Year 2 Week 4

When mind-mapping goes wrong...

A week filled with visits, meetings, classes and assignment preparation. 

Visit to meet my Placement Educator:

I start PP3 in under a month and it's my first mental health placement, which is a little bit scary since it's only a 6 week placement at level 6 so it doesn't give much time to get familiar with the setting before getting stuck in. It feels like in this one I really need to hit the ground running. 

For that reason I decided to visit and meet my educator before starting the placement (which on previous placements I haven't done either due to location or after speaking to my educator not felt was necessary). I'm so glad I did this as it has reduced my anxiety about starting in a new setting that is outwith my comfort zone, and has actually has increased my desire to get started and get going with less of the unknowns that come when you start the placement. 

Learning about Vocational Rehab:

This weeks classes focused on Vocational Rehab as a specialised area of OT and i found this really interesting. Before starting on the course, one of the OT settings I shadowed was within vocational rehab for a individuals with mental health conditions and it was a really interesting setting with lots of extra skills that helped individuals manage their hunt for a job and also the process of settling into their new role. 

It is such a great opportunity for an occupational therapist to use their core skills mixed with the more specialist skills of jobs, the person and the environment in which people work in. As OTs we understand the importance of doing in helping a persons overall well being, so can see the benefits of a person being in employment or even volunteering. But we can also understand the impact that working environment can have good or bad so it's important that an individual is in a role they enjoy or can at least see the point in.

Unfortunately I missed the second class due to being unwell, which was a shame as the topic was really interesting. 

Assignment Prep:

As i mentioned in last weeks blog, our next assignment is in the form of a VIVA which we haven't done before, so that is has the normal fear of the unknown. Unfortunately I can't seem to find any info on preparing for VIVAs on the university skills site which is a bit of a pain, and a search of youtube hasn't helped either. I am told its a discussion but it makes it really hard to prepare for. I decided as I'm a visual learner that making a mind map might help, but as you can see above that didn't really go to plan and now I can't decide if that is far to much information to be learning for a 30 min discussion. I also think the more I read the more confused I am sometimes getting. However a quick look back at my blog from this time last year has reminded me that confusion is good... as it shows you understand something enough to go deeper, so at least that can give me some confidence I am questioning it more (hopefully).  I'm glad I picked an area of OT I'm interested in and the fact I know it will benefit me when I start my elective placement is a bonus to trying to remember all the details. 

#OTalk - Welcome to OT:

This week has also included some last minute prep for next Tuesday's (20th October) Welcome to OT #OTalk. Please join in if you are around, whether you are a new student, a student with some experience to share or and OT we would love to have you there to share with the new intake of OT students. It is also a great chat to get involved in if you haven't tried #OTalk before as it is a nice informal one to give you a chance to get the hang of it. The blog post for the chat is available by clicking here.


For more insight into my journey to become an occupational therapist; follow me on twitter: @OTontheTracks