Reading Artifacts

READING ARTIFACTS: OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

For this week's special blog, we had to identify an artifact that represents our chosen career and explain how this artifact may teach others about our profession. When looking for an artifact that represented occupational therapy as a whole, I found it to be very complicated. No one artifact stood out to me, which made me realize that just looking at occupational therapy as a whole was too general for this topic. So, I decided to look into pediatric occupational therapy. To begin, I simply Googled pediatric occupational therapy just to see what kinds of things would pop up. Immediately I noticed everything was full of bright colors and little hand prints. But, the objects that stood out to me most were the colorful building blocks used in occupational therapy. I created a CR&R for this artifact as follows..

CRITICAL READING

Preview: They are little colorful blocks
First Impression: They are little blocks with numbers or letters on them for kids to play with and stack. They are a typical toy for little kids.
Close Reading:

• Key ideas: The blocks are colorful to attract a child's attention. They have numbers or letters  on them to predispose children to the alphabet and number line for future learning. They are large enough to not cause a health/choking hazard but also small enough to be easily played with by children.
• Connections: In pediatric occupational therapy, OT's use many toys such as these blocks to test/treat children. When I think "pediatrics" I think children...when I think children I think of toys like colorful building blocks..

• Questions: How are these blocks used to teach children? Why are they used? How do building blocks represent pediatric occupational therapy?

Summary:  Building blocks are little colorful blocks that children like to play with and can also be used in occupational therapy to test or treat them.

CRITICAL RESPONSE

Key Question: How do building blocks represent pediatric occupational therapy?
Detail Analysis: How are building blocks used? What can they be used to test? In what way do they demonstrate a child's growth through occupational therapy?
Interpretation: Building blocks can be used to test a child's coordination in stacking them, or it can check their spelling. Building blocks can be used as a metaphor to a child's development: Through OT, therapists are making sure children have all the right "building blocks" to develop into a normally functioning adult.
Synthesis: Building blocks, like other "toys" (as children see them) or devices used to treat a child can represent pediatric occupational therapy. They are a way to help a child get past any injury/defect/disability that may be slowing them down. 
Final Synthesis: Building blocks represent a child's growth through occupational therapy. At first, they are just random blocks, but over time children learn to stack them or spell words with them. In the beginning of therapy, a child's development is like the random blocks, but overtime as the child's problems are resolved and the therapist/parent learns to treat them, all the pieces start to come together and the child can develop fully. 

Through this final synthesis, people can use building blocks as a way to think about a child's development through a pediatric occupational therapy program.

WORKS CITED

"Building Blocks." kidSPOT. Online Image. 26 February 2013.

Occupational Therapy: US ARMY

OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY IN THE US ARMY

For this week's open blog post, I decided to look into how someone could become an occupational therapist in the U.S Army. It is something that is always in the back of my mind when I think of where I am going with this career. I went directly to GoArmy.com and found very helpful information. 

DUTIES 

Occupational therapists in the U.S Army have opportunities to work in U.S Army medical centers along with community hospitals and clinics or field medical units. There are many duties listed that an OT must be ready to do. The duties are as follows: conducting battlefield unit needs assessments in order to determine the mental health status of the unit, apply treatment to soldiers suffering from combat and operational stress, treat upper extremity neuromuscular injuries and disorders to return solders to the optimal level for duty, help to advance performance by providing energy conserving and work simplification procedures, supervise occupational therapy technicians while treating, and serve as a commander of companies, battalions, brigades, and medical treatment facilities.  

REQUIREMENTS 

Requirements for Active Duty Members

 In order to become an occupational therapist in the U.S Army, you must have a bachelor's degree in an accredited occupational therapy program, along with completed field work. You must also be certified by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, be between the ages of 21 and 42-although wavers may be requested for age- and be a U.S citizen. Students who are graduation from an accredited school within 6 months may apply for U.S active army service. 

Requirements for Army Reserve Members

Members of the Army Reserve must have permanent U.S residency and a license in occupational therapy along with the requirements above.

To me, the army is a bit of an intimidating thing. I respect those who enlist in the military greatly, but I'm not sure if it is something that I can do. After researching, I see that there is a lot more requirements then I had originally thought to become an OT in the U.S Army, however it would be a very rewarding career and I can't think of a group of people who deserve the best care more than our soldiers. This topic is still somewhat unclear for me, so I decided to ask my Uncle who is a psychiatrist on a U.S Army base in Germany. I plan to post my further information when he gets back to me!

WORKS CITED 

"Occupational Therapist (65A)." U.S Army. N.p. N.d. Web. 21 February 2013.   

Observing Community

OBSERVING COMMUNITY 

At Michigan State University, there is an organization called the Pre-Physical Therapy Association or PPTA. Their goal is to prepare pre-physical therapy students for their future career as well as grad school. They also involve pre-occupational therapy students as well. I chose to interview Aliisa Paquette, a  physical therapy student who has attended events for this group. I asked her the following questions...

What do you think is PPTA' s main goal?

"They really try to prepare the group members for grad school and for their jobs in the future."

How do they try to accomplish this goal? 

"They bring in a lot of guest speakers, both occupational therapists and physical therapists. It helps to get the perspective of someone who has experience in your career choice. And, just recently there was an offer that if you were an active member of the group you could have the chance to take a free GRE test."

What kind of events does the PPTA host?

"They have meetings monthly with pizza and pop, it kind of serves as their socials too. They also do fundraisers like Relay For Life and fundraisers at different restaurants. Besides that, they have guest speakers come and give presentations."

Can you give a specific example of an event that you attended? 

 "Ive been to a fundraiser at Mongolian Grill, a percentage of the proceeds went to PPTA. It was a really fun time and for a good cause."

The PPTA group seems like a very informative group. It's main purpose is to help students prepare for further schooling and future careers. While helping students, they also reach out and help other organizations with a good cause such as Relay For Life. This to me says that they really value helping others. They take time out of their day to make the lives of others easier and make a difference. 

WORKS CITED 

Paquette, Aliisa. Personal Interview. 20 February 2013.

 

Occupational Therapy: Physical Rehabilitation Specialization

PHYSICAL REHABILITATION OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY 

This is my 4th week of exploring specializations of occupational therapy for our open blog assignments. The final specialization I will research is physical rehabilitation. Occupational therapists in this field work with patients who suffer from physical disabilities due to illness, injury, or disability. They provide their patients with treatments and/or instructions to help them relearn to do daily tasks, or be able to return to their workplace. Someone who wishes to work in this field should take classes such as kinesiology courses, and courses on physical disabilities and rehabilitation. Each specialized field within occupational therapy may require special equipment and devices, and requires a therapist with an open mind that can come up with new gadgets and new ways to use the devices to help their patient. Though each area requires different areas of learning and somewhat different mindsets, each area is trying to reach the same goal: To help their patient live the healthiest and most independent life possible.

WORKS CITED

"Overview of Occupational Therapy Specializations." Education Portal. n.p., n.d, Web. 11 February 2013. 

Exploring the Writing Process

PHYSICAL/OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY WRITING PROCESS

When I learned that for this week's blog assignment we had to interview a professional in our field, one name popped immediately into my mind. Kim Spranger. Not only is she my physical therapist, she is my best friend's mom, and someone who I look up to tremendously. She cares so much about each one of her patients and genuinely wants to help them in anyway that she can. She did so much for me through my high school athletic career, and I would love to learn more from her now. Kim works closely with occupational therapists and is very well educated in their field along with her own. So, although she is not an occupational therapist, I chose her as the professional that I would interview.

 When I asked Kim what kind of writing occupational therapists use, she explained to me several different procedures. The first she explained to me was specifically for occupational therapists working in an educational setting with special education students or those with an "OT issue" such as having a hard time with handwriting or even tying shoes. Occupational therapists in this setting have to write whats called an IET or Individualized Education Plan, which is what they plan to do to help the child. The second type of writing that she explained to me is more of what she does daily as a physical therapist. Initially when the patient comes in, Kim said she spends about 30 minutes after the patient leaves writing her evaluation toward treatment care plan. She does this by writing a SOAP note. SOAP stands for: Subjective (note the patients words as they tell you how they feel), Objective (an overall physical examination) , Assessment (assess the patients condition based on the S and O information), and Planning (Plan the treatment). Then, after every ten treatments, Kim writes a note to the physician, explaining how the patient is doing, what treatments are being used, and how much longer she believes is needed. She explained that this is a short, very goal-oriented writing used to inform the physician of the patient's progress. She also explained that in the future, she believes this type of writing will be replaced with new electronic medical records. However, she believes that the writing she does is the art of trying to communicate effectively, and is an important part of her job. The third and final form of writing she informed me of was for patients for diseases such as lymphedema. For these types of patients, Kim writes detailed instructions on what types of therapy they need to be doing for themselves, so that twenty years down the road, they can pull this paper out and know what they need to do.

This style of writing differs from the types of writing we've looked at so far because this type of writing doesn't involve several drafts. Kim does not need to write a shitty first draft about her patient's condition, then ponder on whether she should add a more attention grabbing opening scene, rising tension, or climax at the end. She does not need to take her time and write drafts 1-5, she simply needs to write the facts so that the physician can best meet the patient's needs.

WORKS CITED 

Spranger, Kim. Personal interview. 13 February 2013. 

 

Occupational Therapy: Mental Health Specialization

MENTAL HEALTH OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

This is my 3rd week of exploring specializations within occupational therapy, and this week's subject is mental health occupational therapy.  OT's in this field work with patients with mental disorders, mental stress, substance abusers, and patients with many other related problems. They can help with specific task such as getting on the right bus, correctly using/spending their money, and dealing with mental stress. For patients dealing with depression or substance abuse, OT's can help find them jobs that are at a tolerable stress level, and can help the patient deal with their illness. Like every other specialization in occupational therapy, you need at least a master's degree. To become specialized in mental health, it does not seem as rigorous as the procedures needed to become specialized in pediatric or geriatric occupational therapy. Additional training might be required, but I did not find that you need additional schooling after years of work or additional licensing to work in the mental health field. It is very important to have patience and compassion while working in this field, because patients may be very slow to show any forward progress. But, once progress is shown and the goal of helping a patient live a healthy and independent life is met, it is a very rewarding experience for both the patient and the therapist.  

WORKS CITED 

Lanette, Jen. "What Do Occupational Therapists Do in Mental Health?" eHow. Web. 10 February 2013.

Considering Delivery and Style

CONSIDERING DELIVERY AND STYLE

This week, we were asked to find a blog, a trade journal or newspaper article, and a scholarly article written by a professional in our chosen field. We were then asked to compare the differences in their styles of writing and delivery in order to compare their audience and purpose. I found an online blog about occupational therapy and compared it to a article I found from The Washington Post and an article published in the American Journal of Occupational Therapy (AJOT). The biggest difference I noticed right away is the how formal each of the writings were.

BLOG

The blog entries were written in the most informal way. There was so specific structure I found that they stuck to. The informality, to me, suggests that they are writing for an audience such as the general public or anyone who is interested in learning the basic facts about occupational therapy. They don't necessarily use terms that only professional occupational therapists would understand and don't go into incredible depth and detail in their blogs. Their purpose is more to introduce people to world of occupational therapy and give them general knowledge about the different topics they write about.

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

The article from The Washington Post was written more formally then the blog entries. The writer was writing to an audience like the general public, but mostly those in or around Washington D.C. The purpose of this article was not to teach people about occupational therapy, but rather share a very inspirational story with others about a triple-amputee who formed a life long bond with his occupational therapist. The use of dialogue in this article also shows another difference in the style of writing, and is appropriate due to the fact that they are telling a story, not just writing something informational.

 JOURNAL

The AJOT article was the most formal of all three writings. They used very formal language and structure, and more in detail descriptions. The researchers used words that only other professionals or researchers with an already developed knowledge in occupational therapy would understand, such as "socioderagraphic variables, anthropometric measures, and Peabody Developmental Motor Skills, Second Edition." The audience they are writing for is a more professional and educated group than the blog, and it is not for someone who is just beginning to learn about occupational therapy. Their purpose is to publish their studies for other professionals and researchers in the field to read and review.

Compare their styles here - Blog , Newspaper Article ,  AJOT article

WORKS CITED 

Bellows, Laura; Davies, Patricia; Anderson, Jennifer and Kennedy Catherine. "Effectiveness of a Physical Activity Intervention for Head Start Preschoolers: A Randomized Intervention Study." American Journal of Occupational Therapists. 67.1. (2013): 28-36. Web. 2 February 2013. 

"Sensory Food Aversion or Picky Eater." Occupational Therapy. Wordpress. Web. 2 February 2013.

Ruane, Michael. "Triple amputee and occupational therapist for bond of bothers during soldier's recovery." The Washington Post 4 December. Web. 7 February 2013.  

Occupational Therapy: Pediatric Specialization

PEDIATRIC OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY

For this week's open blog post, I will continue to explore the specializations inside the field of occupational therapy. Last week I researched geriatric occupational therapy, and this week I will explore pediatric occupational therapy. Pediatric occupational therapists work with young kids who have problems in movement, coordination, and cognitive functions. These kids could have muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injuries, orthopedic injuries, and a variety of many other problems. Pediatric occupational therapists work in many settings such as hospitals, schools and educational facilities, and healthcare facilities. Since their patients are young kids and infants, pediatric occupational therapists often turn their therapy into a type of game since the kids are too young to understand otherwise. Playing games also helps the children stay interested in their therapy. Just like in geriatric occupational therapy, it is important the the child's family is involved in helping them and is dedicated to making a change in the child's life. To become a pediatric occupational therapist, you must have at least a master's degree in occupational therapy, and most programs require three or more years working experience. Also, you must attain a license from National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) before you can become a pediatric occupational therapist. 

Today I learned that a specialization in occupational therapy takes a unique set of skills that have to be polished through years of work. But, all those years of work will pay off in the end. A child has his/her whole life ahead of them and shouldn't be slowed down by a defect or disability. I think this field of work is a very special job.

WORKS CITED 

 "Pediatric Occupational Therapist." Pediatric Occupational Therapist. N.p, 2009-20013. Web. 2 February 2013.

Questions about Occupational Therapy

 QUESTIONS ABOUT OT

For our assignment this week, we were asked to come up with ten questions we had about our chosen career, then to find a textbook that could answer as many as possible. After searching in MSU's library, I found a very useful textbook that I was able to use to answer all of my questions. The only minor problem is that the textbook I used was published in 1983. But, I found that though some information was outdated (for example the second way in which you can become a COTA, question #5) the majority pf information provided was very helpful. So, the ten questions I thought of were as follows... I hope you learn something new!

1. What is the official definition of occupational therapy?
• The very first definition was written in 1914, but there have been many definitions of occupational therapy throughout its history. The first formal definition declared in 1922 was "any activity, mental or physical, definitely prescribed and guided for the distinct purpose of contributing to, and hastening recovery from, disease or injury." This definition was revised in 1923, 1924, 1972, and 1981. It became a very long definition that can be summarized as "the study of human occupations (self maintenance, productivity and leisure) and the management of the adaptive behavior required to perform these occupational functions"
2. When did occupational therapy begin?
• The National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy was founded on March 15th, 1917 by a group of seven people.
  
3. Who founded occupational therapy? 
• George Barton, Susan Cox Johnson, Isabel Gladwin Newton Barton (George Barton's secretary and wife), Eleanor Clarke Slagle, Susan Edith Tracy, Thomas Bessell Kidner, William Rush Dunton, Jr., M.D., 
4. How can you become a OTR (occupational therapist, registered)? 
• There are two ways to become an OTR: Graduation from an AMA/AOTA accredited OT program, or professional education outside of the US and completion of the requirements to sit for the Certification Examination for Occupational Therapist, Registered. 
5. How can you become a COTA (certified occupational therapists assistant)?
• There are two ways to become a COTA: Graduation from an accredited program for occupational therapy assistants, or have been granted the status of a COTA by the American Occupational Therapy Association prior to 1976 
6. Is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) the same to an OT as a PTA is to a physical therapist?
• COTAs assist OTs in the evaluation process and must be supervised by the OT during the rest of the program.
7. What is the general process of evaluating a patient?
• Referral or Initial Evaluation (does the patient have potential in occupational performance?), Analysis (will the patient benefit from OT?), Formative Evaluation (what is the patient's entering level?), Plan (what is the patient's problem and what techniques can you use to help?), Program (When can the patient be scheduled, what supplies are needed), Summative Evaluation (How has the patient improved, should the program be stopped, continued, or revised?), and Discharge ( should the patient be discharged?)
8. What are the main goals of an occupational therapist?   
• The main goals can be summarized as: To evaluate human behavior and function in terms of occupational performance and the required adaptive behavior; to support optimum health based on the individual's needs; to develop, improve, or reestablish normal occupational functions throughout the lifespan; and to prevent or minimize dysfunctional occupational performance and adaptive behavior.
9. What kind of facilities do occupational therapists work in?
• Hospitals and institutions, clinics, schools and educational facilities, community centers, nursing homes and residential centers, community agencies, national societies, correctional facilities, workshops, private practice, and industrial settings.  Each of these main groups can then be split into smaller subgroups.
10. Which facility do the highest percentage of occupational therapists work?
• Most occupational therapists work in general hospitals.

 WORKS CITED

Reed, Kathlyn L. Concepts of Occupational Therapy. 3rd ed. Baltimore. Williams & Wilkins, 1983. Print.