Thursday, October 27, 2011
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Reflection #5
October 22, 2011
On Thursday we had a new lecturer for OT9511. She was super friendly and very interactive with the class. She was so confident and welcoming that I actually overcame my fear of speaking in class and shared my own thoughts about various topics of her lecture.
The one thing about the lecture that struck me as interesting was the idea of "cultural brokers" and their role in the success of OT intervention. In Chapter 6 of Enabling Occupation II, it stated that the unintentional exclusion of the traditional healer in Sierra Leone almost halted an OT's efforts to integrate young girls into the community. By not communicating and consulting with the traditional healer--a powerful cultural broker of their culture, he could have turned the locals against the girls that the OT was working with.
Until this point, the main focus of the OT program was about individuality and the importance of looking at problems according the prospect of the clients and their families. This seems to be the reoccurring theme of client-centered care in OT. So according to this previous understanding, as an OT, I would not have thought twice about looking beyond the perspective of the clients and their families. I think this is because the idea of cultural broker is not prominent in the developed, Western society in which we reside.
However, up on reading this chapter, I understand and appreciate that others, besides the clients and their immediate families, may play an important role in the success of OT interventions. I guess the real challenge is to identify who these "other" important players may be. As an OT, how would I know who to consult with and to incorporate in my treatment planning? I guess the most important thing to do in working with individuals from different cultures is to communicate with the clients and ask the elders in the community to establish a general understanding of their culture, values, and beliefs. Then, to the best of my ability, I will perform some background research on the culture to gain further background information. Maybe by doing these things, I will be able to pin-point who may be important figures in my clients' cultural environment.
So far, we have been taught the importance of keeping up with the evolving evidence-based methods in order to enact best practice. Likewise, as an OT, I think it's just as important to continually educate myself, through communication and research, about the different cultures and religions to gain better understanding about my clients and their backgrounds. In this way, I will be able to perform culture-specific assessments, and plan the appropriate client-centered interventions and treatments. I have always been fascinated by various cultures and their associated values and beliefs, so I don't think this will be a difficult goal to enact. Like my dad says, it's never too late to learn and you can constantly become a better person with more knowledge (in this case, a more knowledgeable OT).
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Reflective Journal #4
October 14, 2011
Today we had a guest speaker for OT9531. At the beginning, it was kind of hard to pay attention to her lecture, because our class had a quiz right after, but I really ended up enjoying it. She mainly talked about Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Multiple Sclerosis (MS). What moved me the most was the Public Service Announcement video by the ALS Society of Canada. At the beginning, it showed a middle-aged man running and being active with his family, then showed his health rapidly deteriorating over the span of a few years. Within two years, he could no longer run up the stairs, dance with his wife, sing with his family, or take care of himself. I literally had tears in my eyes watching this short video as did many of my classmates.
Watching this video brought up a possible challenge in my future as an occupational therapist (OT). How am I supposed to provide efficient service and knowledge to my clients with serious illnesses, such as ALS and MS, if I could not even control my emotions watching a video on these topics? Would I be able to "get used to" or would I somehow learn to desensitize myself when dealing with some of my clients? I mean, I'm a pretty sensitive person in general...
Up on pondering about this issue, I think the first idea I must get used to is the fact that OTs do not just work in rehabilitation. Actually, until I went on my observation placement, I thought OTs exclusively worked in rehabilitation settings. Veterans Care Program at Parkwood was a long-term care facility, not rehabilitation. The OT there told me that these clients don't get better and go home. They're there to stay and, inevitably, their conditions worsen over time. I didn't know how I felt about working at a non-rehabilitation setting at the time, but I think I just need more time to get used to the idea. Health care is not just about making people feel better and heal people, but I'm beginning to realize the real importance of occupational therapy. I think it is about optimizing independence and well-being of the clients in accordance to their changing abilities. Just because a client is diagnosed with a certain illness--terminal or not, it doesn't mean that they no longer have lives to live and memories to develop. I think OTs and health care professionals in general strive to help them to achieve as normal and fulfilling lives as possible even during this difficult time.
I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing that I am a sensitive and emotional person. I think it all depends how I use this to build my character as a future OT. In order to become a more successful OT, I will use my emotions to build empathy and compassion, rather than sympathizing my clients and their families. In this way, I will be able to help them feel more comforted during this difficult stage of their lives and, thus, provide a more positive therapeutic environment.
Reflective Journal #3
October 4th, 2011
It's been about three weeks since we went on our observation "placements" to various settings. I went to Veterans Care Program at Parkwood Hospital during this time. Since then, I kept thinking about pressure sores that many of the clients were susceptible to having. I think the idea of pressure sores is interesting to me, because before my visit to Parkwood, I had no idea pressure sores were even a problem to wellness and health. My occupational therapist told me that it could lead to infections, skin grafts, amputations, and in serious cases, death. I was very surprised that what seems to be nothing more than a blister could lead to such serious implications. I was even more shocked to find out that it could cost as much as $9,000 a month to treat one of these sores. So much of the tax payer's money were being spent on such a preventable ailment!
Before my visit to Parkwood, I actually didn't even have previous knowledge about the term "pressure sores". When I saw one on a client's hand, I thought it was nothing more than a blister and didn't understand why the occupational therapist took so much time to look after such a little sore. Another client had some redness on his backside for lying down for too long, but to me, it didn't seem nothing out of the norm.
It wasn't until I really thought about why redness and blisters could be a problem for these clients that I realized its importance. Sure it's easy for me to roll over to the other side when one side of my body gets numb, but a lot of these clients cannot perform voluntary movement. It seems like such a simple thing we take for granted, and this experience was definitely a much needed reality check for me. I shouldn't assume that just because something such as a blister is a minuscule annoyance to an individual such as myself, it doesn't mean it will be the same to other individuals such as those in long-term care.
If I was to pick one thing I learned most about pressure sores is not about the wound itself, but it would be the importance of looking at the problem or injury from the perspective of the person. I feel by understanding this importance, it will help me to become a more efficient occupational therapist by truly enabling client-centred practice. In order to optimize my future practice as an occupational therapist, I will work hard to overcome my own assumptions about the severity of an injury (eg. blisters, redness, etc). To do so, I will take the time to assess and deduce my client's abilities to determine the implications and severity of the injury to the individual.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Reflective Journal #2
Week Two
It's been about two full weeks since the start of all our classes. Unlike undergrad, it seems more interactive and the relationship between the professors and us students seem more flexible. It's been nice. The professors have been very nice, and very down to earth. It's been interesting listening to all the different perspectives of my classmates during lecture. We all come from such different backgrounds, and it's evident during discussion. Biology majors such as myself seem to have a full grasp of classes like Anatomy and "neuroscience", but are boggled by classes like Foundations of Research. I'm sooooooo confused in that class. Emic? Etic? I didn't even know those were words. And the program? So far so good! (except for the endless emails and assignments, yikes!)
I decided to enroll in an Inter-Professional Education (IPE) course called Communications I. It's not mandatory for my degree, but we need a certain number of IPE credits to graduate. I don't know exactly how it works, but that's what I've been told. It's been pretty interesting. You read a bunch of articles online and discuss it on a forum. It's not just for students in Occupational Therapy, but from all backgrounds (Nutrition, etc).
There was a statement from one of my classmates that caught my interest. Her belief was that growing as OTs mean helping clients in a way that doesn't conflict with our own values. This thought never crossed my mind before this post. Let's take my views on smoking as an example. I am highly against it. I basically begged and cried to try to get my boyfriend to quit smoking (and he has been trying, yay!) for as long as I can remember, because 1) I do not "believe" in smoking, and 2) it really has no benefits (health, money, etc). When I asked him why he felt the need to smoke, he said it was a part of him and it helped him to relax. He was really upset by the thought of not smoking, and we had many arguments which stemmed from this. Despite his emotional connection to smoking, I stuck with my anti-smoking campaign. I know that was just an example, but if a client placed value and had meaning associated with smoking, what would I do as an OT? Before pondering about this question, I would have answered, "No way, I would never do something that demote my own personal beliefs." But up on some thought, I think I would be able to put aside my some of my own beliefs for the well-being of my clients.
One of my professors in class noted that she held cigarettes for her client, because her client could no longer hold the cigarettes herself. She realized how much smoking meant to her client, and helped her to smoke despite her own beliefs against smoking. Although I, too, have strong beliefs against smoking, my most important value as an OT would be to enable people to perform meaningful activities and occupations. Just because I do not associate cigarettes with a meaning, it doesn't mean my clients have to agree. Smoking is bad for the health, yes, but if I were to somehow prevent my clients from smoking, and smoking had some sort of a meaning to them, it could be detrimental to their affective health. Although it may be difficult for me to set aside my personal beliefs and values, as a future OT, I will try my best to place the highest value and priority to the interests of the clients. After all, health is more than just the absence of disease, and is highly influenced by choice and control in every day occupations. As OTs and health care professionals, we should all strive to optimize the health (physical, emotional, etc) of our clients.
It's been about two full weeks since the start of all our classes. Unlike undergrad, it seems more interactive and the relationship between the professors and us students seem more flexible. It's been nice. The professors have been very nice, and very down to earth. It's been interesting listening to all the different perspectives of my classmates during lecture. We all come from such different backgrounds, and it's evident during discussion. Biology majors such as myself seem to have a full grasp of classes like Anatomy and "neuroscience", but are boggled by classes like Foundations of Research. I'm sooooooo confused in that class. Emic? Etic? I didn't even know those were words. And the program? So far so good! (except for the endless emails and assignments, yikes!)
I decided to enroll in an Inter-Professional Education (IPE) course called Communications I. It's not mandatory for my degree, but we need a certain number of IPE credits to graduate. I don't know exactly how it works, but that's what I've been told. It's been pretty interesting. You read a bunch of articles online and discuss it on a forum. It's not just for students in Occupational Therapy, but from all backgrounds (Nutrition, etc).
There was a statement from one of my classmates that caught my interest. Her belief was that growing as OTs mean helping clients in a way that doesn't conflict with our own values. This thought never crossed my mind before this post. Let's take my views on smoking as an example. I am highly against it. I basically begged and cried to try to get my boyfriend to quit smoking (and he has been trying, yay!) for as long as I can remember, because 1) I do not "believe" in smoking, and 2) it really has no benefits (health, money, etc). When I asked him why he felt the need to smoke, he said it was a part of him and it helped him to relax. He was really upset by the thought of not smoking, and we had many arguments which stemmed from this. Despite his emotional connection to smoking, I stuck with my anti-smoking campaign. I know that was just an example, but if a client placed value and had meaning associated with smoking, what would I do as an OT? Before pondering about this question, I would have answered, "No way, I would never do something that demote my own personal beliefs." But up on some thought, I think I would be able to put aside my some of my own beliefs for the well-being of my clients.
One of my professors in class noted that she held cigarettes for her client, because her client could no longer hold the cigarettes herself. She realized how much smoking meant to her client, and helped her to smoke despite her own beliefs against smoking. Although I, too, have strong beliefs against smoking, my most important value as an OT would be to enable people to perform meaningful activities and occupations. Just because I do not associate cigarettes with a meaning, it doesn't mean my clients have to agree. Smoking is bad for the health, yes, but if I were to somehow prevent my clients from smoking, and smoking had some sort of a meaning to them, it could be detrimental to their affective health. Although it may be difficult for me to set aside my personal beliefs and values, as a future OT, I will try my best to place the highest value and priority to the interests of the clients. After all, health is more than just the absence of disease, and is highly influenced by choice and control in every day occupations. As OTs and health care professionals, we should all strive to optimize the health (physical, emotional, etc) of our clients.
Reflective Journal #1
Week one, here we go... (a week behind so let's pretend today is September 25th)
On September 12th and the 14th, I went to the Veterans Care Program at Parkwood Hospital for my observation placement. I had no idea what to expect. I guess I'm still trying to figure out what it means to be an Occupational Therapist (OT), and what kind of responsibilities that title holds.
Before my visit to Parkwood Hospital, I had some expectations as to what I would be seeing. I expected the schedule of the OT to be like a doctor's. I imagined that the OT had a million things to complete on a "check list", and expected to run about various parts of the hospital, moving from client to client, with little time to interact with the client at a personal level. I guess I was so focused on the professional relationship between the OT and the client, that I forgot how important it was for the OT to view the client as a unique individual, not a patient. I mean, none of the health care professionals I had interacted with in the past really went past a casual, "how are you doing today?" I just assumed professionalism meant talking only about relevant information to make me feel better (eg. where it hurts, how it hurts, why it hurts, etc). I guess before this experience I only really saw clients as people who needed help.
It wasn't until I saw the way my supervising OT communicating with her clients that I realized how important communication was in this type of a relationship. How could an OT enact "client-centred" practice without knowing the client at a deeper level? You really can't.
The interaction between the OT and the clients was the one thing that resonated with me the most from the experience. Their relationship seemed so normal. They talked about family, problems with the pool at the OT's home, and even shared jokes. The clients seemed so happy and comfortable when they were talking with the OT. They seemed so excited when they talked about their interests and their families back home. This made me realize that they have goals and interests separate from their impairments. OT's weren't just there to provide services, but were there to guide clients in achieving their personal interests and goals. The clients were no different from myself. I have interests. I have goals. This experience helped me to realize the importance of empathy. In my future practice as in OT, I will work hard to build successful therapeutic relationships with my clients by taking the time to communicate, get to know, and relate to the individuals outside of the professional context.
On September 12th and the 14th, I went to the Veterans Care Program at Parkwood Hospital for my observation placement. I had no idea what to expect. I guess I'm still trying to figure out what it means to be an Occupational Therapist (OT), and what kind of responsibilities that title holds.
Before my visit to Parkwood Hospital, I had some expectations as to what I would be seeing. I expected the schedule of the OT to be like a doctor's. I imagined that the OT had a million things to complete on a "check list", and expected to run about various parts of the hospital, moving from client to client, with little time to interact with the client at a personal level. I guess I was so focused on the professional relationship between the OT and the client, that I forgot how important it was for the OT to view the client as a unique individual, not a patient. I mean, none of the health care professionals I had interacted with in the past really went past a casual, "how are you doing today?" I just assumed professionalism meant talking only about relevant information to make me feel better (eg. where it hurts, how it hurts, why it hurts, etc). I guess before this experience I only really saw clients as people who needed help.
It wasn't until I saw the way my supervising OT communicating with her clients that I realized how important communication was in this type of a relationship. How could an OT enact "client-centred" practice without knowing the client at a deeper level? You really can't.
The interaction between the OT and the clients was the one thing that resonated with me the most from the experience. Their relationship seemed so normal. They talked about family, problems with the pool at the OT's home, and even shared jokes. The clients seemed so happy and comfortable when they were talking with the OT. They seemed so excited when they talked about their interests and their families back home. This made me realize that they have goals and interests separate from their impairments. OT's weren't just there to provide services, but were there to guide clients in achieving their personal interests and goals. The clients were no different from myself. I have interests. I have goals. This experience helped me to realize the importance of empathy. In my future practice as in OT, I will work hard to build successful therapeutic relationships with my clients by taking the time to communicate, get to know, and relate to the individuals outside of the professional context.
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Sunday, April 3, 2011
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