OT Sweet Pea ~ My Journey

Mental Health in the Workplace

2010-12-12T19:12:00.007-05:00

I may or may not have mentioned before that Occupational Therapy is a second career for me. I'm not sure if it has ever come up in this blog? At any rate, my previous career was working in Human Resources for a large corporation that shall remain nameless. I wasn't an executive... just a worker bee like many other corporate working bees in this world. I liked my job. There were many parts of it that I was good at, and I found great satisfaction in mastery of my work. I also had the fortune of working with a number of really great people over the years. I was paid well, I had good benefits, a pension plan, full-time status, stock options... and for 6 years I hated myself for every minute I was there.

The industry this corporation is in was going through a HUGE transition when I worked there. Stress levels were high. Toward the end the only constants were that we were being expected to do more and more with fewer and fewer resources, and big change in the way of executive turn-over and corporate restructuring was a monthly occurrence. I had to move to an unfamiliar city, I had a new commute of one hour each way if I didn't hit traffic, I was working crazy amounts of overtime, and I was profoundly lonely. The irony of it is that part of the reason I found it so hard to leave is because I could see how much better off I was than many of the other worker bees... those in sales and marketing, in management, in customer service... they had it far worse than I did.

In the end I did leave. I was lucky... not having a spouse or children; having a family who was supportive of my decision to change my life's course... I was able to make a change in support of my long-term health and well-being that many of my co-workers did not have the luxury to choose. So, even on the hardest days in school or when I'm lamenting the fact that I live on debt, I am grateful every second for the opportunity I've been given to do something else with my life.

My experience, and having witnessed the experiences of so many others in that corporate environment, has made me very aware of the toll workplace stress can take. Physical ailments, relationship strain, coworker bullying, weight gain, drug use, gambling, the compulsive need to attain material items to demonstrate the value of one's life, mounting debt... these are all common symptoms I have seen exhibited by employees who were struggling with the stress of a toxic work environment. And for some (I would argue many) the cost to their mental health was the greatest of all.

So, when I saw this little video by the CMHA it affected me deeply.

I hope you will take 2 minutes to have a look, and maybe even spread the word.

Thanks, :)SweetPea

Cystic Fibrosis

2010-12-05T15:58:00.003-05:00

A friend of mine from high-school has a daughter with cystic fibrosis (CF) and I've been on the lookout for information to help me better understand this condition. In particular I've found two wonderful video resources! The first is geared to children and explains CF from a kid's point of view. The second is a documentary done by the CBC show The Passionate Eye.

Even if you don't know someone personally affected by CF, I strongly urge you to watch these two videos. They are simply quality viewing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuI72eMrIQI

http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/passionateeyeshowcase/2009/65redroses/

SweetPea

Questions Galore!

2010-12-05T14:47:00.005-05:00

I've received a few email messages lately (maybe a lot) regarding the application process and I wanted to post my reply because I've noticed some common questions coming up each year. I hope that you find this helpful! I also have a caveat... I don't represent the school, I've never been on an admissions committee, so I don't know what the magic combination is that will get you an offer of admission. The following represents my opinion, based on my experience and that of others I've spoken to. Each applicant is different. Each school is different. And each year the selection committee, their priorities, and the pool of candidates may be different. I'm no expert, and I also don't believe that there is a single answer to the question of who/what makes a good candidate. I suspect that students are considered on a highly individual basis (mostly - see below).

1. GRADES

I get a lot of questions about grades and what constitutes a competitive GPA. Sadly, I don't know how to answer that question. Both the OT and PT programs are highly competitive, as are most graduate programs. This is also the one area where students are not considered as individuals, since research has shown (I'm told... I don't have a reference) that past academic performance is the greatest predictor of future academic success, including your ability to successfully complete the MSc OT program.

Common responses I get to that statement are "But I've had a lot of life experience since then and my grades don't reflect what I'm capable of!" and "My grades are just above the cut-off, should I even bother to apply?" I'm going to address each of these separately.

If you feel your grades don't reflect your ability... good! It probably means that you've been out of school a while, you've got some life experience under your belt, and your choice to pursue a career in OT is probably both considered and informed. The bad news is that your grades, if below the cut-off, will put you out of the running for consideration or, if just above the cut-off, will significantly impede your odds. The good news is that if this is a passion of yours you can always go back and take a few courses to pull up your GPA! After all, if you're capable of doing better then demonstrating this fact will make you look good on paper. Plus, it's an indication of commitment on your part. This was the exact position I was in when I decided to make a career change. Yes, it took me more time... but it's been incredibly rewarding and I've not resented a single second of the extra time. I was so motivated by the fact that I was working toward a goal that was really important to me and I ended up with a highly competitive GPA that got me both admissions offers and a scholarship. Not to mention the boost to my sense of self-efficacy!

If your grades are above the cut-off but not in the "competitive" range that's a tougher position to be in. Essentially you have two options... spend the money to apply, put together the best application you can, and hope for the best OR defer your application for a year, take a few more classes to bring up your GPA, and then apply the following year. The only reason I could see for not applying is if money is so tight that you can't afford it. If you can put together the money then apply! Some people in my class had less competitive GPAs but still got in. You may get wait-listed... then get in. You may get denied an interview at Mac based on grades, but then get a call 3 days before the interview weekend asking if you're still interested and available for an interview. And you might not get in anywhere... but that's also true of people with high GPAs. No matter what, it will be a valuable learning experience for putting together a better application the following year when you've had a chance to take some courses to improve your grades. Having said that, money is a legitimate concern for many people so taking the extra year before applying is not a bad strategy, especially if you have a plan on how to use that year to meet your goals.

2. PERSONAL STATEMENTS

More than anything... be yourself! This is the one area where you don't want to be a clone of all the other candidates and where the schools don't expect cookie-cutter answers. What you DO want to make sure you achieve in your statement is a coherent narrative about who you are and why OT is the inevitable choice for you. Think about your life and your interests... what have been the milestones on your journey to OT? What do you love about the profession? What personal characteristics do you have that will make you a good match? What achievements do you think show your suitability for this profession? What experiences have you had, personal or professional, that make this an informed choice and/or a passion for you?

Once you've answered those questions for yourself in point form then draft a story... where you are the protagonist and becoming an OT will be the climax. I've seen friends write these in a chronological way (first I did this, then I developed that, and now here I am!) and I've also seen them written in a thematic way (these are the characteristics I have that match the profession, here are my educational experiences that are germane to OT, and here's my roster of related professional achievements). Plus, I'm sure that there are many other ways to write these statements. The key, as I said above, is for it to be a coherent narrative rather than just a collection of facts about you. It's your statement about who you are, how you developed and what you value. It's kind of like your brand.

Finally, get a friend... preferably one who is also applying or who has applied before to a medical, OT, or PT program... to read your draft and give you feedback. Lots of feedback. On more than one draft. I did this and my friend definitely picked up on some awkward phrasing that I missed, and I hope I did the same for her.

3. INTERVIEWS

I can't really say any more than what I've already posted while I was going through the process myself. I highly recommend going back in my archive and looking at all those posts. I got really good feedback from my classmates, and from peers who have joined the class following mine, about how well the steps and pointers I outline prepare a person for the MMI. So, check those out!

4. WEIGHTING OF APPLICATION COMPONENTS

With regard to how your grades, experience, statement, references, interview, resume etc. etc. are weighted... I have no idea. I believe that McMaster uses grades only as a cut off for offering interviews and that the interview scores are given even weighting with grades in the final decision to offer admission or not. But I'm not privy to the actual decision making of the admissions committee, so I can't be sure. And I don't know about the other schools. However, given that each of the programs in Ontario considers different components in their decision making, I think that it's reasonable to assume that they give weight to the things they ask for. For example, UWO asks for references and McMaster does not. So, if you have strong references you may have a better chance at UWO. If you don't have great references, you might have better luck at Mac. But I'm just guessing.

I wish all future applicants the very best of luck! And on that note I'm also going to say that I'm a tapped out resource as far as these applications go. Everything I know about how to get into OT school has been said somewhere in this blog already. I don't have any specialized knowledge that will help me to assess an individual's odds for getting in. I don't know much about the other OT programs, since I chose McMaster. And as each year passes I get further from the experience myself, making my recall of the process more clouded and my advice less timely.

So... I still welcome your email! But if you have questions related to the application process then I'm just going to refer you back to the blog. And now a favour request! If you find any information in my blog helpful and you get an offer of admission, please let me know! I love hearing the success stories... they always make my day :)

SweetPea

Thunder Bay! Northern Studies Stream :D

2010-06-12T13:13:00.009-04:00

I'm a terrible blogger, I know. What can I say... I've been busy! I also confess to struggling with the fact that people who know me read this blog... so I'm always censoring myself to not talk about people when I haven't gotten their permission and also I'm reluctant to share my more personal thoughts and reflections. I'm trying to get over it.
But then, there's still the time issue.
Failing a proper post, I thought the least I could do is post some photos from my time up here thus far! I'll be in Thunder Bay for one more week, then I'm moving to Geraldton Ontario for my clinical placement. It will be my first 2-to-1 placement (two students, one preceptor), which I'm a little nervous about but I'm also told is a great learning experience. We'll see how it goes!
We had our practical exam for the term last week. Not really sure how it went. We are given a client scenario (like a referral) 24 hours before the exam to research about the condition and develop an assessment and intervention strategy (which always includes theoretical approach). Then the first hour of the exam is an interview with our client, played by an actor as a "standardized patient." Just like in a real client interview, you have to budget your time to do all the assessments you want to. Then we have two hours to write it up... including theoretical approach, what we did in our one hour with the client, reporting our findings, analyzing them to identify the occupational issues, then writing treatment goals, objectives and a plan... plus a session plan for one particular session. And finally we tell them what our outcome measures would be, when we would assess them and how we would determine when discharge would occur. Phew! So, I don't think it went horribly. The interview was good. But time was short for the write-up and I ended up having to rush the last half. In talking to my classmates it seems that this was a common problem, with some people handing in late (and taking grade penalties) or not finishing. Nothing to do now but wait and see. I did my best and that's all you can do. :)
I will say, however, that there is some concern that the students in the northern studies stream we placed at a disadvantage. We've heard from some students at the McMaster site that the specific details of the exam grading criteria were discussed with them during their small group learning sessions. We didn't get that here in the north. But again, nothing to do but wait and see.
Now I'm writing the final paper for the term, which is worth 50% of my grade in one course. No pressure... right!
And on that note, I really have to get back to the writing!
Good luck to all my classmates...
And congrats to all those who will be joining us next year as the Class of 2012!!
Cheers,
SweetPea

UPDATE: There was no advantage to being at McMaster vs Lakehead. We all had the same challenges with this exam and they tell us that an analysis comparing the North and South showed there was no significant difference between the groups on grades. Yay!

A nice view from a trail

Terry Fox Monument

That's my gnome-away-from-home, Cedric

The Sleeping Giant

Placement and Thunder Bay and Interview Questions, Oh My!

2010-04-17T21:41:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to put up a quick post before I fly to Thunder Bay tomorrow! I've received a number of questions from candidates for the Class of 2012 who will be attending interviews next weekend. I've been able to reply to a few people who contacted me early, but this last week has been hectic with getting ready to go up North. I hope to be able to reply to each of you in the next few days. In the meantime though, since many of the questions are the same, I'll make a few comments here.
First, the MMIs are not so bad... so take a deep breath and be yourself. Next, the MMI scenarios I posted were not the questions I was asked. I found those examples on a discussion board for students applying to med-schools that use MMIs. However, they do give you a feel for the MMI style of interview. My third point is about preparation...invest some serious time in self-reflection about why you want to be an OT, why you'll be a good OT and what makes you so sure about that, and why you think Mac is the best place for you to learn. I posted a couple of entries last year about my own preparation process and the kinds of info/self-reflection I did and all I can say is that I felt prepared going in to the interview and ultimately I got in! So, I think it's a sound strategy :)
All the best to the 2012 candidates!!
:)SweetPea

Sent wirelessly from my BlackBerry device on the Bell network.
Envoyé sans fil par mon terminal mobile BlackBerry sur le réseau de Bell.

Term Two Round Up - And on to placement...

2010-03-13T12:23:00.006-05:00

Wow! Time flies. I can't believe that term two is done already. It was a big change from term one, in the sense that the workload was more distributed and constant. It was a challenge! But at the same time, you kind of get used to the pace when it is that consistent... and seriously, time flies!! I can't believe it's done.

In the end things worked out really well (that I know about so far). My evidence based appraisal assignment on motivational interviewing did not go so well, I must confess. I feel that the expectations were unclear; the instructors feel that we're graduate students and that we learn better from making mistakes and figuring it out on our own. *sigh* I apparently didn't figure it out. But my scholarly paper on the affect of transitioning from independent living to a supported living environment was very successful (thank goodness!). And the work assessment I did, which included a physical demands analysis of the job and an executive summary with proposed assessment and treatment plan also went well. We had a group seminar presentation to do this term and my group presented on social role theory... and both the presentation and associated reflection paper were well received. A modified essay question exam, that really tested our on the spot clinical reasoning, is still outstanding... as is a take home exam type assignment that we did that was called a problem write-up, where we selected one of three client scenarios and then wrote an in depth analysis following the McMaster Lens.

And that reminds me... I need to complete an online survey giving feedback on the courses and faculty. We won't get our outstanding assignment grades until 80% of the class has completed the survey.

So, now we're all out into our term two placements!

I am working with a preceptor at an in-patient schizophrenia services program and I am loving it! Psychosocial rehab is definitely up my alley. The team that we work with includes psychiatrists, nurses, a CCAC case worker, social workers, a recreation therapist and a vocational rehabilitation therapist. There may be others too... I'm just in my first week, and it can be a bit overwhelming to take in, so I'm sure there are details that I've missed. But all the different professionals seem to work together very collaboratively, which is great. With my OT so far this week we conducted a few initial assessments, an in home assessment, run some activity groups (that included art and playing cards), and went on a community integration outing were we took some clients out to a cafe for coffee. We also went to the weekly grand rounds in psychiatry, where the speaker (Dr. M. Woodbury-Smith) discussed his research on people with a diagnosis of Asperger's syndrome who are in conflict with the law. It was very interesting... though we had to duck out early because we had an appointment with a client.

Anyway... I know that this post has a lot of broad brush-strokes and not a lot of detail, but I wanted to post an update no matter what! It's been too long.

On another note, it should be less than a month until new applicants find out about interview invitations! Very exciting :) I won't be a part of the interviews this year because I'll be in Thunder Bay, but I'll be thinking about you guys on that day... and I'll be thinking about my classmates who have volunteered to help out! It's exciting for everyone. I look forward to hearing about how it goes.

Well, must get going before my free Internet time at Starbucks runs out!

Cheers,

SweetPea

T2 W3.5

2010-01-25T12:50:00.002-05:00

We're into week 4 already! Time flies. However all the stuff I'm posting about was done in week 3 and received/presented today, so I'm designating the post as a 3.5 lol.
My second try at a scholarly paper proposal has been accepted!! Woot! The topic had to focus on an aspect of the environment that influences occupation and occupational therapy practice, and deciding on a topic was SO hard. Coming up with an idea is the first challenge, but then you also need to go to the literature and see what kind of evidence there is to support your brain child! It took me fully researching three different ideas in order to find one that fit the assignment's criteria and that was a topic I would be interested in writing about. Rejected ideas included: looking at suicide risk factors (environmental) and the legal practice context of patient rights/therapist obligations; rehabilitation with women in conflict with the law and the corrections practice context as an occupationally impoverished environment. Both I think would be interesting to explore, but the suicide one was rejected (maybe I just didn't present it well) and the other seemed kind of big and challenging, so I decided to go another way. I'm happy to report that my approved topic is about the meaning of place and the affect of later life transitions from independent to supported living on psychoemotional wellbeing. I still have some refining to do, but at least it's a start! This paper is worth 40% of my course grade. :s Eek!
In other news, my group presented today on Social Role Theory and I think it went very well. Our group worked well together, and thankfully so because our process in getting the finished product together was not linear lol. That said, I think we did a bang up job of taking a very conceptual model and showing how it could be applied to practice. Go team! I'm also really grateful to our classmates who generated and participated in discussion. It's the worst when you get blank silent stares, so I'm glad we didn't have to face that! :)
And on that note, it's nap time for me. And yes... Napping IS an occupation! ;)
SweetPea

T2 W2

2010-01-16T19:12:00.002-05:00

Evidenced based appraisal of Motivational Interviewing - Done!
Term One Portfolio - Done!
Presentation and Handout for MI - Done!
ASIST course - cancelled :(
Scholarly Paper proposal - done, but not thrilled with it. **UPDATE: My topic was rejected! Phew... now I get to pick something else**
Seminar Group Presentation on Social Role Theory - research underway.
Learning Contract for Term 2 Placement - BANE OF MY EXISTENCE! (begrudgingly in progress).

So far this term is off to a roaring start! I'm loving my new PBT group and tutor... We seem to have good ju-ju together. Now... If I can just stay one step ahead of the school-work flood, everything should be okay *thumbs-up*
:)SweetPea

T2 Week 1

2010-01-07T14:06:00.002-05:00

Off to a quick start! This week I'm doing my evidence based appraisal assignment on motivational interviewing (due Monday), finishing my portfolio (due a week today), doing research on arthogryposis for my Friday problem based tutorial session, and writing a research paper proposal (due Tues) on, possibly, suicide (social-environmental risk factors and legal rights/responsibilities) with a side of euthanasia. Phew! Busy busy busy...
And for all those people finishing up your applications... Good Luck!!!
:)SweetPea

Term One Round-Up

2010-01-01T19:53:00.004-05:00

I've been spending some time over the holidays finishing up my Term One review for my portfolio. It's something that we have to hand in to our academic advisers to review at the beginning of each term and it is an overview of all the work we've done in the term that just passed. Because McMaster uses a self-directed and problem-based approach to learning, the knowledge and skills I've acquired in the first term may be very different from the things one of my classmates has. The portfolios help us to keep track of what we've learned so far and they help us to identify our learning gaps so that we know what we need to focus on in future terms. There's also a reflective piece about what you've learned... I haven't written mine yet, but I think it will be a "you've come a long way, baby" kind of thing. And it wraps up with a reflective piece about your future practice... what brought you to OT in the first place, where do you see yourself ending up in your practice after graduation, and how has that idea evolved because of your experiences in each term. While at times it feels like a chore to do this portfolio, I think it will be a really great resource and is good experience for reflective professional practice and development long term.

So, in term one the main emphasis was on "occupation." It's the defining feature of our profession, our domain of interest and expertise... and so we students need to get very familiar with all the nuances of what that term means to occupational therapists.

We only have two courses each term: Inquiry and Integration (that looks at theory and applying theory in practice) and Professional Roles and Experiential Practicum (that teaches more applied skills, such as interview techniques, and also includes our clinical placement). We also have an unofficial course that does not have any grade component, but that will probably be rolled out as a registered course next year. It's called Foundational Knowledge and includes basic stuff like introduction to anatomy and physiology, basics of development, psychology and sociology, and some rudimentary statistics. The reason for the course is that, because the students in the program come from all different backgrounds and there are no prerequisites, not everyone is starting with the same knowledge base. And that's great sometimes... you each get to be an expert and you can help fill in the blanks for one another. It's good for group learning. However, there is some basic knowledge that everyone needs to have... so this course is designed to give everyone an opportunity to get on the same page.

I won't go through and itemize all the specifics of what we learned this term... one, because I think it would be a boring read, lol... and two, because while it was all really important it was also kind of foundation OT stuff with a lot of acronyms that don't make sense unless I elaborate on each of them... which I don't feel like doing. But if you have questions, let me know!

One of my New Year's resolutions is to try and be a bit more consistent about posting to the blog about what we're doing in our course. The posts might be shorter, but I think it will be better!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday... and I wish much health and happiness for all!

Happy 2010!!

SweetPea

Rounds in Forensic Psychiatry

2009-12-19T17:06:00.002-05:00

Due to a series of fortunate events, I was able to attend the weekly rounds of the Forensic Psychiatry Unit twice during my placement. My problem-based tutorial leader happens to be on staff in that department and invited our group of students to attend. The sessions happened to be held at the hospital site where I was doing my placement. Plus my preceptor was very cool about encouraging me to take advantage of every education opportunity and she let me leave for lunch a few minutes early so that I could get to the session on time, even though the talks had nothing to do with her particular area of practice. I’m a lucky girl!

The first week I attended the guest speaker was Dr. Hy Bloom, who is both a doctor and a lawyer. His presentation was on the topic of workplace violence. Although it was an incredibly interesting topic that was very well presented, I must confess that I left the session feeling a bit disturbed. Workplace violence as a general topic was broken down into “types” based on the perpetrator’s relationship to the workplace. For instance, some have a direct relationship with the workplace as employees and commit acts of violence against coworkers who also have a direct relationship to the workplace. In other instances the perpetrator does not have a personal association with the workplace where violence is perpetrated, and the location has some kind of representative meaning to the person. And there are other types as well… which I’m sure you could look at by looking up some of the publications by Dr. Bloom! My purpose in mentioning a few examples is that each of the different types of workplace violence was illustrated in the presentation with a real life example, and it was the examples that were disturbing. So, I’d say the presentation was great for increasing my awareness of the issue and the resources that are available for further researching the topic, but because of its brevity I left the session with an uneasy feeling and many unanswered questions. Such is the nature of the lunch-time-rounds beast! We only have an hour so it seems as though we just get started when we then have to wrap it up, lol.

The second session I attended was about the assessment and management of suicidal patients and the talk was given by Dr. Larry Chad. He discussed some of the demographic risk factors for suicide and also suggested some strategies he has found successful for addressing patients where there is an overt or suspected risk of suicide. I found this talk to be much more concrete than the workplace violence topic since it focused on what to do in a given situation rather than discussing the topic more abstractly, from a big picture perspective. Don’t get me wrong… both were great! But, since I’ve signed up for a suicide prevention counseling course in the New Year I found the assessment/management topic to be more germane to my current interests.

And that was the last lunchtime rounds session of 2009! Now that my placement is over I’m not sure that I’ll get the chance to attend again… but here’s hoping! I highly recommend taking the time to attend these rounds sessions while you’re on placement if you have the opportunity. Sure, it takes up your lunch hour. But in my humble opinion it’s time well spent. And each department holds its own rounds… so maybe you’re more into pediatrics than forensics? Then check out the pediatrics department to see if they have any postings up about when they hold their rounds! There seems to be something for everyone if you just take a look to see what’s out there.

Term One Placement = DONE!

2009-12-12T17:32:00.005-05:00

I've just finished my first placement and it was great!

In our program, each term is divided into an academic portion followed by a clinical placement. The exception is in term five, when the clinical placement is substituted with an evidence based practice project... aka a research project akin to a mini-thesis. So, at the end of the program I'll have had a total of 5 placements in 6 terms. The earlier placements are shorter in length and our skill set is more limited so our level of participation is less than what it will be toward the end of the program when we'll be completing the longer (8-weeks for the final) placements.

So, Term One placement was 15 days over 4 weeks. We would go to "work" Monday through Thursday, and then Fridays we would rejoin our problem based learning groups at the school in order to talk about our experiences. I had my placement at a big hospital, working with the OT assigned to the Nephrology (Kidney) and Urology departments. My preceptor was great and I feel very fortunate to have had her! I have a sneaking suspicion that, more than your placement setting, a preceptor can make or break your experience.

Working primarily in Nephrology, we worked very closely with other members of the allied healthcare team, especially one of the PTs. Our clients were inpatients who are often quite ill. It was a great environment for learning about medical conditions because there are a fair number of reasons that the kidneys can malfunction (for lack of a better generic term). Many clients in that department have renal failure that is secondary to another illness; common culprits include diabetes and hypertension. So, I enjoyed reviewing medical charts to get an idea of medical history!

In terms of what occupational therapy does with clients in this setting, we are commonly referred for assessment, treatment and discharge planning around functional mobility and safe transferring. We would always conduct an initial interview and assessment that looks at a person's ability to carry out their activities of daily living, and that gets a sense of their home environment (physical and social), including any supports or equipment they use. Treatments are usually to do with getting a person mobilizing safely, so determining their needs, prescribing equipment when appropriate, and helping them learn to use it. So, for example, if a person had been ill in hospital for a while they may have lost some standing strength, endurance and/or balance. In this case we may determine that they would be helped by a rollator, so we would loan one from the OT department and get it adjusted to the person, and then train them with it's use. In this kind of case we would often have the PT accompany us as well, so that she can simultaneously do some physical training with the person (perhaps having them walk a bit or do some stairs). Assessments are generally physical and functional, but we also can do cognitive assessments if there is suspicion that there may be a deficit that makes certain activities unsafe. Examples of cognitive assessments include the Modified Mini-Mental Status and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Of course, if a more profound cognitive deficit is suspected and the person is 65 or older, then a referral would be made to geriatrics to do a more detailed assessment. Other assessments of function can also include Kitchen and Bathing, which can also give a lot of insight into a person's cognitive and affective status. Finally, as a part of discharge planning, home assessments are sometimes required in order to anticipate what needs a person may have upon discharge and to get the needed supports/equipment in place.

As with any accute medical floor, patients are often not in the ward for very long... either they get better and are discharged home or they get mostly better and are discharged to another level of care (such as to rehabilitation in order to improve physical condition before returning home). Because of the short duration of stay and the fact that our clients are often quite ill while they are on our ward, the OTs scope of practice is a bit narrower than what it might be in other settings. However, I will also say that it's a good thing it is! My preceptor is kept very busy because of the high number of referrals she receives.

My preceptor, as I've already mentioned, was really great. She was quick to introduce me to all of the team members on the unit and to include me in all aspects of her job. She gave me a lot of opportunities to interact with clients directly and to participate in assessments/treatments when appropriate. It was everything that I hoped for from a first training exposure to the profession!

So... do I want to work in this setting when I graduate? Maybe. There are certainly a number of benefits to being in a hospital in terms of support and resources. I also really enjoyed the direct collaboration with a whole team of allied health care professionals (such as PT, SW, Pharmacists etc...) and the fast pace makes the days fly by! Plus, because I have an interest in all things medical (having been raised by a nurse who is interested in all things medical) getting to read the charts and have that information be a part of the bigger picture when working with a client is pretty cool. However, the downside is definitely the limitations in terms of time with a client and what you're able to do with them in that time. Still, it's definitely an option I'm keeping open.

And just like that... my first term is almost done! Just one exam left to write and then it's home for the holidays for me!!

November Update

2009-11-26T18:32:00.004-05:00

Wow! So, it's been a month since my last post... which was not my intention at all. I must confess that since beginning the Masters program I find that my time management has not been up to par, mostly because it's just so different from how things were in undergrad I think. Also, I've been experimenting with not having internet at home! :o

So far it's been pretty good. I get all my email on my phone so I'm in the loop, and I spend a lot more time reading books or getting out of the house to see friends face-to-face rather than wasting time surfing the net and streaming video. But I admit... I miss it. I miss it a lot. And my blogging has suffered from the lack of convenience. I think I'm going to try and stick it out though, just to prove to myself that I can. I was spending a lot of time on the net, which is not great. Plus, I have a more pragmatic reason for the decision...

I'm going North to Thunder Bay for Term 3!!!!

That's right... I was selected in the lottery to spend the third term, academic and placement, in NorthWestern Ontario. Me and 11 of my classmates will be going to Lakehead University to partake in the Northern experience! I'm really psyched about it :) So... because we'll be up there for the better part of 4 months it just doesn't make sense to set up net at this point. I'd be paying for it while I'm not even home!

I hope we'll have internet at the residences in Thunder Bay, so my blogging should get a bit more regular at that point and I will definitely be setting it up at my apartment when I get back. Until then I'm afraid my posts might be a bit spotty. I also know that there are a lot of people who are going to be putting their application packages together over the holidays and I wanted to extend an invitation to anyone who is... feel free to email me if you have any questions about the application process, the profession, or the program. I'm sometimes a little slow to respond, but not too bad. And I'm happy to answer any questions you may have. OTSweetPea@gmail.com

Cheers,

SweetPea

The Lived Experience of Student OTs at UWO!

2009-10-24T19:11:00.006-04:00

Thanks to a very generous contributing student at the University of Western Ontario, I'm happy to be able to post a first hand report of what life is like in that program! Thanks so much UWO!

I hope you all enjoy hearing about the student OT experience at Western as much as I have!

:)SweetPea

UWO OT Reflection

I can’t believe it is already October! The first month of this program has absolutely flown by - it is definitely a fast-paced program. Orientation week was filled with social events to break the ice between the classmates and professors. During my undergrad I didn’t get to know many people due to the large size of my program, so it is a nice change to be making friendships so quickly, and feel at ease talking with profs.

Following orientation week, each student was matched with a local OT to observe them for two days. This was in order to give everyone a clear idea of what OT is all about, in case someone might decide it isn’t for them after all. I loved this experience! I was matched with an OT at an outpatient mental health community centre, and learned so much in the short time I was there. Even though I was a psych major in undergrad, I wasn’t sure what the role of occupational therapy is in mental health. Students were intentionally matched with OT’s who worked in areas that the students did not have experience in. The OT I shadowed was very experienced and had a lot of knowledge to share about this area of practice. I`m really glad that Western threw us out there right from the start – it was a good way to put the theory we’re learning in class into context.

From what I`ve heard, one of the biggest differences about the OT program at Western are the anatomy and neuroscience courses. We are required to take them first term, and anatomy involves working with cadavers in the lab each week. I was very apprehensive about this at first, but after the initial shock of seeing the bodies and smelling the formaldehyde, I have come to find the labs very interesting, and appreciate the learning opportunity given to us. However, some people are still having a hard time with it, and leave the lab visibly upset. So, Western may not be for everyone because of this, and it should be something you consider if you have a choice of schools. (I am not sure if any other programs require working with cadavers, some might).

Besides overcoming the whole examining dead bodies thing, anatomy is very stressful because of all the memorization involved. We have quizzes every week on what we learned in the previous lab. Fortunately the course ends in December! Neuroscience has also been very challenging, and most of us are struggling with it. It sounds like some changes are going to be made to the way we are assessed though, hopefully for the better.

As far as all other courses go, most are fast-paced also, and require a lot of reading and assignments. Lectures typically involve quite a bit of discussion about whatever topic we are discussing that day. We break into our mentor groups fairly often, which have 7-8 students, to work on projects or discuss an issue. These groups have an OT mentor also, but we haven’t met them yet. The OT lectures at Western really stress client-centred and evidence-based practice, along with interprofessionalism between the different health fields.

It seems as though there is always something going on, a committee to join, an event to go to, etc. I joined the Grassroots committee, which aims to promote occupational therapy in the community. At the end of the month there is a rehab formal which should be a lot of fun. Overall, I am very much enjoying the program and my classmates, even though it does get a bit stressful at times. I think the worst of it will be over once we are finished with anatomy and neuroscience. Our first placements happen in January, and I`m sooo excited for it!

This post was just a brief overview of what the OT program is like at Western, but there is so much to it that I could go on talking about. Hopefully this helped to get an idea of the differences between some of the other schools though!

Learning Contracts: Bane of my existence!

2009-10-24T19:09:00.005-04:00

I don't know if these "things" are used as much by other programs, but here at McMaster they are used extensively as part of the self-directed learning approach. They are intended to be a tool that helps a student to identify their learning gaps, set SMART goals, and create a plan for achieving those goals by identifying the resources, strategies and evidence of accomplishment that will be required. We use them for everything, and while they're a good idea in principle they are currently the bane of my existence!!

We have goals (aka Learning Objectives) for Foundational Knowledge, goals for our Problem-Based Tutorials, goals for improving our interviewing skills, and a 12-goal Learning Contract for our placements! Now, I have to say... I DO get it. I understand why we use the tool and I can even see how it's useful. I will even concede that they will get easier to do as time goes by. But right now I hate them. The process feels very contrived, it doesn't come naturally, and it takes a LOT of time.

So, what is this tool I speak of? The Learning Objective (or Contract... a series of objectives) has four parts:

1. Objective - The end result you're looking for (ie. Become an expert at using the CPPF in practice).

2. Identify Resources and Strategies - What tools do you have access to and what will you do with them (ie. Resource = Textbook Enabling Occupation II, Strategy = Read the chapter about the CPPF and make notes about how it could be applied in my placement setting). You'll list every possible Resource and Strategy you can think of, but at minimum will identify one text, one human, and one other resource.

3. Evidence of Accomplishment - Here's where the SMART goals come in. These are all "I" statements that are measurable and timelined and all the other things that SMART goals should be. As with the Resources and Strategies, there will be a number of different evidence statements (ie. At the end of week one, I will discuss with my preceptor the different stages of the CPPF as they applied to one client during the week and ask for feedback regarding the accuracy of my understanding).

4. Grading Scheme - How will your success be evaluated. Must include specific measurable outcomes for a grade of Excellent, Good, Incomplete, and Fail (I'm not doing an example for this... it takes too freakin' long! lol).

So, as you can see... setting proper learning objectives can be a really lengthy process, especially when it comes to detailing exactly how you would demonstrate evidence of accomplishment and evaluate your success in the grading scheme. Just talking about it now makes me feel like I'm dying a little on the inside.

The upside of all of this... and I'm glad to say that there is an upside... is that in time (I'm told) it gets easier. And the great part about that is this: Once we are practicing OTs we will be required to create professional development plans each year that include identifying our learning gaps, resources, strategies, and evidence of accomplishment... and we'll be required to submit our professional portfolios, which include these learning plans, to our regulating body (in Ontario it's COTO) every two years. So, if it's something I'm going to have to do for the rest of my professional life, and my license depends on it, I'd rather get some practice in now! That way it won't be quite so stressful when the time comes that my professional life depends on it.

So the moral of my story is this... hate them now all you like, but find it in your heart to learn to love Learning Contracts. Perhaps that should be my next Objective? ha ha ha ha... um NO. That's not going to happen.

One day I will love them.

For now, I strongly dislike them.

I hope everyone else's objectified learning is going well!! All the best, :)SweetPea

Week 4? 5? Who knows anymore!?

2009-10-08T20:30:00.005-04:00

It's been a very busy couple of weeks and it's about to get busier, so I thought I'd post a quick note before I get swamped. Things are going well, but it's a lot to take in. There's a lot of knowledge acquisition (from theories of occupation to anatomy that affects occupational performance) and even more development of process skills. You're very dependent on how well your group works together, and what I forgot is just what a different skill set is required for group functioning. It's been a long time! The sad truth is that in today's workplace (most of them, in my experience anyway... and especially the corporate ones) teamwork is a catchphrase that's more of a euphemism for "I'll pretend to work with you while competing to look better than you and then stab you in the back!" It bears little resemblance to actual teamwork... which is what is required of me now. Here competing and oneupmanship just make you look bad and subvert the learning process. Not that there aren't people who try... there are. But they learn quickly that it just doesn't fly. And that's mostly due to another group process thing that I'm adapting to: FEEDBACK! Incessant, positive, constructive, even if you don't have anything to say... feedback.

In addition to the feedback, I'd like to give a shout-out to Learning Objectives/Plans/Contracts. I have a love-hate relationship with you. Mostly hate... but I'm holding out hope that the love will come. lol I'll post on those another day.

My first scholarly paper is due next Tuesday on the term "Occupation" as its use in the profession of Occupational Therapy. That same day my group has a presentation to do on the Canadian and Ontario Health Care Systems. The following week I have a paper due that goes along with the group presentation, an evaluated interview, and a critical analysis assignment evaluating qualitative and quantitative research articles. None of it is particularly onerous, but it's a lot all at once... when we're trying to do it at the same time as our independent learning (which is most of our learning) and foundational knowledge sessions and our learning contracts and Exploring Perspectives on Disability assignment. Come to think of it, it's like being pecked by birds. Lots of little birds, when one alone wouldn't be bad but in a flock they're KILLER!

So, for this weekend I'm going home to eat my Mom's yummy cooking and watch some big screen TV... and to RELAX!!! And eat bird ha ha ha. Ohhh... the sleep deprivation is not kind to my sense of humor.

Anyway...

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!! No matter how busy your weekend is, I hope you get the opportunity to hug someone you love and reflect on all the things you are grateful for.

All the best, :)SweetPea

Week 2.0

2009-09-23T10:59:00.004-04:00

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

Term One - Week One

2009-09-21T14:04:00.003-04:00

First week down!

It’s funny because I imagine that the first weeks of our program will be the lightest… nothing is yet due, we’re still doing a lot of introductory stuff… but for me it felt HUGE. It’s a lot to take in at first, plus we had a number of extra sessions scheduled, like CPR and library orientations, and we’re doing all of that first of the year settling in type stuff, like getting OSAP and trying to get OGS applications together. It’s all very new and very busy! Coming from an undergrad program that had few in-class hours and a lot of independent research, plus a very limited social life (I really focused on academics in undergrad, practically to the exclusion of all else), this new schedule for school and life is a big adjustment.

The other thing that’s a big adjustment for me is the McMaster culture… both in regard to the problem-based learning (PBL) and just the OT department’s culture in general. Group learning is a new challenge in the sense that you’re learning on two fronts… the content of whatever topic you’re dealing with, plus adjusting to the group dynamic. It takes a lot of self-awareness to see not just what you need to get out of the class, but to also see how you are affecting the participation and/or development of others. And at first, while you’re just getting to know one another, it’s really hard. Other than that I can’t really say much about problem-based learning because I’m still so new to it myself! I will try to talk about it more as time goes on though… I know people who are not in the program are curious about how it all works.

The other culture kind of thing that I’m trying to wrap my head around has to do with grades, and I’m really conflicted about this one. We have basically been told that students who meet all the expectations of the program will get B-grades… that B’s are perfectly acceptable and that we should not be motivated by the need to get A’s any longer. Now, part of me is freakin’ out about this revelation. I’ve been so driven for the last three years in order to get the grades that would make me a competitive candidate for grad school and scholarships that I’m not sure I can turn that instinct off right away. Plus, there’s a part of me that thrives on the external validation that grades provide. But on the other hand, the more time I have to sit with the idea of focusing on my own process and not just the end goal, the more there is a piece of my self that unclenches and starts to breathe. I’m not a competitive person by nature and I’m only now starting to really appreciate the internal burden I was carrying around in order to throw myself into the rat-race and succeed. So I guess what I’m saying is that I’m actually glad that the culture in my program is more focused on the process rather than solely on the product. In both cases I will arrive at the same end… a MSc in Occupational Therapy… but with the Mac way I might also get to have a balanced life while I’m doing it! I simply need to convince the little voice in my head that is really unsure about this whole “grades don’t matter” thing that it will all be okay.

All things in time, I suppose. :)SweetPea

McMaster OT Orientation Week!

2009-09-12T23:38:00.005-04:00

Well, o-week just wrapped up and WOW what a whirlwind it's been! Days filled with welcome sessions, training sessions and paperwork... nights filled with great social events with some of the most awesome people in the world. It really is true that when you show up for o-week you feel as though you've just been introduced to 64 of your closest friends. I'd heard that was the case, but I honestly didn't expect to actually feel it. Now I know... and it's awesome! :D

The second year students who planned our o-week social events were great. They put us all at ease, answered our myriad questions, and organized some great evenings out. Stuff we did included a brewery tour (though "tour" is really a euphemism for all you can drink beers, lol), bowling followed by drinks, a scavenger hunt followed by drinks with the PT students, and a night out at a local pub with appetizers and drinks (drinking always being optional, of course). They also hosted a pizza lunch for us one day, where they gave us some inside tips about what to expect from the program and placements etc... I hope that everyone has a great team of second years to guide them like my class has had. They're wonderful.

Other daytime stuff was hit and miss. The low of the week was probably the grad student "lunch"... where we unexpectedly spent an hour drumming (I know... random, right?!) and listening to speeches with our stomachs growling before seeing any food. And the food, when it arrived, was disappointingly soggy :( That was a let down... but a very small one in the scheme of things. And in hindsight I think I could have really gotten into the drumming if not for the low blood sugar, lol. Highlights of the week were WHMIS, Fire & Safety, and Infection Control training... along with Mask Fit Training and Testing. The mask training/fitting was for the N95 masks that are used to help protect health care workers from airborne diseases, and with the worry about H1N1 swine flu this year they spent a LOT of time making sure we were clear on how to use them. Plus, there are different sizes and styles of masks... hence the fitting session to ensure you know which mask will protect you before you actually need the protection. The way it works is you try a mask on and they put a big haz.mat-style hood over your head. Then they spray either a bitter or sweet aerosol into the hood and ask you to breathe with your mouth open. If the mask works you taste nothing. If there's a gap because it doesn't fit, you get either a strong bitter or sweet taste in the back of your throat... neither of which is very nice. The pic I posted above is of me during my mask fitting so that you can see how silly it all looks. So, while it sounds quite serious (and it is), they find a way to make it fun. But, I think the biggest highlight of the week was the anatomy lab tour. If you've read my previous posts then you know I was very impressed with the anatomy lab at Queen's... well, I was equally impressed with the lab at Mac. Plus, it was a different kind of experience for me! In this lab most of the samples had not been plastinated and they definitely felt different. It was so cool to me that I could tell the difference between a vein, artery and nerve just by feeling the structure! I'm fascinated by this stuff.

Last night was our big pub night out and everyone who could attend (we have some students who commute in the class so it's not always feasible for them) really let their hair down. It was a great time! And it was funny to me how on Tuesday it seemed so overwhelming to be meeting so many new people, but by the time Friday rolled around we were all very comfortable with each other... even though we don't know each other all that well yet. It just doesn't seem overwhelming anymore. Instead, it feels like we're all one big family and, for better or worse, we're in this together! I'm really looking forward to getting started next week.

Well, I need to call it a night... but I wanted to just note two other things really quickly before I do. First of all, one of my classmates had a compound fracture of her ankle a few years back and she SET IT BACK IN PLACE HERSELF! I don't care if you were in shock Jen... that's still seriously hard core in my book (some would even say heroic! lol). The second thing is, I mentioned in a previous post that I'm a zombie-genre fan and that I was so excited to have the lead actress from Dawn of the Dead speak at my convocation ceremony... well, it turns out that one of my classmates was a zombie-extra in that film!!! Isn't life interesting? Everyone has such great stories to tell.

Enough out of me for one night. I'll post again soon about my student OT experiences and about applying for the Ontario Graduate Scholarships (OGS)!

Cheers,

SweetPea

Movin' On Up

2009-08-18T21:17:00.003-04:00

I’m happy to say that with the help of friends and family my move to Hamilton is complete!! However, it’s also worth noting that in one of the coldest summers on record I managed to select a moving date that had me hauling heavy boxes, suitcases and furniture around the province during a heatwave… with humidex temps in the 40’s. It was HOT. And it’s pretty typical of my luck, lol.

Despite the heat my move was relatively uneventful and went smoothly. And since I’ve arrived at the new place I’ve been hiding in the air conditioning with the curtains drawn to avoid the heat, and leisurely getting the apartment cleaned and my stuff unpacked. It’s worked out well actually. I had expected the move to be a nightmare and I can’t even tell you how grateful I am that it wasn’t.

The book lists were also posted online by the McMaster bookstore this week. They have 15 books listed that (before taxes) total just under $1100. The good news is that one of the second year students posted a note to our class’s facebook group that not all of the books are “required.” Unfortunately the student did not specify which ones we need… which means keeners like me can’t go and buy our books before o-week (when we’ll presumably be able to find out which texts we have to get).

One other thing I did notice… some of the texts on the book list I had seen for sale on the CAOT website for a LOT less money. Sure enough, I doubled back to check it out and some of the books were as much as $30 LESS than the Mac bookstore list price. That seems like a huge difference for one textbook to me. I’ll investigate further and let you know. One reason may be that CAOT members get a discount on all products sold on their online store. And what many students may not realize is that CAOT membership is FREE for students enrolled in OT programs. They say membership has its privileges!! This is definitely something that all OT students should look into.

Well, that’s enough out of me for now. I have to finish unpacking my house… and packing for vacation! I’m going white water rafting and then visiting family for a week. So excited!

SweetPea

Great Mini-Documentary: Matthew Sanford

2009-08-02T15:31:00.005-04:00

I definitely grabbed this video from someone else's blog >.> (Thanks Karen!)

But this story really inspired me and I wanted to spread the word.

Enjoy!

SweetPea

Call for Contributors!!!

2009-08-01T16:20:00.006-04:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, one of the things I'd like to do in this blog is to post about the experiences of other students. And rather than me telling the story second hand what I would really like to do is have other OT students submit entries of their own that I'll post on their behalf, or link to if the poster happens to have a blog of her/his own.

Here's what I'm looking for:

- regular contributions, or one-offs! No pressure, no commitment.

- post anonymously, with a pseudonym, or take credit for your contribution... totally up to you. However, I would like for each person to disclose what school they attend. The purpose is so that students considering OT after us have a chance to see what different programs are like so that they can find the best fit for their own needs.

- Possible topics: Anything related to being an OT student... whether it's classes, research, placements, being on a committee or part of the student association, volunteer work, juggling grad school and the rest of your life, financing grad school, etc... Just be sure you don't breach any confidentiality rules, especially when talking about placement experiences.

- posts are meant to be informative, so be honest about the good and tactful about discussing the bad. It's also not meant to be a competitive thing... as in, my school's better than your school. I want it to be a resource that future students can refer to when trying to make admissions decisions.

Plus, when it comes right down to it... I personally would really love to hear about some perspectives and experiences other than my own! I'm curious about what the similarities and differences will be! And after all, we may be in different programs now but we'll all be colleagues one day.

If you're interested or have any questions, please email me at OTSweetPea@gmail.com.

I'll be glad to hear from you any time!

:)SweetPea

On this Episode of The Waiting Game!...

2009-07-18T11:36:00.006-04:00

More waiting!! Woooooooo... lol.

I was so excited about this summer. It was going to be my very last one, as I'll be a working stiff soon enough. I was going to take a bunch of time off. I was going to relax. I was going to have a social life, and go out with friends, and sip drinks on a patio, and work out every day, and eat better, and sleep better. I was going to start to live a balanced life again and do all the things that I've been putting on the back burner in the name of achieving my goals and it was going to be glorious!! Now it's the middle of July and it doesn't feel like glory. It feels like waiting. It feels like I'm killing time... and I think that that is one of the most terrible things I've ever admitted.

I think part of it is that I've been so future focused for so long that I'm having a hard time just being in the here and now. Plus, I'm just so excited about moving and starting my new program, meeting my classmates and beginning this journey that it's hard to just enjoy myself. The next chapter of my life seems so much better than the one I'm in right now! I want to read ahead. Basically, it's a classic case of "the grass is always greener" someplace else. *sigh*

Why do I do this to myself?

So, I am waiting... but I am also trying to learn how to be in the now. I'm setting goals for other areas of my life and I'm learning about myself in the process. This may not be the way I thought my summer would go, but perhaps it's exactly what I need.

:)SweetPea

Awash in Paperwork

2009-07-05T19:19:00.004-04:00

You got into an OT program? Congratulations! Here's your paperwork. *thwomp*

LOL. I've been through a lot of paper work in the last year... applying for OSAP, funding, grad programs, jobs, etc... But I've never been as awash in forms as I was when I got the paperwork for admission to the Occupational Therapy program at McMaster!

There was the form to ORPAS to say I accept, the online form to McMaster to say I accept, the form to pay my tuition deposit, the form to request my final transcript be sent to ORPAS. Then there was the form to request a background check for working with vulnerable populations that went to the police and the form that came back to me saying I have no record that I'll send to Mac. I filled out a Photo Collection form for the School of Grad Studies and sent it to them with a photo for my student ID. I sent a form to the government telling them what program I'd accepted so that they would forward my scholarship to them, filled out a form for Mac saying that I'd be getting a scholarship, and filled out a payroll request form to have the money deposited.

I completed a form to tell McMaster which of the Orientation week activities I planned to participate in and advise them of my t-shirt size. Then I filled out a form to say that I waived my rights to hold McMaster responsible if anything bad happened to me during Orientation week and another one saying I also wouldn't hold them responsible if bad things happened while on a field trip during my two years in the program. I completed online training in ergonomics, accident prevention and asbestos and filled out three different forms verifying that I'd done the training and learned the appropriate lessons.

And last, but far from least, I filled out a 7 page health screening form. That form required me to handle lots of other forms too! Blood work requests and immunization records mostly. Thank goodness my mother is super organized and had kept all of my public health records from the time when I was a baby. The other good thing, that made the health screening part of this form-filling business much easier, was that I'd checked to see what kinds of things would be on the form (McMaster gives a bit of a list, but by digging around on the web pages for other programs I was able to find some detailed info) and I started getting my documents together, blood work processed and immunizations up to date way back in January! That way when the form came all my doctor and I had to do was fill in the blanks. Except for my TB test that is... but I've already talked about jumping through that hoop, lol. But I do highly recommend informing your doctor about your intent to go into OT and the tests/paperwork that it will entail; so that you can start on the blood work and immunizations early!! I've heard of lots of people having a hard time and scrambling to do it before the deadline... so if you can, avoid the headache.

The good news is that I am all done with forms for now!! Until next week that is... when registration opens. I'm sure that there are more forms awaiting me in the near future!

(p.s. I know the bee poster doesn't really have anything to do with this post, but I really liked it :)

:)SweetPea

Adventures in TB Testing!

2009-07-04T16:50:00.006-04:00

Image by Aidan Jones via Flickr

Great News!! I'm TB negative!!
But oh what an ordeal to find that out!! o_O
I knew back in January when I applied to OT programs that I would need to get a 2-step TB test done, since I'd never had a test before. For those of you who are not familiar with the process, the TB test involves having some of a special solution injected just under the surface of your skin on your forearm. It forms a little bubble that quickly subsides. Two days later you go back to have it "checked." If it bubbles up again or becomes red itchy/inflamed then they measure the diameter of the reactive area. If it's bigger than a certain size it's considered "reactive" and you have to go for a chest x-ray to see if you have any active TB in your lungs (I believe... for truly accurate information, please refer to the Canadian Lung Association webpage). If the reaction is smaller than a certain area, or if there is no reaction at all, then it is considered "non-reactive" or "negative" for TB and you go on to step-2. The second step is exactly the same as step one, except that you're repeating it one to three weeks later.

So, I knew that I would need this test way back in January, but I was busy. I called the student health centre at my university and got all the information I needed about booking an appointment and cost and all that. But I thought I had time. I didn't need the results until summer! Why rush?
Well, in June after I'd accepted the offer from McMaster and got the health screening forms I called the university health centre again to book my appointment. Here's how the conversation went:
Me: I'd like to book an appointment for a TB test.
Her: Certainly, are you a Trent student.
Me: Yes, and I'm working for the university this summer.
Her: Okay great. Did you convocate this year?
Me: Yes I did! Just last week. :)
Her: I'm sorry we can't see you in that case. You must be a current student and you are now a former student. Our insurance won't cover us to see you and our director is adament that we not see any former students, no matter how recently they graduated.
Me: (grasping at straws) Okay, but I am an employee of the university otherwise I wouldn't bother you with this. Is there any way I could come in?
Her: Unfortunately, no.
Me: (thinking, no biggie I'll go elsewhere) Okay, can you refer me to where I can get a TB test done?
Her: Unfortunately, no. There is nowhere else in Peterborough to get a TB test done.
Me: ...
Her: You can call public health, but I don't think they'll do it. You'll likely have to go out of town. It really is the responsibility of your new school to provide you with testing facilities if they require them for your program.
Me: ??? (at a loss for what else to say) Okay, thank you for your time.
*Calls public health in Peterborough*
Me: I am wondering if you do TB testing.
Her: Yes we do. Do you believe that you've been in contact with it?
Me: No, I need to have a 2-step TB test done for admission to a grad program in Occupational Therapy.
Her: Oh, in that case, no. We can't see you.
Me: ...
Her: We don't have the staff or the funding to provide the service. A few of our doctors have left in recent years and they have not been replaced. We simply can't handle the extra volume that voluntary testing would create.
Me: (>_<) Okay, I understand. Can you tell me where I could go to have this testing done? Her: I'm really sorry, there's nowhere in Peterborough to have the testing done. I have heard of some students driving down to a clinic in Pickering. Me: Okay... Thank you. If I had to travel out of town for a TB test I thought I'd at least roll it into a visit with my family in Kingston. I called the public health unit and found that they do TB test administration on Tuesday mornings and TB test checks on Thursday mornings. I work Monday and Wednesday nights in Oshawa... so it was doable, but not ideal. And that's exactly what I did.
I have to say that the people who staff the immunization clinic at the KFL&A Health Unit are wonderful and efficient... but my travails did not end there.

Because I work on Monday nights and don't get home until about 11pm I had to pack up my things very quickly for the two weeks in Kingston and get on the road, so that I could get to bed at a decent time to be up the next morning for my test. I rushed. I got to my parents' in good time. I got out of the car and realized that I'd left my suitcase... with all my clothes and my laptop... standing in my driveway in Peterborough -_-. I was so mad at myself! lol... but at the same time, it was funny. So on Tuesday I had a TB test AND went shopping for something to wear.

On my first trip to the health unit I put out my right arm. The nurse prepped it, inserted the needle, loosed her grip on my arm and said "Oh! That's weird. Your arm pushed the needle right out! Oh well, we'll just have to do your left arm instead" and she put a cotton ball over the area where my arm had been pricked. She then injected my left arm with no issues, turned her attention back to my right arm, removed the cotton and said "Oh my! I must have hit a veiny area" (her words not mine). There was a black and purple loonie-sized bruise where the first injection had been!
And the next week... step 2... it happened again! Except this time was a different nurse and when I warned her about what my right arm did the last time she made sure to brace my skin securely... after injecting the fluid and removing the needle she said "Oh my, that's not right!" My arm, rather than forming a little bubble, pushed all the fluid back out the injection site, lol. I'm not even kidding. So I was left with another bruise on my arm and a total of 4 TB injections for the two steps. LOL... if not for the fact that I did not react to the injections, I don't think there's anything else that could have gone wrong with what is typically a very straight forward process.

The good news is that it's DONE! I also got my background check and the rest of my health forms completed... but I'll post more information about those later. I know this post is really long, so thanks for bearing with me.
Hopefully YOUR adventures in TB testing will be a little less adventurous than mine.
All the best!
:)SweetPea

Now What?

2009-06-14T14:04:00.006-04:00

I've been giving some thought lately to what the purpose of this blog has been and where it is headed. Although it started as a personal account of my journey, one that I hoped future students considering occupational therapy might find useful, it quickly became a vehicle for sharing information with my fellow applicants (and now classmates/colleagues!!). And it was very useful at the time. We all had questions, anxieties, were striving for the same goal... and I enjoyed finding the information and sharing it with others! It made me feel like I was contributing something to my community of fellow students, and subsequently made me feel like I wasn't going through this process alone. That was the wonderful gift that all of you have given to me.

But now we've reached our goal and the sorting hat has placed us each in our respective houses (to use a not necessarily related Harry Potter reference, lol). The first stage of our journey to becoming occupational therapists has come to an end. And so, I think it's also time for this blog to make a change. I will still be trying to keep on top of the information we students need, and I'm happy to share it with my classmates. I just think that there are better venues for doing that... like in person, or via email, or even on facebook.

So, where am I going with this thing then? What am I going to blog about now?

I think I'd like to redirect this narrative back to my original purpose... to document my personal journey to become an occupational therapist. Although it may seem a bit narcissistic at first glance, it is not my intention for this to be an exercise in navel gazing. When I was considering my own options one of the BIGGEST aids that gave me insight into the OT profession, and what I would be getting myself into if I decided to pursue a Masters in OT, was the blog of another student. Many of you may also have read Karen's blog Occupational Therapy Students BeLOnG. She began documenting her own journey when she started her Masters program, and it was by sharing her experiences... in class, in placement, and personal... that I was able to see what the reality was like, and therefore able to start visualizing myself in that role. I am so grateful to her for sharing her personal story in a very public way!!! She has been an incredible ambassador for the profession to new generations of people who look to the Internet for information and insight.

But what struck me was that, as awesome as Karen's blog is, she was a lone voice. There were a few other blogs. Most of them are inactive. Some active ones are posted by professionals for other professionals, and they are great! But I'm not their target audience yet. So, my hope is that I can lend my voice to the chorus, and provide a Canadian perspective while I'm at it.

Furthermore (because I'm not one to do things the easy way, lol) I'm hoping to feature monthly guest-posts from students in other OT programs!!! I'll post a separate entry about this for those willing to be involved (send me an email if it sounds like you!). By doing this, my hope is that future students will gain insight about our chosen grad program and profession that gets them as excited and enthusiastic about the choice as we are!

SweetPea

Academic Timeline for the McMaster MSc OT Class of 2011!

2009-06-10T00:08:00.003-04:00

Woot! The sessional dates (the whole academic timeline) for the MSc OT Class of 2011 has been posted on the McMaster website!!

Class of 2011 Schedule

Also, for anyone who has not yet seen them there are two Facebook groups you may be interested in joining. One is for the Orientation Week and has been set up by the organizing students for us new kids. The other is a McMaster MSc OT Class of 2011 group where members are introducing themselves to one another.
If you're in the class and on Facebook... hook it up!
SweetPea

Convocation 2009

2009-06-06T11:20:00.006-04:00

I will say up front that I am not one for long ceremonies that involve being crammed in like a sardine unable to move in the hot sunshine while people go blah blah blah. lol. I also understand that this is a perspective not shared by most people... I know I'm the odd one out here. So, when my own convocation date was coming up and it turned out to be on a day I work I thought I would have a good excuse not to go. Afterall, I never attended my highschool grad nor did I go to my first degree convocation (my current one was degree #2 for me, 1st one was in English Lit).

But as the day drew closer I started to feel differently. Whereas in the past I was simply going through the motions of what was expected of me, this degree was a very personal choice. I sacrificed a lot to come back for another round and I had a very specific goal in mind. I worked really hard and accomplished my goals. I felt like I'd really earned something and it felt good to have all of the work and focus pay off!

Suddenly I found that I wanted to go to the ceremony. This was a right of passage. By achieving this goal I have become someone different than I was before. I know what I am capable of and I am proud of my accomplishments. I wanted the ritual that would mark the transition. So, at the last minute I decided to go! And I'm so glad I did. It was a beautiful day. It was not nearly so long or boring as I thought it would be. And there was a wonderful energy in the air as everyone seemed to be feeling as elated as I was.

The best part was when they read out my name and I took my walk across the "stage" (Trent does their convocations outside, so it's not really a stage... more like a quad). I shook the chancellor's hand, smiled for a photo, and continued my crossing. What I did not expect was the reception I got on the far side. In our circuit across the stage and back to our seats all students walk past the gallery where any attending faculty members are seated. When I came across the stage my Profs and the other faculty, who I'd worked closely with for the last three years as a member of the Psyc Dept Committee, were standing in wait to shake my hand and give me a hug. I was almost in tears! It felt so great to be literally received with open arms by the people who have been my mentors and role models. It really meant the world to me.

I'm so glad I went. :)

And as icing on the cake...

Each year someone of note gets an honorary doctorate degree. At my convocation that person was Sarah Polley. People were really excited by this and I just didn't get it. And then I saw her!! In my program it said something about blah blah blah Canadian Actress, blah blah blah Road to Avonlea, blah blah blah Oscar Nominee... But as soon as she walked out I said (in my head) "OMG, it's Ana from Dawn of the Dead!!!!" Being a zombie-genre aficionado I was thrilled. I will never again disparage the inclusion of random public figures at these events. :)

So, that was my convocation experience. I hope that everyone else had the chance to enjoy their moment in the sun too!!

SweetPea

June 3, 2009 - Trent University

(that's me in the middle!)

Round Two... Here We Come!!!

2009-06-04T12:43:00.006-04:00

Good news for the waitlists... Round Two is almost here!!!
The round one offers expire on June 5th and hopefully everyone has had a chance to make a decision they are happy with and submit the appropriate paperwork (and send your monies and transcripts).

For myself, I've sent my response and transcript request to ORPAS. Then I submitted the electronic response that McMaster requested, along with the deposit. Now I'm in the process of getting my health forms filled out (I've never had a TB test before), scheduling a first aid course, getting my CPIC (criminal record check for working with vulnerable populations), and trying to take a reasonable photo of myself to submit to McMaster for their ID cards (you have to send in the info 6 weeks before registration!!).

For the CPIC, McMaster sent links to the Hamilton Police Force website and they have a special deal with them so that it only costs $15. However, I don't live in Hamilton to pick it up when it's ready. So, I'm looking into what it will cost to have it done in Peterborough, which is where I currently live. In reviewing the acceptance packages I got (before I recycled them) I also noticed that Western recommends a central service for these things that provides you with the report and a wallet card indicating your clearance that are both good for the 2009-2010 academic year. I checked it out and it seems pretty good... plus I can do it from a distance and they will mail me the report. The catch? It costs $40.
I thought I'd post the link to the website for this service anyway... just in case there was anyone who might find it useful. The service is called the Ontario Education Services Corporation and the link is in the title. It looks like it's primarily set up for students in Teacher's Ed programs... but as I mentioned, Western recommends it.

Anyhoo... now for the ranting portion of my blog. I don't rant very often. I find it is usually unproductive and just puts bad ju-ju out into the world, but today I find I am compelled to rant a little. I just found out that the ex-girlfriend of one of my friends... a woman who came to my home once when she was sick with an unspecified illness for which she was taking antibiotics... actually had TB!!!!! So, I'm freaking out a little. And perhaps I'm overreacting, but I'm genuinely concerned that my TB skin test will be reactive... which just makes the health screening SO much more complicated than it need be. So my rant is... why do people who know they are sick with contagious illnesses feel compelled to attend social events where they will expose other people? Especially with something like TB :( *kicks sand* And who even gets TB anymore?!
Nothing to do now but get tested and hope for the best.

Best of luck to all the Round Two people and congratulations on your decision to all of the Round One people!!
Pretty soon we'll all be searching for room mates (I already got dibs on the best one!! ;) and hunting for apartments (already started this one too, lol... I'm such a nerd). The summer is going to fly by and this will be the last one we have before diving into our program! Enjoy it!!
SweetPea

I DID IT!!

2009-05-26T23:18:00.004-04:00

I got off the fence! I signed on the dotted line. I paid my money. I'm filling out my forms.

McMaster, here I come!!

It seems like I may have put myself through the wringer for nothing, because I clearly was leaning toward Mac in the first place. But it was part of my process. I needed to "try on" the different options to make sure I purchased the one that fit... in a manner of speaking. I'm thrilled with my choice and I feel all the more certain about it for having really wrestled with the decision. As you can probably tell by the rest of my blog as well... I don't take these things lightly.

Anyway, now is the time for celebrating! I feel like I can finally enjoy the success of being admitted now that I don't have the big decision looming over me.

And for those of you on the wait list for Western and Queen's OT... one spot just opened up on each list!! Hang in there! ;)

If you're reading this and also become a member of the McMaster MSc OT Class of 2011, drop me an email! We're classmates!!

:)SweetPea

Fence Sitters Anonymous...

2009-05-26T01:21:00.003-04:00

Hello. My name is SweetPea. I have been sitting on the fence for 10 days now. Sometimes I tip one way and I think I'm going to get off the fence, but then I tip back the other way and I get nowhere. I want to kick my fence-sitting habit and commit to one yard. My butt hurts.

I debated about whether to make this post or not, but I thought the decision making that has been torturing me for the last 10 days has been a significant part of my journey thus far. While most people won't have to deal with this, some will... and I want you future choice-makers to know you're not alone!!

My paperwork is not in yet... so it's not like I'm off the fence and can speak from experience. However, I'd give this advice based on my own trials:
- Find someone who will listen to your convoluted thought process about how to decide and not judge you.
- It's helpful if this person knows what they're talking about... either knows you really well or knows the programs you're deciding between.
- It's more helpful to have people's opinions rather than just their support. You might not adopt their view as your own, but at least then they've articulated some arguments for or against a choice that you might not have considered.
- Be kind to yourself. Beating yourself up with ideas about what you should do is unhelpful. It's also self-defeating if you pile anxiety about choosing on top of anxiety about the choice itself. Believe me. I know.

I'm feeling very close to a decision and I think it's for real this time. Wanna know how I know? One option makes me certain that I won't second guess the choice, even if it's a tougher row to hoe.
I'll let you know when I've signed on the dotted line and sent in my monies!
:)SweetPea

So... How Was the Open House Experience?

2009-05-24T20:24:00.006-04:00

In a word... Influential!

I went to the Open House hosted by the Queen's University School of Rehabilitation Therapy thinking that it would simply help me to be sure about the other university whose offer I thought I would accept. Boy was I wrong. They completely changed my mind.

The faculty were wonderful. They were not only approachable, but actually approached the students to strike up conversation and get to know them. They reiterated many times that they wanted to be sure we left with all the information we needed to make an informed decision. And it wasn't just the instructors... staff in the clinical education centre, the library, the anatomy lab... everywhere we went the people were friendly and made me feel at home. And that's the impression I left with... I felt like I was home.
Now, before I go into detail gushing about some of the highlights of my visit, I want to extend a special thank you to the students who led my group's tour. Chelsea and Andrew (I didn't write down their names :S I hope those are right!!) were wonderful... and SO patient about answering all of our questions. It was very clear that they loved the program and they represented it admirably.

Okay... now to gush!

The clinical education centre is super cool, with volunteers from the community coming in to serve as practice patients. It's a great space and a great system for learning skills.

The library was impressive. It's in a great location with a stunning view. And it looks like it's a very welcoming place to do some serious studying and group work. Given that I expect I'll be spending a lot of time in the library no matter which school I choose, that was a big seller.

And THEN... 9 floors up from the library is the anatomy lab. Or should I say, The Anatomy Lab of Awesome! I held a femur and a clavicle and I wiggled a spine. And then I went into the "hands-on" squishy part of the lab and held a BRAIN and a liver and a heart and I gawked at a human rib cage that looked disturbingly like it ought to be slathered in BBQ sauce. The techs up there were great... answering all of our questions and laughing at our (I'm sure completely lame) jokes. Plus, the view from the windows was stunning... really really stunning. Unfortunately, no cameras allowed in the lab itself.

So, in a nutshell, I'm saying two things:
- Queen's is awesome.
- The programs that do not have post-admission offer open houses are losing out on a great opportunity to help students make their admissions decisions.

:)SweetPea

Photos from the Open House at Queen's, May 2009

2009-05-24T19:57:00.009-04:00

Images from the Queen's University Open House, May 2009.

The Rehab Sciences Building... also houses the clinical education centre for the medical, nursing and rehab programs.

Reception - The wonderful Laurie Kerr helping a visitor get signed in.

The dedicated Health Sciences Bracken Library - on the first floor of Botterell Hall.

The Stauffer Library - Main undergrad library

Porch of the Grad Club peeking through the trees. Famous for good pints and live music.

View from the 9th floor, on the way to the anatomy lab.

Arrived In Kingston!

2009-05-21T21:06:00.002-04:00

Drove to Kingston today for the Open House at Queen's tomorrow!

My parents live here, and I've always used their address as my "permanent address", so this is also where all of the schools sent my acceptance packages. I've been pouring over them thinking that somewhere in their pages will be the key piece of information that swings my decision one way or another. No luck so far though. There isn't really any new information in them that I didn't already know.
That's not to say that there aren't pros and cons to attending each school. But I think that what makes a school good or bad for a particular person is a very individual assessment to make.

Anyway, I'm hoping to take a few pics tomorrow and I'll post them once I'm home!
With any luck I'll have an epiphany that helps to make my choice more clear.

I'll see some of you tomorrow!!
:)SweetPea

Presents from the Acceptance Fairy!

2009-05-15T14:14:00.003-04:00

What a great way to start the long weekend!
I woke up this morning to find offers of admission from both UWO and Queen's in my inbox. :)
That makes it a clean sweep for me! Woot!

For anyone wondering, I didn't apply to UofT. That choice had nothing to do with the school or program, both of which are excellent. I simply didn't want to pay the cost of living in Toronto.

I'm not going to be making any decisions until after the Queen's Open House next Friday. Although I am leaning toward one program in particular, I want to be certain about my choice. So, if anyone else is planning to attend the Queen's Open House please send me an email!! I'd love to meet some people at the event. And, if you're thinking about Queen's but can't make it to the Open House... I'll be taking my camera with me and will try to post some pics & video, so check back next weekend and I'll let you know what it was like.

Congrats to everyone!! And, if you got waitlisted... hang in there!! No one I've spoken to got only one acceptance... if they got one, they got more. And that means that in the coming weeks those waitlists are going to start to MOVE! Keep thinking positive thoughts... the admissions fairy might just be running a little late to your house ;)

All the best,
SweetPea

ACCEPTED AT MAC!!!

2009-05-15T00:27:00.003-04:00

Woohoo!!
The ORPAS site is not updated (yet?), but one of my commenters suggested that I was incorrect about that and it won't be updated. What we all need to do is check the email account that we indicated on our applications.
Anyway... no news from anyone else yet.

But I got in at McMaster!!!!! Woooooohooooo!

SweetPea

p.s. I'm totally freaking out... I'm giggling, I'm crying, I have a smile that won't wipe off. This just feels so surreal. Probably because it's after midnight so I can't call any of the people I normally would to celebrate this news with. *happydances*

Decisions, Decisions

2009-05-14T11:24:00.004-04:00

First, I would just like to say:
ONE MORE SLEEP!!!
And I know I won't be the only one who stays up way past midnight tonight to repeatedly check the ORPAS site in case they update early! (although I recognize that it's not likely)

So the thing that's on my mind lately is:
If I get more than one offer, how do I choose?

I thought I knew which program I wanted to get into, but the more I consider the options the more I see how each of them has advantages. In the end I don't think that one is better than another and I'll be thrilled to get into any one of them. But that makes the decision even harder in some ways. There is no clear singular choice, only equal but different choices.

So I'd like to ask... and I sincerely want feedback from others if you're willing to share... how are you making your choice?
Is it based on features of the program?
The university? City?
Is your choice based on practical considerations?
Or maybe personal and emotional ones?

Please comment with the program you will choose/have chosen and the reason you selected it.

I wish the best of luck to everyone!
Good, bad or ugly... at least tomorrow the wait will be over!!

SweetPea

Admission Offers, Provisional Acceptances & Waitlists, Oh My!

2009-05-10T11:49:00.003-04:00

In doing my research and reading for this blog I do a lot of hunting around the internet and integrating information from different sources. I keep track of where I get most of my information, but in cases where the info is repeated a number of times on different sites in different ways I sometimes lose track. This is what has happened with the admissions information and now that I've found some conflicting information it's a problem.

A couple of posts ago I stated that:

"If you get in at one place but waitlisted at the place you really wanted to get into, you can provisionally accept the one you got and then there will be an option you can select that will keep you on the waitlist of the 2nd institution. However, I think all provisional acceptances need to be made firm by June 5th. Or maybe it's the 12th? They'll tell you anyway."

I know I didn't make this information up... but I can't find the original source where I read it. The ORPAS site does note a June 12th deadline for provisional acceptances to become firm acceptances, but does not explain what that means. To make matters worse, I've since read this little tidbit of information posted in a 2007 document from Queen's:

"If an applicant accepts an offer from another Occupational Therapy Program through ORPAS, that applicant will in effect be taking themselves off the waitlists for any other OT programs. Alternatively, if you accept an offer from Queen’s occupational Therapy Program, you will not be eligible to remain on the wait lists of other Occupational Therapy Programs. Since there is no provisional acceptance to the OT programs through ORPAS as of 2007, you will need to respond to only one offer. When you accept the offer you are agreeing that other OT programs will cancel your application as you have firmly accepted an offer of admission. If you have applied to physical/Physiotherapy (PT)programs, your application to PT may remain active."

So, if you find yourself in this situation... you are waitlisted at the university you really want to get into, but accepted at another university... read the instructions in the packet carefully with regard to how you should proceed. And, I'm sorry if my previous post caused confusion for anyone.

Less than a week to go now! And I'm freakin' out! Fortunately, the course I'm TA-ing starts this week, so that will provide me with a little bit of distraction at least. It just feels like there's been SO much build up... and everyone I know who applied to a non-rehab program has already found out where they'll be next year. :(

Here's hoping this week goes by quickly and that Friday brings good news!!!

SweetPea

Got a Summer Job!

2009-05-06T15:18:00.002-04:00

This is not an occupational therapy related post... but there's nothing really new to say on that front other than "Still Waiting." This IS a good news post though... I've got a summer job!!

My undergrad university has hired me to TA one of the workshops for a third year statistics course this summer, two nights a week. I'm really excited about it because:

a) I like statistics and tutored this course all year.
b) I like teaching statistics! I know. I'm weird.
c) It will be a great experience to build up my CV.
d) It's only two days a week and enough money that I'll be able to pay my bills... which is all I was looking for!

I applied for another full-time job with the government (had an interview on Monday), and have worked for them before. It's a lot of work, but the money has always been excellent. This year... for the new job I applied for... they only want to pay $12/hour, and the interview guy said it in a tone of voice that implied he thinks it's a great deal. I thought "Forget it. I'd rather have more time off." In the end it will only make a gross difference of about $2000, but it will make a HUGE difference to my sanity and quality of life.

I got thinking, this will be our last free summer as students EVER! The OT programs all go through the summer term, with just a short break for a few weeks in August between 1st and 2nd years. And after graduation we'll be looking for jobs and entering the working world. So for me, as long as my bills are getting paid, my time was more important to me than anything this summer.

So... what are YOU going to do this summer to celebrate getting into an OT program and to restore the balance in your life before jumping into the intensity of grad school?
I believe I'm going to reacquaint myself with my local YMCA and take full advantage of patio season! Throw in a wedding in July (someone else's, not mine!) and a camping or rafting trip... I think it's going to be a great summer!

SweetPea

Hanging Around in Limbo Land

2009-05-01T23:36:00.002-04:00

I don't know about anyone else, but it seems that lately I've been doing a lot of busy-work and waiting. I think maybe it's just the big exhale after the mad rush of the last weeks leading up to the McMaster interviews. Suddenly I find myself with TIME on my hands... which I'm filling up with wonderful tasks such as packing!! OOooo... fun packing times. It's just so weird to be loading all my stuff into boxes without yet knowing where I'm going to be moving. For this summer I've applied to two jobs, each in a different city. And then in the fall I'll be going somewhere, but where?! And which job will I get this summer? It's just weird. I'm used to things being much more certain. And I'm NOT used to having time to relax and stuff, lol. How pathetic >_<

Anyway, while I'm hanging around I thought I'd post some info that might be useful in two weeks time when we all get our offers of admission (I'm trying out some positive thinking ;)

For those who don't know, the offers will be posted on the ORPAS website on May 15th. Technically they could be later than that... but it's the long weekend and I can't see them making us all wait till the following Tuesday. PLUS, Queen's asked for people to RSVP to their open house by the 18th (which is the Monday) so we'll have to have found out on the Friday. Makes sense, right?

Anyway, this does NOT mean that you will get your admission packages in the mail that day. So if you want to know if you got in anywhere, don't stand by the mailbox waiting to jump the letter-carrier; log into the ORPAS site! You'll also need to know your application ID number (starts with "IT", will also be printed on the verification form they mailed you in February) and your password. If you're not sure where they are you may want to look them up now... the ORPAS customer service people will be swamped on admission-offers day and it would suck to have to wait.

So once you're in you'll see which of the schools has or has not offered you admission. I'm not sure what the actual status labels will be, but there are three possibilities here:

Offer of Admission (*happy dance* Break out the champagne!!)
Waitlisted (hopefully they give you your number on the waitlist too)
Declined (which sounds marginally nicer than "rejected", I really hope they don't go with that particular label).

If you're a super-fabulous smarty-pants you might even get more than one offer!!! Fancy! If you're lucky enough to have that happen to you, just remember that you can only accept ONE offer at a time, even if you're having a hard time choosing.

If you get in at one place but waitlisted at the place you really wanted to get into, you can provisionally accept the one you got and then there will be an option you can select that will keep you on the waitlist of the 2nd institution. However, I think all provisional acceptances need to be made firm by June 5th. Or maybe it's the 12th? They'll tell you anyway.

Once you accept admission to a school then you have to do a few things:

Send them money. All schools require a deposit. They'll tell you how much to send and how to pay it. It's usually around $500.
Get your health record check completed by a doctor or nurse practitioner (maybe registered nurses can do it too, but I'm not sure). Do it early! You never know how long the lab will take to get your serological proofs back and you may need updates to some vaccinations. You'll need the two-step tuberculosis skin test too.
Get your criminal record check for working with vulnerable populations. It's better to do this in your home town, or where ever you've lived the most in the last 5 years. For those who haven't done one before, you give the police your addresses for the last 5 years and if you've lived in other cities then they have to call the other municipalities, which takes time.
Some programs require you to have Basic Rescuer First Aid (C) and CPR (Red Cross and St. John's Ambulance are two organizations that offer this. SJA calls the course Standard First Aid with CPR-C, it takes two full days and costs $135 according to their website). Even if the program you choose doesn't require this certification I highly recommend it. All it takes is needing the skills once in your lifetime and you'll see it's well worth the time and money it cost you.
Fill in the Transcript Request Form on the ORPAS website to have your University forward over your final transcripts.
Enjoy your summer!!!! This will be the last real break you'll have for the next two years and after that it's working-shmoe status for you, so enjoy your freedom while it lasts!! Oh... and you probably want to make some money at a job too. You won't have time for a job once your program starts!

I can't wait to find out!!! Fourteen more sleeps!!!

SweetPea

Interview Weekend at McMaster

2009-04-24T19:07:00.002-04:00

Interview weekend is upon us! And what a gorgeous weekend it is :)

I had my interview today (Friday), and as you may or may not know I can't really disclose any information about the questions you're given. I will say a few things about the experience though!!

First I'd like to thank the great student volunteers who kept us company while we waited for our interview group to be taken in. We were all very nervous and the volunteers were awesome at helping us to relax, putting our minds at ease and answering our questions. They were really wonderful. And actually, I'd say the whole experience was pretty great! It was super organized and the assessors were very welcoming... so even though I was nervous walking into each interview, it was easy to relax and be myself.

I think the assessments themselves went pretty well, but it's so hard to tell. Nothing to do now but think positive and cross my fingers.

AND... I got to meet a few people today who know me via this blog!! That was super-cool :)
D. and N. ... it was a pleasure to meet each of you! I wish you all the best... and with some luck we might all be classmates next year!

Well, it's late... but I just wanted to post a quick note for those who haven't yet interviewed. There's no need to be worried or stressed... the experience is a positive one.
And if anyone feels like it, I'd love to get an email with your impression of how it went!
SweetPea

Hammer Time!

2009-04-23T20:54:00.005-04:00

I've arrived in Hamilton for interview weekend! Cruised by the campus... found the IAHS building... now just need to get a good rest and be ready to shine tomorrow!!

Best of luck to everyone! And I'll see some of you tomorrow :)
SweetPea

p.s. Did everyone else get this invitation from Queen's? I was surprised to hear anything from them, so I'm curious if it was a generic message that went to everyone or if it's a hint of things to come!! Probably generic, but a girl can hope!

Save the Date!

Queen’s University Open House
Friday, May 22nd 12:00-4:00pm

Queen’s University will host an open house on May 22 for applicants who receive an offer of Admission to the Master of Science Occupational Therapy Program. This will provide an opportunity for those who receive offers to visit Queen’s University campus, see the School of Rehabilitation Therapy facilities, and meet current students, clinicians, faculty, and new graduates. Should you receive an offer of admission, a detailed program and directions will be included in your Offer of Admission package which will be sent following the ORPAS offer date of Friday, May 15th. Best of luck, and we hope to see you there!

RSVP. By May 18th.

Interview Prep, Part III

2009-04-21T21:12:00.002-04:00

Now for the hard bit... the part you are most likely to second guess yourself on... the most important bit... Who are you and why do you want to be an occupational therapist?

I've been struggling with this one. It's not that I don't know the answer to the question, it's that I don't know how to say it without sounding completely generic! Three-hundred of us will be showing up for interviews this weekend. Every one of us will say some variation of "I want to help people" and "My volunteer experience with [insert name of population commonly helped by OT services here] has really inspired me/motivated me/made me sure of what I wanted to do with my life!" And it will be true for all 300 of us. So, I think the key is maybe less about what you say than it is about communicating who you are, what your personality is like, what your strengths and weakness are.

In that spirit, I thought I'd just include some questions to help with that self-inventory. This list isn't going to be exhaustive, so please feel free to leave additional questions you've found useful in the comments section!!

So, here we go...

Why do you want to help people?

What was it about your volunteer experiences that inspired you?

Why not become a PT/physician/social worker/psychologist/nurse?

What are three of your personal characteristics that you feel will be an asset to you in your career as an OT?

What are three weaknesses that you know you will need to develop?

Why do you feel that you will excel in a PBL learning environment? Give an example of an occasion where you excelled in group learning and what you contributed to your group's success.

Why do you want to go to McMaster?

What do you think will be your biggest challenge to succeeding in this program?

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 10 years?

It's unlikely that any of these specific questions will be asked at the interview, but hopefully they will help you to know yourself a little better and answer the actual interview questions more precisely.

Don't forget to take a passport-sized photo of yourself to your interview!!!

Good luck to all this weekend! I know we'll all be signing non-disclosure agreements regarding the details of the interview questions, but I'd love to hear from people about their impression of how they did, whether they enjoyed this interview style, and any tips that they would give to people who are preparing next year!!

Wishing you all the best!!
SweetPea

Interview Prep, Part II

2009-04-20T15:18:00.004-04:00

Now that I've come down off of my scholarship high, it's on to Interview Prep Part II: Stuff you should know about Mac. I'm going to say right up front that most of this information is available right on the McMaster rehab webpages... and that's exactly where I've pilfered it from! But some stuff is also word of mouth, reputation type stuff. So read on...

First things first... McMaster's program is based around a pedagogical approach known as Problem Based Learning. The Mac webpage on this topic sites 4 articles that you can go and read if you're really curious. And if you have no idea what PBL is and aren't sure about how/why it differs from other pedagogical approaches then you probably want to read up on it. If you've taken some education/learning/memory classes then you're probably familiar enough to judge whether it's right for you.
I'll come right out an say it!! Just because it's right for McMaster doesn't mean it's right for YOU. Not everyone will excel under this approach, so know yourself well enough to decide if it is best for you. In the end you want to get into a program that will help you to succeed. If you do better with the more linear knowledge-then-application model, using lectures and seminars/assignments, then consider other programs as your first choice instead of Mac.
Now on to the details...

McMaster uses Problem Based Learning because evidence has shown that it is a better way to learn for most people. This approach is based on research that indicates:
- Knowledge is best remembered in the context in which it is learned.
- The acquisition and integration of new knowledge requires activation of prior knowledge (for all you Psyc majors, remember back to your cognition and memory classes!)

What does this mean? In a nutshell, if you learn something while trying to do it you draw on your current knowledge/skills, figure out what's missing, get info to fill in the blanks, and get the job done. Then when you go to do that same task again, you'll be better able to recall how you did it, what skills/knowledge you used, what worked/didn't work. Plus there's this whole idea in psychology about "priming"... where just being in the same situation automatically activates the parts of your memory that have had to deal with that situation before. This is a really, REALLY, simpled-down version of why PBL works... but I hope it helps for those who just want to get the gist of it.

What makes PBL different from other teaching styles isn't so much why they use it as how it's done. Walton and Matthew (1989) describe the 7-Steps of the PBL Tutorial Process (and my layperson version of each step is in brackets):
1. Identify the problem. (Hey group - here's your case study/scenario for the lesson)
2. Explore pre-existing knowledge. (Group info sharing about what we each know regarding aspects of this situation)
3. Generate hypotheses. (Brain-storm about possible causes of problem/solutions to problem/what the heck is going on in this case study).
4. Identify learning issues. (What knowledge is the group lacking to fully understand/deal with the scenario?)
5. Research and self-study. (Go get info - divide and conquer)
6. Sharing and discussion of new knowledge and insights. (Bring back info to group and examine situation with addition of new knowledge)
7. Assessment and reflection on learning. (How did we do? Did we figure it out? Did we work well as a team? What were our team/individual strengths and opportunities change?)

You'll notice that there's no lecture or expert "giving" us answers. There's also very little independent work. You succeed or fail as a team. But there's also lots of room to be creative and to synergistically (is that a word?) build off of one another! I like team work, so GO TEAM!

What else can be said about PBL?
Features of PBL:
- Integrated curriculum, not separate courses.
- Organized around problems, not disciplines.
- Emphasizes development of cognitive skills (learn how to learn) as well as the acquisition of knowledge (learn stuff you need to know).
- Can meet personal needs based on prior knowledge and experience.
- Allows independent study that you can tailor to your learning style.
- Allows integration of information from many sources (no drawing lines in the sand around "my" discipline and "your" discipline. it's all fair game!)
- Gives you the skills to deal with future problems.

So, other than PBL, what should you know about McMaster?!?!
- They are known for having a really diverse range of placement opportunities.
- They offer the Northern Studies Stream that up to 50% of each class can participate in over the course of the program. (and for anyone who's never been to Northern Ontario... you should definitely try to go!! It's the most amazing place in the world. Not that it's a single place... but you catch my drift ;)
- Although we're all applying to a professional Masters program, McMaster has an excellent reputation for research in the field of Health Sciences. You may not want to be a researcher, but you do want to be an evidence-based practitioner... what better place to learn than where they're doing the research?! Who knows, you may even catch the research bug :)
- Because they publish a lot of research, you may want to check some of it out! Key search terms are the McMaster Lens and C.O.P.M (Canadian Occupational Performance Measure) for starters. Then there's lots more depending on your personal interests.

And I think that's all I know!!
I hope this helps you get prepared... but remember that I don't know everything! I may be leading you astray... I've never done this before either, lol. But I do promise my intention is to help. Everything I put on my blog is the stuff I'm doing to prepare myself.
And tomorrow will be Part III: Self-Reflection. Easily the hardest part (is that an oxymoron?)! I don't know about anyone else, but I'm having a heck of a time articulating myself in a way that doesn't make me sound like a walking cliche. *sigh*
SweetPea

I'm in the Money!$!!

2009-04-20T11:35:00.002-04:00

More interview prep will come... I swear. But right now I have to share my happy news!!!

I GOT OGS FUNDING!!!!
$15,000 WOooooooooooooooo!!!
**Happy Dance**

Now, does anyone know how I go about accepting the funding when we won't have been notified about admissions decisions yet? O_o
SweetPea <--green, like money!

Interview Prep, Part I

2009-04-19T13:22:00.002-04:00

Okay people!! Less than a week to go!!
Have you figured out why you want to be an occupational therapist yet?
Have you decided what you're going to wear to your interview?!
Have you taken a passport sized photo of yourself (in your interview outfit) for your file?!?!
If not, DON'T PANIC! Just grab a towel ;) <-- (Nerdy reference for the day, likely to be appreciated only by those who read/watched Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, lol.)

There's still ample time to get ready, so don't sweat it too much. Odds are that you have already put a lot of thought into this career choice before you put out the up to $500 in application fees. And you've done a lot of research in order to write your statements for the application package to other universities! So at this point, it's all about getting focused on what's important, refreshing your memory about what you know, and nurturing a sense of calm confidence.

So, in Part I I'm going to refresh your memory about some key points to do with the profession of Occupational Therapy.
Then, in Part II, I'll review some of the McMaster specific issues to remember.
And then I might tack on a Part III: Questions to encourage self-reflection. We'll see how it goes. :)

Part I: Key Points about OT
(all content appropriated from other sources, primarily from the CAOT website)

The Profile of Occupational Therapy in Canada (2007) identifies seven main roles for an occupational therapist:
1. Expert in enabling occupation.
2. Communicator
3. Collaborator
4. Practice manager
5. Change agent
6. Scholarly practitioner
7. Professional

What the heck do they mean by each of those terms?? Good news... you can download a copy of the Profile where they define each. For a quick overview, scroll down to page 28 of this document.
Some questions you may want to ask yourself are:
- What personal characteristics do I have that will help me be good at each of these roles?
- Describe an occasion where I have exhibited each of these characteristics.

From Enabling Occupation II: Advancing a Vision of Health, Well-Being and Justice Through Occupation (Townsend & Polatajko, 2007), there are five essential elements of occupational therapy practice (this goes with #1 from the list above).
1. The presence of an occupational challenge
2. The possibility of solutions that enable occupation
3. Client-specific goals/challenges/solutions and client-centred enablement
4. Multi-disciplinary knowledge base
5. A reasoning process that can deal with complexity.

Some things to note are:
- Demonstrate knowledge of these concepts in your answers about the OT profession.
- Emulate these characteristics in other responses... for example, in ethics questions demonstrate that your reasoning process appreciates the complexity of the given scenario.

Last, but not least, TRENDS! Those that affect OT and those within OT.

Current Trends Affecting OT:
- An aging population
- Increased awareness of the needs of persons with disabilities
- Higher survival rates from accidents and injuries
- Increased emphasis on health promotion and prevention to keep healthcare costs down
- Higher incidence of mental health and family problems
- Changes in working conditions, such as job stress and early retirement
- A more informed public, regarding health and health concerns.

Not sure how each of these applies to occupational therapy? Check out the CAOT position statements :)

Emerging Practice Areas in OT:
- Private Practice
- Home Modifications
- Assistive Technology
- Ergonomics
- Research
- Retail Business
- School Systems
- Long-term care settings
- Higher Education Programs

What do these trends have to do with your interview? Well, you need to be familiar with the profession and that means knowing what the hot-topics are! Again, I highly recommend reading the position papers to get a sense of the issues that current professionals are dealing with. Volunteer experiences are also invaluable... but try to connect your experiences to the larger issues they represent.

Okay... enough writing for now! I have to go and answer some of these question myself, lol.
But in the days to come, Parts II and III will follow.
Good luck in your preparation!!
And seriously... don't forget to take your picture :D
SweetPea

Out of Curiosity!

2009-04-16T11:54:00.005-04:00

It's been so long since we all submitted our applications to the various OT programs we want to get into... and it feels like it will still be so long until we hear back about offers of admission... that waiting for an interview invitation to McMaster, and getting ready for the interviews, has seemed like some real excitement!

And it is exciting, if Mac's your top choice!!

But not everyone has dreams of living in steel-town, and there are three other schools with great OT programs right here in Ontario. Not to mention the great programs elsewhere!

So, just for the sake of curiosity... and because I feel like all I've done for the last two weeks is talk about my thesis and the McMaster interviews... I thought I'd throw in a little poll!

If you could choose admission to any Master's of Occupational Therapy program, which would you select??

And please... leave a comment stating why you picked one school, or didn't pick another!!

SweetPea

The Inside Scoop!!

2009-04-07T20:32:00.003-04:00

Isn't it funny how sometimes life gives you just what you need, right when you need it?
I, like most people, have a lot of facebook "friends" who are people I know casually through activities or organizations that were once important to me, but who I don't actually hang out with or talk to on a regular basis. Fortunately for me, many of these people are awesome and I'm lucky to know them!

One such person, who shall remain nameless, participated in MMI interviews last year, got into the program s/he applied to, helped her/his school with the organizing of MMIs this year, AND was willing to take some time this evening to chat with me about what to expect!

Of course, the details are all very confidential... I couldn't ask about scenarios or questions or anything like that. But all the same s/he had some great suggestions from an insider's point of view and I will be eternally grateful for his/her kindness!!

Here are some of the things s/he had to say:

You can't really prepare for the MMI. It's intended to put you off balance and force you to think on your feet. They don't want your canned answers, they want to see how you do under pressure.
Having said that bit about you can't really prepare... it is really important to know yourself! Spend some time reflecting. What are your strengths/weaknesses? Why do you want to be an OT? Why do you want to get into this program in particular?
Then just try to relax and go with the flow. Be yourself! Let the assessor see who you really are, in all your awesomeness :) You can't fake being something you're not, so trust that who you are is exactly what they are looking for and let that shine through.
If you leave a station feeling like you messed up... shake it off and move on!! The next person won't know that you just stuck your foot in your mouth at the last station unless you walk in all flustered like you just stuck your foot in your mouth at the last station, lol. Remember: you will be evaluated on your overall performance, not on one assessment alone.
Try not to be too rigid in your thinking. Yes, they want you to take a side on an issue and defend it sometimes... but do so in a way that shows you can consider other points of view.
Don't wear black or blue. Everyone thinks of these two colors when they are getting dressed in their serious interview clothes. But at the end of the day when the assessors say to each other "Hey, what'd you think of that person in the black suit?" They'll be like... "Dude! There were 100 people in black suits!" Instead, go with a nice brown or grey. Accent with a little color. On the flip side of that... don't be TOO memorable. You don't want to stick out like a sore thumb.

And that was about it, as far as tips went!

Now, for what to expect:

You don't have to stand there and talk for the whole 8 minutes *phew*! You'll walk in, introduce yourself (unless it's a scenario where you're acting out a scene), then sit down and talk. Give your full answer, but don't ramble just to fill time. They have questions to prompt you if you finish early and there's no penalty for being prompted... it's the quality of your answer, not the duration that counts.
Most people don't sleep the night before their interview. Don't worry about it. Everyone else will look like a zombie too ;)
The best thing you can do for yourself is to relax and not over-think it. The MMI is designed to reveal who you really are, what your attitude is like, whether you're a good fit for the program. So, let them see the best, optimal you! Try not to be the dry-mouthed, anxiety ridden, trying to figure out the "right" answer you. Be fabulous-you!

I hope that this helps you to be the best You you can be on interview day!!

(Hopefully) Your Future Classmate, SweetPea

Multiple Mini-Interview... Here I Come!!!

2009-04-06T11:34:00.000-04:00

**Happy Dance** **More Happy Dance**

I got my invitation to an admissions interview for McMaster's OT program today!!!

Dear Ms. SweetPea,
We are pleased to inform you that based on the rank order interviews list, you have been selected for a personal interview which serves as the final stage for recommendation for admission to the Master Science program in Occupational Therapy at McMaster University.

That was a nice present to wake up to. And now... the preparation begins!

Penny Salvatori, who is a member of the McMaster OT/PT admissions committee, wrote a chapter for the book Innovations in Rehabilitation Sciences Education titled "Evidence Based Admissions in Rehabilitation Science." If you can get your hands on a copy, check it out (this link might work). In it, she details that Mac uses a 7-station circuit and notes what the general topic of each station will be.

"The MMI involves seven interview stations for each applicant over a 70-minute period.
Each of the seven stations had a different focus.
Four of the stations pursued the applicant’s knowledge of:
- the occupational therapy or physiotherapy profession,
- the McMaster Occupational Therapy or Physiotherapy Program,
- problem-based learning, and
- health care issues in general.
Three of the stations involved ethical scenarios that required moral reasoning.

Interviewers were drawn from the faculty, clinical community, and student body and were required to attend a training session.
Applicants were assessed at each MMI station on the quality of his/her response, general communication skills, and overall impression in terms of suitability for the McMaster program and/or profession."

So, now the question becomes: How do we best prepare?

Personally, I'm going to break it down by station type.

Occupational Therapy Profession:
- Rehearse personal experience statement.
- Continue reading online blogs written by occupational therapists.
- Stay up to date on reading of the CAOT website, with particular attention to the Position Papers.
- If you haven't already seen this, check out this 2007 PowerPoint presentation posted by CAOT about trends affecting healthcare and the role of OT.

McMaster OT Program:
- Review course structure and rationale.
- Look up information about the Northern Studies Stream option, including additional information on the Northern School of Medicine.

Problem Based Learning:
- Mac gives a good run down of this approach and their rationale for using it in the FAQ of the admissions section of the webpage.
- Read the publications Mac references in the above mentioned run-down.

Health Care Issues in General:
- Probably look at a lot of the same resources I used when I was trying to write my personal submission for my other OT program admissions.
- Read back-issues of the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ online).
- Ditto for the Canadian Journal of Nursing Research (CJNR) and the Canadian Journal of Nursing Leadership (CJNL).

Ethical Scenarios and Moral Reasoning:
- The training manual for Interviewers has some great information. For instance, they note that there is no right or wrong answer for these questions. What they look for in an answer is a well articulated response, good support for opinion, and evidence of an appreciation for alternate points of view. Think "grey" rather than "black and white."
- Read the rationale given for the answers to questions in the CAOT Certification Exam.

I've been searching online for some practice ethical scenarios that are specific to OT, but haven't had much luck yet. If anyone else finds some please share!!
Here's the one I did come across (unfortunately, it doesn't say how you should respond):
"A physician refers a patient to you with specific instructions to treat osteoporosis. Upon assessing the patient, you disagree with the course of treatment suggested by the physician. What would you do?"

Okay... and that's enough from me for one day!!
I hope someone else finds this information useful. I by no means claim to have the best suggestions... and would sincerely love to have recommendations from others based on their approach to preparing for this interview. For example, one question I have is: How should I dress for this interview? Do I want to be conservative/generic or is it better to dress nicely but in a way that shows your personality (say with bright colours or bold jewelery/ties)?

I'll be finishing my thesis this week and then will be spending a lot of time preparing for this interview!!! I'm happy to share more ideas and would love to hear from other students who were invited to Mac. Send me an email! (address in my profile description)

Best of luck to all!
SweetPea

Wait... just a little bit longer...

2009-04-03T22:39:00.000-04:00

Well, I hoped that the invitation to an admissions interview for the McMaster occupational therapy program would be waiting in my mailbox for me when I awoke this morning. It wasn't. And it didn't show up any of the times when I refreshed the mailbox at 5 minute intervals throughout my day, lol. I'm pretty sure I'll get one, because my GPA is well above the cut-off score that's been used in recent years, but I was still hoping for that little bit of validation that says "We think you might be good enough."

And I really need that validation right now. I've been working non-stop on my thesis for the last two weeks. And when I say non-stop, I mean 12-14 hour days of sitting and analyzing and typing and editing SO much that my back is aching and my hamstrings want to murder me.
Anyone who thinks that qualitative research is easier than quantitative should really have their head checked.

I have loved my undergraduate thesis all along... I have wonderful advisors and a really great topic. I enjoyed the lit review, and I loved conducting the interviews. But I am SO SICK of trying to write up these results that it's really tempting to just run up the white flag and say "I'm done!"
And just to give it some perspective, so that people know I'm not just being a whiner, the typical undergrad thesis is approximately 60 pages. They get into the 80-100 page range when it's qualitative, just because quotes take more space than stats do. But my thesis is going to be in the 270+ page range -_-
Because it's the "best use of my skills" or some crap that's supposed to make me feel better about writing a thesis so big it will need to be published in a two volume set.
*CRY*!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll be really glad when this is all over.

On a positive note, I've been given more information about the McMaster interviews (thanks AW!!) and I'll be posting about that once I receive my invitation.

Also, did anyone else notice the slick new updates to the Mac School of Rehab Sciences webpage that went up today? It's really nice and FAR easier to navigate.
Check it out! Fancy, Re-designed, Mac Page

See you on the flip-side of my thesis!!
SweetPea

High School... just like I remember it.

2009-03-28T10:44:00.000-04:00

So, I went to a local high-school to give a presentation to a grade 11 Psychology/Sociology/Anthropology class about majoring in Psychology. I actually covered two classes in back to back periods.
The first group was pretty good. A lot of them were quiet, but a handful of people asked lots of questions and all of them were clearly interested and engaged. Actually a lot of their questions had nothing to do with psychology at all and were more about what's university like, how do I decide between college and university, etc... I was happy to talk about whatever they wanted to. It was for their benefit, so I thought it was probably best to just roll with whatever they wanted to talk about.
But the second class... talk about a tough crowd!!!
One guy, who was sitting right up front (!), fell asleep and wasn't even pretending to be listening. Everyone else seemed to be half listening, but mostly not. And no one asked a single question. Lucky for them I'm chatty enough to fill the gaps, and I just basically was like "This is what the other class asked me, and here's what I told them..."
Anyway, it was two painless hours and if it helped one of them by easing their fears of the unknown then it was well worth it. Plus, the two teachers were thrilled. They gave me a really nice Thank You card, along with a coffee mug that has the school's crest and a gift certificate for Tim Horton's!! I wasn't expecting anything so I was absolutely thrilled.

And, since this IS my occupational therapy student blog I feel that I should at least mention something OT related... here it goes:

In about one week (give or take a few days... they're kind of fuzzy about it) I'll find out if I got an interview at McMaster!!! Incidentally, my thesis is also due in one week :s *freaks out*

Wish me luck on all counts! I'm going to need it. :)

SweetPea

Still waiting...

2009-03-23T16:01:00.000-04:00

Only two weeks until I hear back about Mac Interviews!!!!! *fingers crossed*

I'm also still looking for advice from anyone who has been to an admissions interview for OT before... whether it was at McMaster or elsewhere. If you've been to one... or conducted one!!... please comment.

Other than that life is just really busy right now. I'm beginning the data analysis on my thesis this week, and have a meeting with my advisors on Wednesday to discuss it. The thesis itself is due in two weeks!! I can't believe the year has gone by so fast. And I also can't believe how much work I have to do in the next two weeks! Yikes!

I've also been invited to go to a local grade 11 Psychology/Sociology/Anthropology high school class to talk about what it's like to be a Psyc major. I think that will be pretty fun, and I had fun putting together the presentation itself.

Then the weekend of April 4th I've volunteered to be a student rep at the Psyc Dept's table for my University's Open House weekend. I did it in the fall too and it was really fun. I enjoyed answering all the students' questions and helping to put their minds at ease. Plus, we get free lunch! :)

And I'm just putting the finishing touches on my Statistics Exam-Aid session for the second year students. I host a session before each exam and all the money raised goes to charity. I usually have about 20 students come out and the feedback I've had on the session in the past has been really positive. It makes it a really rewarding, feel-good thing to do... so although it sounds weird to most people to call anything to do with statistics "fun"... I really do enjoy it.

So, the moral of the story is I have lots to keep me busy in the here and now. But my mind is elsewhere, focused on my goal... occupational therapy.

Wish me luck!! :)

SweetPea

The agony of the wait...

2009-03-14T20:04:00.000-04:00

Our applications were due to ORPAS by January 9, 2009.
The soonest I'll hear anything about my prospects will be at the beginning of April, when I'll find out whether I've made the cutoff for an interview at McMaster. Interviews are the 24th, 25th and 26th of April, 2009.
After that the soonest possible date to hear from any school about acceptance/rejection is May 15th, 2009.

Le cry! :'(

It's just such a looooooooooooong time to wait to hear anything. My university courses will be long finished by that time. I'll be packing to move... with no idea where I need to move to. Like, not just haven't lined up an apartment, but don't even know what CITY to look for one in!!!
I'm sure this must be the same agony that every applicant goes through, but it doesn't make it any easier. I feel I've got a very good chance of getting into at least one program... but there are no guarantees in life. And what the heck will I do if I don't get in?!?! *hyperventilates*

This spring heralds big changes for me... graduating and moving. But the unknowns about essential things like where I'm going to live and whether I need to find a job in this terrible economic climate (which I'll need to do if I don't get into the OT program - summer employment is already lined up but is contract work) are making me feel all barfy inside. :x
All this anxiety is making it really hard to focus on the last of my thesis and coursework... which is never good. It's like a big anxiety snowball that keeps building steam.

LE CRY!!! :'(

Okay... I'll stop now. I know this entry will just seem like a big whine-fest... but I think this experience of waiting and uncertainty is a significant part of the student-applicant process.
If you're applying in a future year, be forewarned.
If you're in the thick of it with me this year, send me a message! I'd love to commiserate with someone, lol. :)

SweetPea

A Great Story I Had to Share.

2009-03-07T23:33:00.000-05:00

First, many thanks go out to the people who organize the TED talks lecture series. I've just recently discovered them and have been devouring the videos like smarties!

As the website bi-line states, these are "Ideas worth sharing." And so, I am sharing one of my favorites.
This one was just titled Aimee Mullins on Running, and being an aspiring runner myself I clicked "play." What I got was a wonderful first-hand story of a girl who became a paralympic athlete. She's really funny and a great story-teller.

I highly recommend giving this video a watch (it's about 20 mins), and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!!

SweetPea

http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/aimee_mullins_on_running.html

MMI - Scenario Ten

2009-03-04T15:21:00.000-05:00

Station 10: Standard Interview 2

What experiences have you had (and what insights have you gained from these experiences) that lead you to believe you would be a good occupational therapist?

Discuss this question with the interviewer.

MMI - Scenario Nine

2009-03-04T15:17:00.000-05:00

Station 9: Preferential Admission (Knowledge of the Health Care System)

Due to the shortage of occupational therapists in rural communities, such as those in Northern Ontario, it has been suggested that programmes preferentially admit students who are willing to commit to a 2- or 3-year tenure in an under-serviced area upon graduation.

Consider the broad implications of this policy for health and health care costs. For example, do you think the approach will be effective? At what expense? Discuss this issue with the interviewer.

SweetPea ~ Note that I changed the wording from "shortage of physicians" to be for OTs. However, this may change how you read/interpret the health care costs bit. Still, it's good practice.

MMI - Scenario Eight

2009-03-04T15:14:00.000-05:00

Station 8: Parking Garage (Communication Skills)

The parking garage at your place of work has assigned parking spots. On leaving your spot, you are observed by the garage attendant as you back into a neighbouring car, a BMW, knocking out its left front headlight and denting the left front fender. The garage attendant gives you the name and office number of the owner of the neighbouring car, telling you that he is calling ahead to the car owner, Tim. The garage attendant tells you that Tim is expecting your visit.

Enter Tim’s office.

SweetPea ~ Who wants to bet that Tim is hopping mad? I'm suddenly thankful for all the customer service jobs I had dealing with irate customers! :)

MMI - Scenario Seven

2009-03-04T15:12:00.000-05:00

Station 7: Class Size (Critical Thinking)

Universities are commonly faced with the complicated task of balancing the educational needs of their students and the cost required to provide learning resources to a large number of individuals. As a result of this tension, there has been much debate regarding the optimal size of classes. One side argues that smaller classes provide a more educationally effective setting for students, while others argue that it makes no difference, so larger classes should be used to minimise the number of instructors required.

Discuss your opinion on this issue with the examiner.

MMI - Scenario Six

2009-03-04T15:11:00.001-05:00

Station 6: Circumcision (Ethical Decision Making)

The Canadian Pediatric Association has recommended that circumcisions not be routinely performed. They base this recommendation on their determination that the benefits have not been shown to clearly outweigh the risks and costs. Doctors have no obligation to refer for, or provide, a circumcision, but many do, even when they are clearly not medically necessary. Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) no longer pays for unnecessary circumcisions.

Consider the ethical problems that exist in this case. Discuss these issues with the interviewer.

MMI - Scenario Five

2009-03-04T15:10:00.001-05:00

Station 5: Standard Interview 1

Why do you want to be a occupational therapist?

Discuss this question with the interviewer.

MMI - Scenario Four

2009-03-04T15:08:00.000-05:00

Station 4: Deterrent Fees (Knowledge of the Health Care System)

Recently, the Prime Minister of Canada raised the issue of deterrent fees (a small charge, say $10, which everyone who initiates a visit to a health professional would have to pay at the first contact) as a way tocontrol health care costs. The assumption is that this will deter people from visiting their doctor for unnecessary reasons. Consider the broad implications of this policy for health and health care costs. For example, do you think the approach will save health care costs? At what expense? Discuss this issue with the interviewer.

MMI - Scenario Three

2009-03-04T15:03:00.000-05:00

Station 3: Air Travel (Communication Skills)

Your company needs both you and a co-worker (Sara, a colleague from another branch of the company) to attend a critical business meeting in San Diego. You have just arrived to drive Sara to the airport. Sara is in the room.

SweetPea ~ This one is observed by the "interviewer" who just watches the interaction between you and an actor. What is not said here is that when you get into the room Sara is going to be really upset. She will reveal that she is scared to fly, and though she has travelled a lot in the past she has not been on a plane since the tragedy of 9/11. I only know this additional information because this scenario was used as an example in the training manual I linked earlier. I think it's safe to say that in any of these interactive scenarios we can expect that the situation we walk into will not be entirely what is on the description we're given in advance.

MMI - Scenario Two

2009-03-04T14:59:00.000-05:00

Station 2: Aspartame (Critical Thinking)

A message that recently appeared on the Web warned readers of the dangers of aspartame(artificial sweetener – Nutrasweet, Equal) as a cause of an epidemic of multiple sclerosis (a progressive chronic disease of the nervous system) and systemic lupus (a multi-system auto-immune disease). The biological explanation provided was that, at body temperature, aspartame releases wood alcohol (methanol), which turns into formic acid, which is in the same class of drugs as cyanide and arsenic. Formic acid, they argued, causes metabolic acidosis. Clinically, aspartame poisoning was argued to be a cause of joint pain, numbness, cramps, vertigo, headaches, depression, anxiety, slurred speech and blurred vision. The authors claimed that aspartame remains on the market because the food and drug industries have powerful lobbies in Congress. They quoted Dr Russell Blaylock, who said, “The ingredients stimulate the neurons of the brain to death, causing brain damage of varying degrees.”

Critique this message, in terms of the strength of the arguments presented and their logical consistency. Your critique might include an indication of the issues that you would like to delve into further before assessing the validity of these claims.

MMI - Scenario One

2009-03-04T14:50:00.000-05:00

Station 1: Placebo (Ethical Decision Making)

Dr Cheung recommends homeopathic medicines to his patients. There is no scientific evidence or widely accepted theory to suggest that homeopathic medicines work, and Dr Cheung doesn’t believe them to. He recommends homeopathic medicine to people with mild and non-specific symptoms such as fatigue, headaches and muscle aches, because he believes that it will do no harm, but will give them reassurance. Consider the ethical problems that Dr Cheung’s behaviour might pose. Discuss these issues with the interviewer.

Admissions Interview for McMaster Occupational Therapy - The Multiple Mini-Interview (MMI)

2009-03-04T14:15:00.000-05:00

In my asking around about the admissions interview for McMaster I got a second hand account of the process. The sister of a classmate attended the interview two years ago and summed it up simply as "It was weird!" O_o This made me even more curious to find information.

Although I'd been unsuccessful in finding specific information online about the admissions interview for the Masters in Occupational Therapy program (actually, an MSc (OT) program), I was not deterred. When I dug a little further I found that the McMaster University medical school pioneered a new approach to admissions interviews that has since been adopted by many other schools, in a variety of health sciences disciplines. This approach is called the Multiple Mini-Interview or MMI. If you look it up there's a ton of available research on it. And if you were expecting a traditional interview but got this instead, you would definitely walk out thinking "That was weird"... so I think it's a safe assumption that this is the kind of interview us OT applicants can expect as well. And, while I don't like assumptions generally, I think this one's a safe bet. The rehab programs fall under the umbrella of the Faculty of Health Sciences, so it makes sense that they would use the same interview format that is favored by other degree programs in the department. And barring any revelations between now and my interview date, educated guesses about what to expect are all I have!

I won't go into great detail about the MMI, because there is readily available information about it online. I even found a "Training Manual" for interviewers that you can check out!

In a nutshell, the MMI is a series of 8 minute interviews that you will have at different "stations" with different interviewers. Before each interview you'll be given a topic to discuss or a scenario related to the interview for that station and have 2 minutes to prepare. Here's the quote about them from the McMaster website:
"During the MMI, applicants will move between interview "stations" in a 12-station circuit. Each station lasts ten minutes (two minutes to read the scenario and eight minutes of interaction). At each station, applicants will interact with, or be observed by, a single rater. The stations deal with a variety of issues, which may include but are not limited to, communication, collaboration, ethics, health policy, critical thinking, awareness of society health issues in Canada and personal qualities. Applicants are not assessed on their scientific knowledge."

Also, they don't note it here but they do in the training manual for interviewers... there are no right or wrong answers. What they want you to do is demonstrate communications skills, the ability to express an opinion and articulate your reasons for support. As well, the ability to see an issue from more than one point of view and empathize with others is taken into consideration.

For some people, this style of interview might cause nightmares. But for others (me included!) I'm excited by the diversity and the opportunity to interact with many evaluators, rather than being dependant on the impressions of a few people in a single interaction. I think the idea with this style is that each candidate is bound to flub a few and shine in a few but that, on average, the school will get a fair assessment of the applicant. Furthermore, you can't just give canned responses that are prepared in advance. You need to think on your feet, be a little flexible, and while you're doing that your true colours will show through. Fakers will be found out!

In my next few posts I'll put up a number of practice scenarios I've found. Feel free to discuss what you think they're looking for in the comments section!

I hope others found this as useful as I have. And, naturally, I'll post back after my own interview to confirm whether or not this is the style used for the OT Masters program.

SweetPea

Applying to MOT (Masters of Occupational Therapy) in Ontario

2009-02-28T14:46:00.000-05:00

Convenience or Cash-grab... it depends on your point of view, but here in Ontario when you want to apply to an english-language Professional Masters program in Rehabilitation Sciences (aka physical therapy, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech-language pathology) you don't apply to the school. Instead, all students apply through a central application service called ORPAS.
http://www.ouac.on.ca/orpas/

Yes, you end up paying extra money for this application service in addition to the fees paid to each school you apply to, but there are some advantages too.

You fill out ONE application.
Pay ONE fee for all applications and transcript requests.
Send in ONE set of transcripts (saves a little money compared to ordering multiples to be sent with each separate application).
Send in ONE set of reference letters.
Send in ONE Personal Statement/Letter of Intent.
They confirm all the information you included in your application, and send you a verification report that lets you know whether all your transcripts/letters of reference made it in time. Individual programs won't do that for you.
They forward all your info/documents to each program you apply to.

Now before you start to feel all warm and fuzzy about this one-ness you should know that beyond ORPAS the MOT programs get very... hmm... something that means the opposite of my made up word one-ness. What I mean is:

Every program has its own entry requirements.
Every program has a different way of evaluating applicants.
Every program, though they share many of the same goals for program outcomes, has a different approach to pedagogy (aka how they will teach you the stuff you need to know).

So before you pick where you're going to apply, do some homework. You want to make sure that you're a competitive applicant for the program based on the evaluation criteria they use, and you want to make sure that the way they teach the program jives with how you learn.

A couple of "for instances":

Most programs assess your GPA based on your last 2 years of study (or equivalent in course credits). However, Queen's assesses you based on the GPA of your entire undergraduate career! If you had a stellar 1st year, or a prior degree where you did well, then this is a real boon to your application. However, if you're like most people and your first year was a rough transition that is reflected in your grades then guess what? You may have a reduced chance of getting in at Queen's.
McMaster's program uses a very different approach to teaching than the other universities. They use something called "Problem Based Learning", with very small work groups and more independent study rather than lecture or workshop based instruction. This approach might be your dream scenario or your worst nightmare. The point is to know what you're getting yourself into before you apply.

And now the two big mysteries in any application process...

What do they want you to say in your Personal Statements/Letter of Intent? (Everybody but McMaster)
What are they going to ask me in the interview?? (McMaster only)

The answer to both is, I have no idea!! I looked and looked and looked for information posted by other previous applicants giving hints or tips or don't-do-this stories. I found nothing :(

So... if there's anyone out there who has gone to the McMaster interview and wants to give people an idea of what to expect, send me an email!! I'll post your hints anonymously :)

As for the statements... I can tell you what they asked this year (see below). And if there's anyone out there who would like to comment on what sorts of things the admissions people look for in these statements, it would be most appreciated.

Best of luck to all who applied this year!!!

SweetPea

Clearly describe your reasons for pursuing a career in OT and how your personal experiences and background have contributed to your preparation for this career choice (maximum 5000 characters). <-- note, that's characters NOT words. It's about a page in 10pt. Arial font.

Demonstrate your understanding of the profession of OT by identifying 2 current or emerging trends in Canada's healthcare system and discussing how occupational therapists are well positioned to play a leadership role on healthcare teams (maximum 5000 characters).

How'd I end up here?

2009-02-28T12:47:00.000-05:00

It's true. I've started my OT blog before I even know if I'm accepted into an OT program. And, yes... I acknowledge that it may be a little premature. But I'm so freakin' excited I can't help myself!!

I chose Psychology as my undergrad because I knew that I wanted to get into therapy of some kind, but I wasn't sure what. Within this discipline, for those who actually want to work with people rather than just doing research on people, Clinical Psychology is the Holy Grail of Graduate Programs. So all through my Bachelors degree I imagined that Clinical was my goal (it being the hardest program to get into), I'd work my butt off, and then make an actual decision about what I wanted to do once I was a little more knowledgeable about the field and the possibilities.

When the time came, in September of my final year, to start picking grad programs/applying for scholarships/contacting researchers to work with etc... a curious sequence of events led me to the exact place I feel I am meant to be. Maybe that sounds a little kooky and dramatic, but whatev's... I do feel that OT is my true vocation. Anyway... here's how it went down:

I wrote my GREs in August and got acceptable, but not out of this world, scores.
I was advised by one of my Prof's and mentors that with my okay GREs and 87% average that I would not get into a Clinical program.
My heart broke.
I railed at the universe.
On what planet is an 87% not good enough?!?!
I moped.
Then I said to myself "Self... what is it about Clinical that appealed to you? Maybe there's another way to achieve that goal."
And I replied, "I want to work with people in a therapeutic capacity. I want to work in a health care setting. I am interested in research that addresses the mind-body connection and factors influencing health and happiness."

So, I went looking for researchers who were investigating the things of interest to me.

When I found a few, I read their papers and then sent them emails to ask if they were accepting students in September of 2009 and would they be willing to meet with me.

Now, as I'm doing this it is with a heavy heart. While I enjoy research and have an aptitude for it (I think I was the only person in my 3rd year stats class that liked it), what I wanted to do was help people. And my researcher friends would try and cheer me up with the argument that research does help people... and I know it does... but it always felt to me that it was sterile and removed from the actual helping bit. I wanted to get my hands dirty!

So one of the researchers I contacted did a lovely thing. She replied to my inquiry that she was not accepting new students, but that based on what I had written to her about the aspects of her research that interested me, I should contact her colleague Dr. XX.

When I looked Dr. XX up it turned out that she was at the same university, but in a different department... the School of Rehabilitation Sciences!! It was like a partition was taken away and suddenly there was this whole new world available to me!

As soon as I read the program description/mission statement/values it felt like I'd found my home. I was like the ugly duckling trying to find a Masters of Duckiness program who suddenly realized she was a swan! OT is a helping profession, it's in healthcare, they do research and practice, there's an incredible diversity in what an OT can do over the course of her/his professional life... and best of all, the profession's approach to wellbeing is that people find happiness through engaging in meaningful activities, which marries beautifully with the theories of Positive Psychology I personally subscribe to.

Since I discovered the program I've done a LOT of research, through websites and journals, on occupational therapy and everything I've read has only affirmed my initial reaction. It's even caused me to look back over the course of my life and realize all the many ways that OTs been there all along, without my properly labelling it as such. From the time I had a compound fracture of my leg and had help learning to do all my ADLs with a full leg cast, to the training I got on how to do ergonomic adjustments on the workstations at the call centre where I once worked.

I've applied to three Masters of Occupational Therapy programs to begin in September 2009, and not applied to any Psychology programs. I know this is what I was meant to be doing all along... I simply didn't know it, until I did. :)

Now, I post this entry just so that readers will know a little about me and my background. This was my journey. Yours may be different. One person's process is no better than an other's, so please don't judge. And maybe if you're in a good mood, while you're not judging me you'll also send some good ju-ju out into the universe for me that helps me get into one of the programs!!

Many thanks in advance for the success ju-ju!

Sweet Pea