Week 2.0

Thought I'd do a quick mid-week post on my mid-week break! And by "break" I mean day off from classes to do research and get caught up. The pace of the program is pretty fast, and I'm told it only gets more so as the terms go by. I think part of why it feels so hectic at the moment is that I have yet to find my groove... how to pace things, when are good times to do library research vs. reading texts at home, when's a good time in my schedule for writing or organizing, etc. Plus, with the PBL it's very difficult to get the hang of it. We really are given a LOT of free rein and very little structure or guidance. For instance, my group got a problem scenario dealing with a senior who has osteoarthritis and needs to do prehab in preparation for a full-hip arthoplasty. Then they just kind of say "Go!", and all of us are looking at each other like "go where?!" lol. In response to the uncertainty I, and it seems like many other students, try to research EVERYthing. When you're not sure what you need to know, it's hard to know when to stop. You also end up researching a lot of things that are interesting, but irrelevant to what an OT will do. And finally, you end up missing some important stuff because it didn't blip on your radar as "need to know."

The good news is that (I'm told) it's all part of the learning process. Every student feels lost on the first attempt at PBL. Every student spins their wheels and learns inefficiently. But you learn from the mistakes and get better. Next time (I'm told) I'll be more efficient, I won't waste time on needless information and I will remember to look at the relevant theory (a huge oversight in my first attempt). Then I'll make other mistakes and miss other important details, lol.

In the end it's left me feeling pretty disoriented, but I'm hopeful. I AM new at this. If I was expert then I wouldn't need the schoolin'!

All things in time, I keep reminding myself.

All things in time.

SweetPea