for now……. Back to work and the real world and Occupational Therapy and everyday life.

Each day comes bearing its gifts. Untie the ribbons. ~ Ann Ruth Schabaker

This past week, I had a nice surprise.  One of our former  (now graduated and practicing) Occupational Therapy students came to see me.  She has been working as a traveling occupational therapist and is in the process of applying for licenses to practice in Ireland and England.  She had a stack of forms that needed to be completed verifying the academic program as well as all her fieldwork experiences.  We went through the forms and filled out all the required information for the Ireland license.  It was fun to catch up and find out what has been going on in her life.  Knowing the students is really one of the satisfying parts of the job at Sacred Heart.  Because our program is small, we really do know get to know our students and hear from most of them long after they graduate!  Anyway, I believe this is the first time we have had a student apply for licensing outside of the United States…guess we are going global.  I made her promise (or at least strongly suggested) to take our Level 2 students for their fieldwork affiliations (clinicals) in whatever country she ends up practicing in so more of our students can have that international fieldwork experience. 

Not to change the subject, but a month-long walking contest began October 1 for SHU employees.  We are supposed to wear pedometers and record our steps each day. At the end of the month, we hand in the sheets containing our record of the number of steps taken for October.   While I have no aspirations of first place, I figured it cannot hurt and can only be a healthy thing to do right?  So, at noon today I went to the lobby of Cambridge where I joined others and eight of us walked around the neighborhoods near Cambridge campus.  We walked for about 30 minutes and I must admit that it was a pretty good workout.  What a great idea to get up and move and a lot of fun to chat with everyone while we did it!!!

Do your work, then step back. The only path to serenity~from: Tao Te Ching

Four weeks into the fall semester and things have calmed down quite a bit.  The Spirituality class is going well - great students who come prepared and seem interested every week.  Mary Ellen Johnson and I are looking forward to having these students in Sacred Heart's Occupational Therapy Program in the next year or two.

I am getting to know our new Occupational Therapy class.  The students seem to be a great group, classes are going well, and it is nice to have such enthusiasm around us. They are getting ready to begin their pediatric fieldwork in the next few days so hopefully everyone will have a meaningful and valuable clinical experience. I am proud of myself because I pretty much know everyone's name now (of course, some of these students I have been talking with since they were undergraduate freshman so I had a head start).  I have attached a picture of our new class to this blog. .  (and did you notice -- FOUR male students -- so maybe the female predominance in the OT field is starting to fade...?)

Our second year students are all out on their Level 2 fieldwork in a variety of settings and everyone seems to be doing well which is always good news.

Many undergraduate students are inquiring and seeking some advisement as they begin the application process for a September 2009 start of the program.  I just love speaking with them because they are excited and motivated and just cannot wait to get into the program with so much enthusiasm for Occupational Therapy as a profession.  Life is good.

The Calm Before the Storm....

I just read a paragraph on a NASA web site that stated "The calm before the storm isn't a new concept by any means. It was recognized long ago that before a severe storm, the air is still and the birds stop singing and go to shelter. "Calm continueth not long without a storm." This quote from an unknown source was written in 1576." (http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/scienceques2003/20030926.htm) 

So here we are - in that calm period before the storm, that is before classes begin on Tuesday.  The construction projects are complete, setting up rooms and organizational projects are done.  My Spirituality course is posted and available to students on Blackboard.  Students have responded well to getting all their paperwork and required forms for fieldwork in to me and it is just now the occasional question or last minute form. 

Over the weekend, students move into the dorms. The dining halls, bookstore, lounges, etc. will have come alive again.  On Tuesday, we will have shuttles (SHUttles) again running, students in the halls, life, noise and excitement around us as we settle in for another academic year.  Can't wait.