December 20, 2006...First Semester

I am finished with my first semester of OT school! Finals are over and now I am ready for a much deserved break. The semester flew by and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Looking over the past semester, I did learn a great deal. It was a lot about the basics of the body and of occupational therapy. We need a strong basis for what is upcoming in our schooling. I see myself thinking about how the body is moving and what is occurring within the movements. It is amazing to notice what I have learned throughout the semester. Finals were very difficult. I can honestly say that I have never studied so hard before. I didn’t want to study just to do well on the test, but I wanted to study the information so I would remember it in the future. It was very different from studying for other finals previously. We had six finals but they were spread out so we only had one a day. I am very glad that they are over. I was prepared for the finals but they were still difficult.

Next semester I am taking Control of Human Movement II, Pathology, Media for Occupational Performance, Patient Education, Intro to Orthopedic Management, and Evaluation and Intervention I. I am excited about what next semester will behold and that I am that much closer to being a therapist. I am eager to start learning about particular interventions and care. Each semester dives deeper and deeper and I am ready to learn how to specifically care for patients with all different injuries or disabilities.

October 1, 2006...WOW!!

Hi again, this is Paige ready to tell you all about life as an OT student. First, I want to tell you about orientation and the first few weeks of school. New student orientation takes place the Thursday and Friday before school starts. Thursday is devoted to orientation into the College of Allied Health and Friday concentrates on orientation to the Department of Rehabilitation Sciences. The day before orientation, I felt really nervous. I was not sure that I was ready to meet the people that I would be spending every day with for the next three years. I was having the same emotions that I did the night before the first day of junior high all over again, with thoughts of “what if no one likes me or who will be my friend” running through my head. As I sat through orientation and got to meet my new “friends,” I realized that everyone else was feeling the same way that I was…nervous! At the end of the two days, I had a much better understanding of my classes, the OUHSC campus, and resources to ensure my success as a student.

The second year OT students did a great job of helping us figure out the “ins” and “outs” of being an OT student. I had a bunch of little concerns about what it would be like to be the new kid on campus. These concerns ranged from where I was going to eat lunch, who I would sit with, and where my classes were located. During the orientation, each first year OT student was assigned a second year OT student to help out with the transition into the program. My second year student, called a “buddy,” did an amazing job of answering all of my questions and telling me all of the important things that I would need to know to help me get through the first few weeks of school. The great thing about having a second year “buddy” is that you can always e-mail them questions about your current classes, because they have already taken them and know what to expect. In all, my first few weeks of school went on without a hitch! I am loving the new experience and cannot wait to tell you more about it soon!

August 1, 2006...First Semester

Hi, my name is Paige and this is my blog about my life as a first year student in the occupational therapy program at the OU Health Sciences Center. From time to time, my classmate Katie and I plan to share with you our experiences as we prepare to become occupational therapists and hopefully encourage you to consider the great profession of occupational therapy too. First, I want to tell you about the reason that I chose to become an occupational therapist! I spent the last three years on the OU campus in Norman, Oklahoma. I did not know that I wanted to be an occupational therapist until my sophomore year in college. I was torn between occupational therapy and physical therapy. An opportunity arose to work in a rehabilitation hospital and observe occupational therapist and physical therapist every day for two months. I figured that the only way for me to make up my mind about what profession I wanted to pursue was to spend a large amount of time watching both therapists at work.

Within three weeks of the summer, I knew that I wanted to be an occupational therapist. I observed the occupational therapists in the facility doing things that I knew I would love to do in my future career. One day, I helped an occupational therapist play cards with her patients. I know you are thinking, what does playing cards have to do with any type of therapy, right? Well after the session, the therapist sat down with me and explained her reasoning for the activity. Not only were the patients having fun playing cards, they were working on balance, fine motor skills, and cognitive processes. The therapist had included many areas of therapy, that are not always fun, into an activity that all of the patients found entertaining. After this day, I knew that occupational therapy was for me!

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