McMaster OT Orientation Week!

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

Now What?

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!

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