Amy OT

I've made it! I'm surviving! Yay. General things I'm noticing, that may resonate with any fieldwork student, I'm not sure, but would love to hear if this is your experience as well... I'm tired. All the time. Like drinking more caffeine than usual and getting more sleep or the same amount as usual, and still yawning constantly throughout the day. Constantly. I am forever apologizing to the people around me and excusing myself, because my body is still adjusting to the drastic schedule change. My feet hurt. A ton. It's winter here, so it's boot wearing season, and even my more comfortable boots won't do the trick. My feet are complaining and I hear them... shhhh My clothes smell. They absorb the smells of the different homes we are in - ethnic foods, smoke, stinky rotting food sorta smell.... uggg. I've never been a huge washing-my-coat person multiple times a season, but I think it's going to be must.. Week One, I was a sponge. Obs...

What's Level II Fieldwork? Level II Fieldwork is a 12-week placement, meant to prepare you with the skills you will need to be an occupational therapist in any setting, even if the job you take is with a different population of clients. You are assigned to an OT and work under their supervision for the 12 weeks. You start by observing and work up to taking on their caseload, becoming (hopefully) pretty independent from about the middle point (6 weeks) until the end. It trains you on how to communicate with patients and healthcare team members, how to document what you see in clinical OT terms, how to bill for your sessions, assess, evaluate, treat, and discharge clients. Phew.. so much to learn! Early Intervention  My first Level II is in early intervention (EI) . So early intervention is the name for this incredible service available to any infant or toddler ages 0-3 whose parent or doctor has concerns for their growth and development. It's a preventative service. By c...

So what's Level II Fieldwork mean? Nothing to an onlooker. Quite a bit to me and my peers. It's the moment we've been longing for with anticipation since the day our graduate program for occupational therapy began 17 months ago. The day we can put away text books and come face to face with clients. The day we can write up documentation on real people rather than a scenario from p. 384 of the textbook. The day I am eager to witness, experience, and write home about.... The day you question if you've learned enough and are nervous like the first day of high school all over again..  How did we get to this point? So basically I've completed all the course work of my grad program to become an occupational therapist. Each semester you have a Level I Fieldwork which is like a baby fieldwork, something 10-20 hours of mostly observation or running group sessions with partners. Working on general skills for older adults, children, or people with physical or mental di...