1. Demonstrates the ability to give constructive and timely feedback.
During my first rotation at Methodist South and my last rotation at St. Jude I was provided weekly feedback meetings. In the meetings my Fieldwork educators reviewed my strengths, weaknesses, goals for the next week, and an assignment for the following week. At Methodist South I was requested to fill out a similar form reflecting my Fieldwork educator strengths and weaknesses in supervision. This gave me the opportunity to give constructive feedback in a timely manner. Some of my feedback involving her strengths were: rapport she held with her patients, explanation of intervention selection, and detailed answers to my questions. When I provided this constructive feedback, it was initially difficult to provide my fieldwork educators’ weaknesses. After the first few weeks of holding this meeting, I began to become more comfortable with providing constructive feedback regarding areas other than strengths. The feedback I gave during weekly meetings at St. Jude were regarding situations/experiences that I felt I personally needed to grow in and become more knowledgeable. For example, one week I explained to my Fieldwork Educator I would like to have more experience administering assessments. My Fieldwork Educator was very open to this feedback and provided me with the opportunity to administer multiple assessments the following week. The weekly meetings on my first and last rotation initiated growth towards professional development by providing opportunities for giving and receiving constructive feedback. I have attached two weekly feedback forms from my first and last rotation.
weekly_feedback_methodist_south.jpg
weekly_feedback_st._jude_.jpg
2. Modifies behavior in response to feedback; seeks opportunities to apply feedback.
My last rotation at St. Jude provided the opportunity to treat a wide variety of children. The majority of the children on our caseload were treated in the rehab gym and were considered outpatient. There were also cases where we were required to go to patient rooms, isolation rooms, or medicine rooms. We were required to treat in the separate rooms, because the child either had a sickness or extremely low immune system that could not be compromised. During the first week, I was given the opportunity to modify my behavior in response to feedback from my educator. There was a child diagnosed with Down syndrome and leukemia. I completed a chart review of this patient prior to treatment and my fieldwork educator expressed that this child could potentially have behavioral deficits during our sessions. The patient was nonverbal, so she explained that instead of using his language he utilizes his behavior to express what he desired. Although I understood what she was explaining; it was heightened once I observed this behavior during the treatment session. The child was very attentive and well behaved for the first ten minutes of the session, but showed difficulty transitioning from one activity to the next. The behavior progressed to a tantrum. I attempted to distract the child with toys we brought while my educator prepared the next activity. The child was not distracted and the tantrum continued. My educator had completed the preparation of the next activity and began to attempt redirecting the child’s focus from ending the previous activity to beginning a new one. The child did not redirect and the behavior continued. My educator then became silent and did not address the child directly. She guarded the child for safety, but her verbal interaction was minimal. My educator explained to me that she was overlooking the behavior, because he now sees his tantrum as a game. Within one minute the child’s behavior changed completely. He was much more attentive and began to engage in the activity. As the therapist overlooked the behavior multiple times during the session I would change my approach and behavior based on her feedback. It was very interesting to watch the session unfold. This was the first time I observed this patient, so I was amazed at how well he responded to her “overlooking” behavioral technique. Through feedback from my educator following the session she felt I was able to modify my behavior appropriately. From this session on, I have sought opportunities to identify my educator changing her approach for various children. This was a great lesson to experience, because it has assisted me to seek out feedback regarding behaviors of various children and to modify my behavior accordingly.
3. Productively uses knowledge of own strengths and weaknesses.
The weekly feedback given at Methodist South educated me on the perspective of other professionals regarding my clinical skills, knowledge and interpersonal skills. My Fieldwork educator stated multiple times that my initiative with patients was a great strength of mine. She also felt that my interpersonal skills with patients set me apart in the health care setting. Before my educator verbalized she found my initiative as a strength, I was worried about being too forward as I helped throughout therapy sessions. Once I discovered that she found this as a strength of mine, I began to utilize my initiative with more confidence. I assisted during transfers, provided ideas for treatment sessions, and eventually conducted treatment sessions independently.
A weakness brought to my attention was regarding my documentation skills. With this being my first rotation, I did not feel confident in this area. My educator addressed situations during treatment sessions and provided examples of how she would document the skills that were executed by the patient. I then applied the strategies into my documentation. My fieldwork educator expressed that I had progressed through the feedback she provided for me. This guided me to grow professionally by increasing my confidence in this area. When initially it was a weakness, it became an area that I slowly became more confident in as time went on.
A second example of productively using knowledge of my own strengths was during my time at St. Jude. Through the weekly feedback meetings that were held I began to understand that my Fieldwork Educator and other therapist appreciated my interpersonal skills and initiative of completing tasks at the facility. I assisted other therapist by cleaning after their treatment sessions if I did not have a patient, picking up and organizing game and toy closets, and any additional paperwork that needed to be completed. Once I received feedback regarding the appreciation of the assistance provided I made it a priority to complete at least once a day.
4. Maintains balance in personal and professional life while prioritizing professional responsibilities and commitments.
Maintaining balance in my personal life while completing professional responsibilities is an area that is difficult for me. It is challenging for me to take time to complete leisure activities when I feel I have multiple professional responsibilities that need to be completed. I have prioritized maintaining a balance between leisure and responsibilities during fieldwork through utilizing my daily planner. A specific situation where I was able to balance many responsibilities was during my first rotation at Methodist South. The week of my presentation there were many responsibilities that needed to be completed in order to fulfill my professional commitment. I have attached pictures of two weeks from my personal planner. My planner provides evidence that I included all professional assignments as well as leisure activities. I feel that writing leisure activities in my daily planner has held me accountable to follow through and participate in various leisure pursuits. Although the leisure activities seem small or might not take a great amount of time; it helps me to have a scheduled stress relief time for myself.
planner1.jpg
planner2.jpg
5. Demonstrates functional level of confidence and self assurance.
Building confidence is something that has been a professional goal of mine through my level II fieldwork journey. Through my first rotation I felt that my confidence grew through administering evaluations and assessments. My confidence in this area was verified by my educator through feedback. Even though I felt that I had grown in confidence and self-assurance I still felt that this area needed to grow further and blossom. When I began my second rotation I was not receiving as much constructive feedback as my first rotation, so I began to strive to work harder on the professional goals I had made for myself regarding self-confidence and self-assurance. Around midterm Mrs. Flick scheduled a site visit at the facility and it just so happened that my educator was on vacation. So, during this week I was holding much more responsibilities than normal. Once my educator was back on the unit she expressed how she could see that I had grown in the short time she was absent. She explained that Mrs. Flick had emailed her providing the same feedback that she felt I had become more self-assured. It was this moment that held so much meaning for me. I was able to receive feedback from two separate professionals that assured me I was moving closer to a goal I had set for myself. As I began preparing for my pediatric rotation at St. Jude I could feel a sense of self-assurance in myself. The feedback from two professionals was exactly what I needed at that time to probive reassurance of confidence and self-assurance.
6. Uses humor to diffuse tension.
Situations that result in tension have always been hard for me to process, especially in a professional environment. During my time at Methodist South, I had the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and apply humor to diffuse tension. There was a patient on our case load who was diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury and presented as nonverbal. This patient's father accompanied the patient during therapy and communicated ways that we as therapists could provide interventions in a more effective approach. This is a situation that stunned me at the beginning of the rotation, I had never experienced a parent that was extremely verbal even when disagreeing with activities the therapist was implementing. When I was assigned this patient on my caseload, needless to say I became extremely nervous due to past experiences I had witnessed with my fieldwork educator and this father. I knew this patient enjoyed art, so I planned a treatment session involving crafts. The patient placed pom poms on a picture requiring fine motor manipulation with control of the small items. The father began to make comments regarding my thought process for utilizing the crafts and explained to me that the patient was not very engaged. My FWE provided me with advice to be confident in the treatment interventions I chose to implement. I kindly responded to the father and said let’s ask “A” if she is bored. The patient used a 1 for yes and 2 for no system to respond, so we utilized this method to communicate. The father began to laugh by the patient's response, which was lifting one finger for yes followed with the patient raising her middle finger up at her father. Luckily, he found this humorous, so I followed his reaction by stating: “Well, I am going to interpret that as she is definitely not bored.” The father agreed and in return thanked me for including the patient’s opinion. Through what could have been a high tension situation resulted in building rapport with a caregiver by responding in humor.
7. Maintains professional behavior, regardless of problem or situation.
During my second rotation at Baptist Health rotation (inpatient psychiatric) I experienced a challenging situation that tested my professional behavior skills. This situation occurred approximately during week seven during a day that my regular fieldwork educator was on vacation. I began the day debriefing with my temporary supervisor and completed evaluations. There is a locked unit on the floor where mentally unstable patients were seen. The locked unit required one on one interactions, and a security guard must be in close proximities. As I completed the evaluations on the locked unit, I approached one specific patient in attempt to bring her from her room out into the day area. This patient was rolled to their side requiring me to walk around to see their face to introduce myself. As I walked to the side of this patient's bed I saw their face turning blue as I began to introduce myself. I immediately lifted the patient from side lying to edge of bed sitting. This patient then asked me if I would assist her in committing suicide. I noticed that this patient had something wrapped around her neck. In this moment my mind was spinning extremely fast, but my first reaction luckily was to call the nurses station from the patient's bed. I asked for immediate help from nursing as well as a security guard assistance. I began to talk to this patient as calmly as possible, and began trying to remove the item that was wrapped around her neck. This patient was becoming aggressive and her face remained blue. It felt as if it took the nursing staff and the security guard eternity to come into the patient’s room, although in reality it was approximately two minutes. We were able to remove the pillow case from the patient's neck with the help of three nurses and a security guard. All during this time, the patient was aggressively screaming toward me for not helping her commit suicide. I then was asked to speak to the physiatrist regarding the situation that had taken place and the status of the patient. This situation was extremely devastating for me to process. Regardless the tragedy of the situation I prioritized professional behaviors. My professional behaviors were executed by remaining calm, calling for assistance, staying by the patient’s side, and attempting to diffuse the situation. The most difficult aspect for me was to remain emotionally professional. This was a terrifying situation for me to witness, and I was able to remain professional by refraining from becoming emotional. I feel that this tragic experience provided me with an intense experience to remain professional no matter the difficult of the situation.
8. Takes risks to maximize outcomes.
My rotation at St. Jude provided me with various opportunities to take risks. As my case load increased I began to choose patients I would treat each day. This was an adjustment for me, because my past rotations have assigned specific patients to treat. I began to notice that I fell into a routine of selecting patients who I felt the most “comfortable” treating. I challenged myself to take additional risks to treat more complex patients. One specific patient that was out of my comfort zone was two-months old diagnosed with Medulloblastoma. This patient was complex regarding the deficits he was experiencing post-surgery. In preparation for his treatment I studied developmental milestones specific to his age. Being able to take the risk provided me with a great learning experience. I maximized my outcomes through my clinical experience as well as professional relationship with my field work educator. My educator provided me with feedback following the session explaining that she was impressed with my confidence to treat this patient.
9. Uses knowledge and information in an innovative way.
My last rotation at St. Jude I exhibited knowledge and information in an innovative way. I was assigned a fine motor project to create new activities and games for the therapist to implement. The facility had a fine motor kit with various activities for visual motor integration, fine motor, and cognitive skills. The objective of this project was to utilize information given from therapist regarding areas needing to be addressed, and to create activities in an innovative way. Through this project I used my knowledge of fine motor skills, visual motor skills, and cognitive skills in an innovative way by creating activities that this facility did not currently have. I have attached pictures to provide evidence of the various activites I have created for the facility. The feedback I have received regarding my intervention ideas provided me with self-assurance and confidence that I utilized the suggestions provided for this project. During this process I was required to have the activities approved by my fieldwork educator and the other therapists. This approval process forced me to be unique and creative with activity ideas, which at times was difficult. (because St. Jude has SO many wonderful resources) This project has provided me with a desire to continue to think creatively and in an innovative way for not only the patients I had at St. Jude, but to ensure that I continue this mindset for my future patients.
During my first rotation at Methodist South and my last rotation at St. Jude I was provided weekly feedback meetings. In the meetings my Fieldwork educators reviewed my strengths, weaknesses, goals for the next week, and an assignment for the following week. At Methodist South I was requested to fill out a similar form reflecting my Fieldwork educator strengths and weaknesses in supervision. This gave me the opportunity to give constructive feedback in a timely manner. Some of my feedback involving her strengths were: rapport she held with her patients, explanation of intervention selection, and detailed answers to my questions. When I provided this constructive feedback, it was initially difficult to provide my fieldwork educators’ weaknesses. After the first few weeks of holding this meeting, I began to become more comfortable with providing constructive feedback regarding areas other than strengths. The feedback I gave during weekly meetings at St. Jude were regarding situations/experiences that I felt I personally needed to grow in and become more knowledgeable. For example, one week I explained to my Fieldwork Educator I would like to have more experience administering assessments. My Fieldwork Educator was very open to this feedback and provided me with the opportunity to administer multiple assessments the following week. The weekly meetings on my first and last rotation initiated growth towards professional development by providing opportunities for giving and receiving constructive feedback. I have attached two weekly feedback forms from my first and last rotation.
weekly_feedback_methodist_south.jpg
weekly_feedback_st._jude_.jpg
2. Modifies behavior in response to feedback; seeks opportunities to apply feedback.
My last rotation at St. Jude provided the opportunity to treat a wide variety of children. The majority of the children on our caseload were treated in the rehab gym and were considered outpatient. There were also cases where we were required to go to patient rooms, isolation rooms, or medicine rooms. We were required to treat in the separate rooms, because the child either had a sickness or extremely low immune system that could not be compromised. During the first week, I was given the opportunity to modify my behavior in response to feedback from my educator. There was a child diagnosed with Down syndrome and leukemia. I completed a chart review of this patient prior to treatment and my fieldwork educator expressed that this child could potentially have behavioral deficits during our sessions. The patient was nonverbal, so she explained that instead of using his language he utilizes his behavior to express what he desired. Although I understood what she was explaining; it was heightened once I observed this behavior during the treatment session. The child was very attentive and well behaved for the first ten minutes of the session, but showed difficulty transitioning from one activity to the next. The behavior progressed to a tantrum. I attempted to distract the child with toys we brought while my educator prepared the next activity. The child was not distracted and the tantrum continued. My educator had completed the preparation of the next activity and began to attempt redirecting the child’s focus from ending the previous activity to beginning a new one. The child did not redirect and the behavior continued. My educator then became silent and did not address the child directly. She guarded the child for safety, but her verbal interaction was minimal. My educator explained to me that she was overlooking the behavior, because he now sees his tantrum as a game. Within one minute the child’s behavior changed completely. He was much more attentive and began to engage in the activity. As the therapist overlooked the behavior multiple times during the session I would change my approach and behavior based on her feedback. It was very interesting to watch the session unfold. This was the first time I observed this patient, so I was amazed at how well he responded to her “overlooking” behavioral technique. Through feedback from my educator following the session she felt I was able to modify my behavior appropriately. From this session on, I have sought opportunities to identify my educator changing her approach for various children. This was a great lesson to experience, because it has assisted me to seek out feedback regarding behaviors of various children and to modify my behavior accordingly.
3. Productively uses knowledge of own strengths and weaknesses.
The weekly feedback given at Methodist South educated me on the perspective of other professionals regarding my clinical skills, knowledge and interpersonal skills. My Fieldwork educator stated multiple times that my initiative with patients was a great strength of mine. She also felt that my interpersonal skills with patients set me apart in the health care setting. Before my educator verbalized she found my initiative as a strength, I was worried about being too forward as I helped throughout therapy sessions. Once I discovered that she found this as a strength of mine, I began to utilize my initiative with more confidence. I assisted during transfers, provided ideas for treatment sessions, and eventually conducted treatment sessions independently.
A weakness brought to my attention was regarding my documentation skills. With this being my first rotation, I did not feel confident in this area. My educator addressed situations during treatment sessions and provided examples of how she would document the skills that were executed by the patient. I then applied the strategies into my documentation. My fieldwork educator expressed that I had progressed through the feedback she provided for me. This guided me to grow professionally by increasing my confidence in this area. When initially it was a weakness, it became an area that I slowly became more confident in as time went on.
A second example of productively using knowledge of my own strengths was during my time at St. Jude. Through the weekly feedback meetings that were held I began to understand that my Fieldwork Educator and other therapist appreciated my interpersonal skills and initiative of completing tasks at the facility. I assisted other therapist by cleaning after their treatment sessions if I did not have a patient, picking up and organizing game and toy closets, and any additional paperwork that needed to be completed. Once I received feedback regarding the appreciation of the assistance provided I made it a priority to complete at least once a day.
4. Maintains balance in personal and professional life while prioritizing professional responsibilities and commitments.
Maintaining balance in my personal life while completing professional responsibilities is an area that is difficult for me. It is challenging for me to take time to complete leisure activities when I feel I have multiple professional responsibilities that need to be completed. I have prioritized maintaining a balance between leisure and responsibilities during fieldwork through utilizing my daily planner. A specific situation where I was able to balance many responsibilities was during my first rotation at Methodist South. The week of my presentation there were many responsibilities that needed to be completed in order to fulfill my professional commitment. I have attached pictures of two weeks from my personal planner. My planner provides evidence that I included all professional assignments as well as leisure activities. I feel that writing leisure activities in my daily planner has held me accountable to follow through and participate in various leisure pursuits. Although the leisure activities seem small or might not take a great amount of time; it helps me to have a scheduled stress relief time for myself.
planner1.jpg
planner2.jpg
5. Demonstrates functional level of confidence and self assurance.
Building confidence is something that has been a professional goal of mine through my level II fieldwork journey. Through my first rotation I felt that my confidence grew through administering evaluations and assessments. My confidence in this area was verified by my educator through feedback. Even though I felt that I had grown in confidence and self-assurance I still felt that this area needed to grow further and blossom. When I began my second rotation I was not receiving as much constructive feedback as my first rotation, so I began to strive to work harder on the professional goals I had made for myself regarding self-confidence and self-assurance. Around midterm Mrs. Flick scheduled a site visit at the facility and it just so happened that my educator was on vacation. So, during this week I was holding much more responsibilities than normal. Once my educator was back on the unit she expressed how she could see that I had grown in the short time she was absent. She explained that Mrs. Flick had emailed her providing the same feedback that she felt I had become more self-assured. It was this moment that held so much meaning for me. I was able to receive feedback from two separate professionals that assured me I was moving closer to a goal I had set for myself. As I began preparing for my pediatric rotation at St. Jude I could feel a sense of self-assurance in myself. The feedback from two professionals was exactly what I needed at that time to probive reassurance of confidence and self-assurance.
6. Uses humor to diffuse tension.
Situations that result in tension have always been hard for me to process, especially in a professional environment. During my time at Methodist South, I had the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone and apply humor to diffuse tension. There was a patient on our case load who was diagnosed with Traumatic Brain Injury and presented as nonverbal. This patient's father accompanied the patient during therapy and communicated ways that we as therapists could provide interventions in a more effective approach. This is a situation that stunned me at the beginning of the rotation, I had never experienced a parent that was extremely verbal even when disagreeing with activities the therapist was implementing. When I was assigned this patient on my caseload, needless to say I became extremely nervous due to past experiences I had witnessed with my fieldwork educator and this father. I knew this patient enjoyed art, so I planned a treatment session involving crafts. The patient placed pom poms on a picture requiring fine motor manipulation with control of the small items. The father began to make comments regarding my thought process for utilizing the crafts and explained to me that the patient was not very engaged. My FWE provided me with advice to be confident in the treatment interventions I chose to implement. I kindly responded to the father and said let’s ask “A” if she is bored. The patient used a 1 for yes and 2 for no system to respond, so we utilized this method to communicate. The father began to laugh by the patient's response, which was lifting one finger for yes followed with the patient raising her middle finger up at her father. Luckily, he found this humorous, so I followed his reaction by stating: “Well, I am going to interpret that as she is definitely not bored.” The father agreed and in return thanked me for including the patient’s opinion. Through what could have been a high tension situation resulted in building rapport with a caregiver by responding in humor.
7. Maintains professional behavior, regardless of problem or situation.
During my second rotation at Baptist Health rotation (inpatient psychiatric) I experienced a challenging situation that tested my professional behavior skills. This situation occurred approximately during week seven during a day that my regular fieldwork educator was on vacation. I began the day debriefing with my temporary supervisor and completed evaluations. There is a locked unit on the floor where mentally unstable patients were seen. The locked unit required one on one interactions, and a security guard must be in close proximities. As I completed the evaluations on the locked unit, I approached one specific patient in attempt to bring her from her room out into the day area. This patient was rolled to their side requiring me to walk around to see their face to introduce myself. As I walked to the side of this patient's bed I saw their face turning blue as I began to introduce myself. I immediately lifted the patient from side lying to edge of bed sitting. This patient then asked me if I would assist her in committing suicide. I noticed that this patient had something wrapped around her neck. In this moment my mind was spinning extremely fast, but my first reaction luckily was to call the nurses station from the patient's bed. I asked for immediate help from nursing as well as a security guard assistance. I began to talk to this patient as calmly as possible, and began trying to remove the item that was wrapped around her neck. This patient was becoming aggressive and her face remained blue. It felt as if it took the nursing staff and the security guard eternity to come into the patient’s room, although in reality it was approximately two minutes. We were able to remove the pillow case from the patient's neck with the help of three nurses and a security guard. All during this time, the patient was aggressively screaming toward me for not helping her commit suicide. I then was asked to speak to the physiatrist regarding the situation that had taken place and the status of the patient. This situation was extremely devastating for me to process. Regardless the tragedy of the situation I prioritized professional behaviors. My professional behaviors were executed by remaining calm, calling for assistance, staying by the patient’s side, and attempting to diffuse the situation. The most difficult aspect for me was to remain emotionally professional. This was a terrifying situation for me to witness, and I was able to remain professional by refraining from becoming emotional. I feel that this tragic experience provided me with an intense experience to remain professional no matter the difficult of the situation.
8. Takes risks to maximize outcomes.
My rotation at St. Jude provided me with various opportunities to take risks. As my case load increased I began to choose patients I would treat each day. This was an adjustment for me, because my past rotations have assigned specific patients to treat. I began to notice that I fell into a routine of selecting patients who I felt the most “comfortable” treating. I challenged myself to take additional risks to treat more complex patients. One specific patient that was out of my comfort zone was two-months old diagnosed with Medulloblastoma. This patient was complex regarding the deficits he was experiencing post-surgery. In preparation for his treatment I studied developmental milestones specific to his age. Being able to take the risk provided me with a great learning experience. I maximized my outcomes through my clinical experience as well as professional relationship with my field work educator. My educator provided me with feedback following the session explaining that she was impressed with my confidence to treat this patient.
9. Uses knowledge and information in an innovative way.
My last rotation at St. Jude I exhibited knowledge and information in an innovative way. I was assigned a fine motor project to create new activities and games for the therapist to implement. The facility had a fine motor kit with various activities for visual motor integration, fine motor, and cognitive skills. The objective of this project was to utilize information given from therapist regarding areas needing to be addressed, and to create activities in an innovative way. Through this project I used my knowledge of fine motor skills, visual motor skills, and cognitive skills in an innovative way by creating activities that this facility did not currently have. I have attached pictures to provide evidence of the various activites I have created for the facility. The feedback I have received regarding my intervention ideas provided me with self-assurance and confidence that I utilized the suggestions provided for this project. During this process I was required to have the activities approved by my fieldwork educator and the other therapists. This approval process forced me to be unique and creative with activity ideas, which at times was difficult. (because St. Jude has SO many wonderful resources) This project has provided me with a desire to continue to think creatively and in an innovative way for not only the patients I had at St. Jude, but to ensure that I continue this mindset for my future patients.
10. Empowers clients and team members.
At St. Jude I had the pleasure to empower patients in various ways. One specific example was a patient diagnosed with Medulloblastoma. Following surgery this patient presented with hemiplegia to their right side, which was their dominant hand. When I began this rotation the patient and the occupational therapist had strenuously focused on strengthening his right upper extremity in attempt to continue writing utilizing the right hand. Upon beginning this rotation, the therapist explained to me that the parents and patient needed further education on the future interventions to alternate dominant hands from right to left. I educated the family and patient on the process of alternating dominance. I empowered this patient and their family by providing explanation that we would address this through future interventions. I comforted the family regarding their son having to utilize the left hand until function returns in the right hand. We began interventions utilizing left hand handwriting by tracing lines beginning with vertical and horizontal and graded up to curved and diagonal. The patient then began writing letters by tracing and copying. It was wonderful to see this patients’ progress from the time I began this rotation until he returned home. During our treatment sessions I prioritized empowering the patient by specifically stating the progress he had made, and I could see his confidence increasing with each session. This was a phenomenal experience, because it forced me to prioritize building rapport and providing the patient with education of their progress. I will remember this experience throughout my future career and utilize the techniques and education with future patients.
11. Actively participates in leadership or supportive roles in local, state, and/or national associations.
Throughout my level two rotations I have remained a member of AOTA. The membership has provided opportunities to remain up to date on current occupational therapy research, trending topics, and additional information. I have attached a picture of my membership to the association. Another leadership role I have participated in locally is continuing my volunteer service at the Ronald McDonald House in Memphis. I have continued to be a volunteer on scheduled days as well as when the house needs additional assistance. I thoroughly enjoyed my time volunteering especially while completing my rotation at St. Jude. I was able to see patients who were on our caseload during my volunteering, which assisted in building rapport with patients and families. The AOTA membership was not as active as volunteering however; it allowed me to have a supportive role at a national level. Both leadership and supportive roles have increased my skills in terms of effectiveness, evidence based practice, and interpersonal skills.
aota_membership.png
12. Maintains values over self-promotion or profit.
There are two specific examples of how I have maintained values over self-promotion. The first example occurred during the preparation period for St. Jude. Prior to beginning the rotation, I completed an interview with the lead occupational therapist. In this interview it would have been easy to respond in ways that would provide a higher chance of acceptance for the rotation, but instead I maintained my values throughout. In the interview I was asked my knowledge of oncology and clinical experience in this field. It would have been effortless to respond in a way that would provide self-promotion regarding oncology. Instead, I responded honestly and explained that I personally did not have clinical experience regarding oncology, however I would be extremely willing to learn and complete my own research on the topic beforehand.
The second example of maintaining values over self-promotion occurred during my time at St. Jude. During this rotation the schedule allowed 30 minutes for each patient. Most days the patients were scheduled right after one another. Through this busy schedule I maintained values over self-promotion by documenting and billing for the exact time I saw each patient. It would have been effortless to round to the next half hour, however I maintained my values of honesty and integrity documenting the exact minutes I began and ended with a new patient.
At St. Jude I had the pleasure to empower patients in various ways. One specific example was a patient diagnosed with Medulloblastoma. Following surgery this patient presented with hemiplegia to their right side, which was their dominant hand. When I began this rotation the patient and the occupational therapist had strenuously focused on strengthening his right upper extremity in attempt to continue writing utilizing the right hand. Upon beginning this rotation, the therapist explained to me that the parents and patient needed further education on the future interventions to alternate dominant hands from right to left. I educated the family and patient on the process of alternating dominance. I empowered this patient and their family by providing explanation that we would address this through future interventions. I comforted the family regarding their son having to utilize the left hand until function returns in the right hand. We began interventions utilizing left hand handwriting by tracing lines beginning with vertical and horizontal and graded up to curved and diagonal. The patient then began writing letters by tracing and copying. It was wonderful to see this patients’ progress from the time I began this rotation until he returned home. During our treatment sessions I prioritized empowering the patient by specifically stating the progress he had made, and I could see his confidence increasing with each session. This was a phenomenal experience, because it forced me to prioritize building rapport and providing the patient with education of their progress. I will remember this experience throughout my future career and utilize the techniques and education with future patients.
11. Actively participates in leadership or supportive roles in local, state, and/or national associations.
Throughout my level two rotations I have remained a member of AOTA. The membership has provided opportunities to remain up to date on current occupational therapy research, trending topics, and additional information. I have attached a picture of my membership to the association. Another leadership role I have participated in locally is continuing my volunteer service at the Ronald McDonald House in Memphis. I have continued to be a volunteer on scheduled days as well as when the house needs additional assistance. I thoroughly enjoyed my time volunteering especially while completing my rotation at St. Jude. I was able to see patients who were on our caseload during my volunteering, which assisted in building rapport with patients and families. The AOTA membership was not as active as volunteering however; it allowed me to have a supportive role at a national level. Both leadership and supportive roles have increased my skills in terms of effectiveness, evidence based practice, and interpersonal skills.
aota_membership.png
12. Maintains values over self-promotion or profit.
There are two specific examples of how I have maintained values over self-promotion. The first example occurred during the preparation period for St. Jude. Prior to beginning the rotation, I completed an interview with the lead occupational therapist. In this interview it would have been easy to respond in ways that would provide a higher chance of acceptance for the rotation, but instead I maintained my values throughout. In the interview I was asked my knowledge of oncology and clinical experience in this field. It would have been effortless to respond in a way that would provide self-promotion regarding oncology. Instead, I responded honestly and explained that I personally did not have clinical experience regarding oncology, however I would be extremely willing to learn and complete my own research on the topic beforehand.
The second example of maintaining values over self-promotion occurred during my time at St. Jude. During this rotation the schedule allowed 30 minutes for each patient. Most days the patients were scheduled right after one another. Through this busy schedule I maintained values over self-promotion by documenting and billing for the exact time I saw each patient. It would have been effortless to round to the next half hour, however I maintained my values of honesty and integrity documenting the exact minutes I began and ended with a new patient.