Reflecting and Researching

REFLECTING AND RESEARCHING

Throughout the process of creating this blog, I have learned a good deal of information not only about Occupational Therapy but also about myself as a researcher. Our assignment this week - since it is our last assignment- is to reflect back on this process of blogging and list the top 3 things we learned about our chosen career and also ourselves as researchers, and the top 3 questions we still have about our occupation. I have learned so much about occupational therapy through this experience that it was hard for me to choose only 3 of them, but the 3 I chose are as follows...

TOP 3 THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY: 

1) The specialties within occupational therapy:

• After learning about many different specialties in occupational therapy, such as pediatric, geriatric, rehabilitation, mental health, hand, etc..., I was able to get an idea of what each different specialty had to offer and to decide which ones I would be most interested in. Pediatric, geriatric, and rehabilitation all interest me and are topics I plan to look into more as I continue through my education.

2) A broad knowledge of both physical and mental disorders is required in any branch of occupational therapy: 

• I learned that no matter what branch of occupational therapy a person may decide to pursue a career in, a broad knowledge and understanding of both physical and mental disorders is essential. An OT could deal with patients with autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, panic disorder, cerebral palsy, stroke victims, patients with developmental delays, and many other conditions.

3) A loving, caring, and patient attitude is an essential characteristic for any occupational therapist:

• Because of the many conditions listed above are not all conditions that can be eliminated through treatment, only improved, occupational therapists must have loving and caring heart for their patients, as well as patience. In pediatrics this might mean being patient with a rowdy child, in geriatrics it could mean understanding that their patient will be slow and needs his/her time, and in mental health it could mean dealing with a patient who has his/her good and bad days with their disorder. And in every branch of OT, it is imperative to show that each patient is cared for not only as a client but as a person as well.

TOP 3 THINGS I LEARNED ABOUT MYSELF AS A RESEARCHER:

1) I am capable of determining when to use certain sources:

•  Before this assignment, I would have thought that any source is a good as the next. But, through our multiple assignments requiring us to use different research methods to find specific types of sources such as peer-reviewed journal articles, newspaper articles, and blogs, I learned that some sources are more suited for your purpose than others. For example, I wrote a research paper about how those in the horse community talk about two different events that they compete in and I used blogs as my main sources. These blogs would not have been as appropriate if I was writing a factual paper about the differences between the two events.

2) I am a curious researcher:

• Because our blogging assignment required so much researching, we obviously spend a lot of time on many different sources. Throughout the progression of my researching, I started to find that I would begin researching one topic and find a good source, but by the end of the night I would be writing my blog on something completely different with a new source. This is because as I would read the first source, I would find something that would make me wonder about, which I would then research, find a new source, and start the process all over again.

3) I can enjoy researching:

• Through this process I have learned that researching isn't always boring and something that I don't like doing. What I learned from our blogging experience is that if you can find something that you are interested in or that you may be involved in in your future, researching can actually be quite interesting. Before this class, every research project I was assigned was given a specific topic provided by the teachers- who were more than likely the only ones in the class who had any interest in the topic whatsoever- which gave me a negative view on all researching. But, since we got to tailor our blogs around our interests, it made researching my topic an interesting and informative process for me which I didn't think was possible.

3 QUESTIONS STILL REMAINING:

1) How exactly does Occupational Therapy work in the US Army?

• I wrote a previous blog post about OT in the US Army and stated that I would be receiving more information from my uncle in Germany. Unfortunately, my uncle in his family have been in the process of moving houses and he has been unable to contact me. I am interested to see what he has got for me though!

2) How long do patients with mental disorders attend occupational therapy?

• Throughout my blog, I realized that I never spoke about how long patients usually continue therapy. I know that the time duration of therapy will mostly depend on the individual patient, but what about those with incurable mental disorders? Do they continue to attend occupational therapy for their whole life? Or, maybe they go until they or their family can learn to cope with the disorder at home? This is another answer I'm interested in finding the answer to.
  

3) How do Occupational Therapists treat patients with Schizophrenia? 

• I do not know much about schizophrenia besides what I occasionally see in horror movies, so it would be very interesting to learn how this disorder is formed, what it causes, and how occupational therapists treat patients diagnosed as schizophrenic.