Graduation Day

...1 Course, 2 years, 24 month, 2 countries, 5 placements, Lots of learning and reflections... 

I survived and somehow managed to pass my masters in Occupational Therapy

Today is Graduation Day!

When I decided to consider Occupational Therapy as a career, I don't think I truly understood how vast and dynamic a profession it really was. Even now as a newly qualified practitioner, I am still often surprised at all the huge array possibilities there are for Occupational Therapists to use our unique skills. Really though, I shouldn't be surprised because as my knowledge and understanding of occupation has developed, I know that the inherent role it plays not only in the health and wellbeing of individuals and communities but on the identity and everyday landscape of how we all function.  The surprise has more of an air of excitement of possibilities now rather than simple lack of knowledge and I am particularly grateful for the experiences during my MSc that have accumulated the development of my understanding of this fundamental concept that is so crucial in how I evidence and argue my professional worth in my everyday roles.



One of the great things about I found whilst on this journey  to become an Occupational Therapist is just that 'surprise', the joy of finding those areas that you never considered working in before, and realising they allow you to use the skills and experiences you have had to enable others to engage more fully in their everyday life. 


So 2 years on from the start of this journey (3 years if you include when I decided to bite the bullet and apply for the course), if I could go back, would I change my decision to study? Absolutely not. It has been incredibly tough two years, tougher than I ever thought it would be and it has pushed me more than I thought I was capable of being pushed, yes there were points during the course that I felt like I would never manage to get to this point; but there has also been some great experiences along the way too that have moulded and continue to shape who I am as an Occupational therapist. So here I am 2 years on, on graduation day with a masters degree.

Master of Science in
Occupational Therapy

Reflecting on the experience as a whole, I realise how thankful I am for the support I had from friends and family along the way, and I have no doubt in my mind the importance of that support in helping me successfully complete my degree.  


I chose the University of Cumbria as a place to study, mainly for financial reasons along side the ability to commute from home to study, but looking back now, those became minor pluses during my masters journey. The fact that the MSc was a small cohort and the university population in Carlisle as a whole was smaller became a huge asset. The  ability to build relationships with the tutors and staff as well as other students in my class actually aided my learning and development as a practitioner and I'm incredibly thankful for that. 

Has my masters prepared me well to enter the world of work? I really hope so. It has given me the skills to critique the evidence base for my assessments and interventions, the knowledge and sills to question and explore issues at length with the depth that enables me to see past the initial presentation of an issue, it has enhanced my communication skills, and in turn built my confidence in sharing my professional opinions and knowledge but most of all it has prepared me to be a life long learner, that is willing to embrace opportunities to develop personally as practitioner, the profession as a whole and as a team member within the places I work. 

Reflections on Attending and Presenting at #uocOT 2016

Reflections on Attending and Presenting at #uocOT 2016

Thinking back to this time last year, at the very beginning of my research journey, I remember attending the 2nd year's dissertation research conference and feeling inspired, considerably apprehensive about the roller coaster of a journey that was to come, but excited to jump on board and get started. 

One year on, and I'm well on the way to finishing my research write up as part of my dissertation and it was our turn to present our findings within the MScOT Student Research Conference. There was some live tweeting throughout the conference which you can have a look at if you are interested by checking the hashtag #uocOT. You can also see a full transcript over on healthcare hashtags. 

I thought I would document some of my take home thoughts from the keynotes and some of the research presented within the sessions.

NB: Views and reflections are my own but will have been impacted by discussions and interactions throughout the day. I have used tweets to help illustrate thoughts and views and where possible I have referenced these at the end of the blog post.

Morning Keynote: Anna Clampin "Research and Evidence – tools for a Profession’s development?"


Anna Clampin gave a brilliant keynote within the morning session, highlighting the importance of us as clinicians being able to innovate and use the tools we have available to us. She also highlighted the importance of evidencing the difference we can make as the occupational therapy profession. She also challenged us to think are we to casual in our approach to shouting about what we do? Are we communicating what we do as occupational therapists or where we CAN go in our profession?

#uocOT twitter feed

She also highlighted the importance of networking and sharing, making those connections is key if we are to have influence on a local, national and global level. I took away from this session. Being able to influence the contexts we work within is so important as we strive to utilise occupational therapy to its full potential in benefiting the individuals and communities we can and will work with. We have a responsibility to develop, share and utilise the evidence base within our clinical work and as well as a profession as a whole if we are to communicate the value we can contribute within changing contexts and priorities. 

#uocOT twitter feed

It's always great to hear from occupational therapists that have a large array of experience in a mix of clinical practice, research, as part of the professional body and education as it allows me as a complete novice to see the potential and they huge possibilities there are for me within the profession I am part of.







Extra Thoughts: Professor Diane Cox


I say this quite a lot in my blog posts, but we really do have some amazing researchers on staff at the University of Cumbria who inspire and share their clinical experience with us. It was great to hear about all the different clinical areas and opportunities Diane has had within her career so far. 

We are encouraged to say yes to opportunities, even if it feels scary. Just what you need to hear 15 mins before you present your research findings to a group of your peers! But seriously a key take home message as I begin my career as an OT: There will be opportunities and if we are going to continue to increase the knowledge of occupational therapy within the wider contexts we work within and help impact on policy and best practice we need to be able to be brave and say YES! when we are given opportunities.


Presenting my research - Attitudes to Social Media use as a platform for CPD


As part of #uocOT, each of our cohort had to present our research findings, to a small group of our peers. This was a really exciting opportunity after we have spend so long reading the background preparing and carrying out our own

research. 

Apart from it being one of the most nerve-racking things I've done (see previous blog posts on the challenges I have with public speaking), On reflection, it was actually a really positive experience (and I never thought I would EVER be writing that).

As this was part of our dissertation module as a formative assessment, our peers and the tutor in the room gave feedback on our presentation and the content, which has been a great way of increasing my confidence that I do actually understand my research findings and can communicate them verbally.

It was a really positive to see on my feedback forms that others could see my passion for the topic, because I had been so worried about actually presenting the content, Im hadn't really thought past getting the words out my mouth, never mind sharing the passion I had on the utilisation of social media within CPD.

Lots on learning points on presenting too - such as speaking a little slower and louder, but considering how nervous I felt when i was speaking I think that was almost acceptable at this point.


Thankfully I was first to present in our group, so felt able to really listen and get to grips with everyone else's research, here are a couple (I'm being good and picking a couple as all of the presenters I heard had really interesting and relevant research) from my group that I found really interesting:


Catrin Williams: 'The benefits of crafts as a therapeutic tool in the rehabilitation of older adults'.


This was a really interesting presentation, in that as Catrin has been in my learning set this term, I have had a few discussions with her throughout her research process about how she was getting on with what she was doing. It has always struck me the passion she has for the use of craft within occupational therapy practice. 

#uocOT twitter feed

The use of craft within physical occupational therapy does appear to be happening and I think its key that we continue to recognise the therapeutic use to our service users. 


Take home thought: As long as we as OTs can justify the need to use crafts to benefit our service users, it is still a tool that should be utilised. 




Graeme Poulton: 'Investigating the reasons men study occupational therapy: Implications for recruitment' 


Graeme was sharing his research on the reasons males choose to study occupational therapy. I was interested in this, particularly as I have an interest in the education side of occupational therapy practice. Part of his findings highlighted the lack of knowledge of occupational therapy within male school leavers within his respondents. 

Graeme also highlighted that this may be an issue with the publicity and awareness of the profession more widely. I wonder what impact this has on the people we have both currently and will have in the future, training in our profession. Are we missing a whole host of individuals that have great transferrable and innovation skills, who are simply unaware of what occupational therapy is and what we do?


Take home thought: What can I do to improve this as a practitioner? Relating it back to this mornings keynote, who do I need to contact with to influence change, what opportunities do I need to say yes to make an impact on this?


Afternoon Keynote: Allan Brownrigg ‘Don’t cut me out’ young people, self-harm and recovery'


Our afternoon keynote was also really enlightening, as it was great to hear about Alan Brownrigg's research journey. It was also brilliant to hear from another messy literature searcher and that was not necessarily seem as a negative. I was really interesting in his PHD research into young people and self harm recovery and i'm looking forward to it being published so that the evidence based can benefit from it. 


Again we were challenged in how we will practice. We need continue to create the evidence base and not just go by 'business as usual'  



Closing Remarks: Dr Karen Morris 


The day was summed up well by Karen, as she again reiterated the importance of research within our practice and the importance of being aware of not just going along with the flow because 'it's always been done that way'. 



As nearly qualified OTs that can feel like a big challenge... but as evidence based practitioners striving to do the best for our service users, would we want it any other way? 

Massively proud of the rest of the cohort!
We have come so far in last few years. 

References: 


Brownrigg A (2016) ‘Don’t cut me out’ young people, self-harm and recovery'[Keynote Lecture to MScOT Student Conference] HRBO7027: Dissertation. . University of Cumbria. 6th April.

Clampin, A (2016) "Research and Evidence – tools for a Profession’s development?" [Keynote Lecture to MScOT Student Conference] HRBO7027: Dissertation. University of Cumbria. 6th April

Cox, D. (2016) 6 April. Available at: https://twitter.com/dianecox61 (Accessed 06 April 2016).

Cox, D (2016) [Post Keynote Remarks to MScOT Student Conference] HRBO7027: Dissertation. University of Cumbria. 6th April.

Healthcare Hashtags (2016) #uocOT Transcript (2016) Available at: http://embed.symplur.com/twitter/transcript?hashtag=uocOT&fdate=04%2F05%2F2016&shour=07&smin=25&tdate=04%2F07%2F2016&thour=00&tmin=00 (Accessed: 6 April 2016).

Jones, V.  (2016) 6 April. available at: https://twitter.com/Vicky_Jones_89 (Accessed 7 April 2016)

Morris, K (2016) 'MScOT Student Conference: Book of Abstracts and Conference Proceedings',  HRBO7027: Dissertation. University of Cumbria.

Morris, K. (2016) 6 April. Available at: https://twitter.com/morrisKOT (Accessed 6 April 2016)

Poulton, G.. (2016) [Presentation to MScOT Student Conference] HRBO7027: Dissertation. University of Cumbria. 6th April.

Wallcook, S. (2016) 6 April. Available at: https://twitter.com/sarah_wallcook (Accessed 6 April 2016)

Williams, C. (2016) [Presentation to MScOT Student Conference] HRBO7027: Dissertation. University of Cumbria. 6th April.

Year 2 Week 1: And we are back....

Key Term: This feels like its going to fast...


It really is hard to believe how fast this course is actually going... It's the start of second and (hopefully) my final year of studying to become an OT!  It feels strange not being a newbie, I remember this time last year feeling terrified of what i had signed up for. In fact my key term this time last year was 'Overwhelmed!', so I can totally understand how the first years were feeling when I had a chance to meet them at coffee time yesterday. full of all the same questions I had about the unknown of workload, placements, and PRESENTATIONS! 

It has given me time to reflect on the difference a year makes... If you had told me this time  last year that I would have, not just survived first year but passed it, I'm not sure I would have believed you! 

Last year I didn't know what to expect and that scared me! This year I do know whats coming and I can't decide if that scares me less or more! I know the hard work that's coming with 2  assessed VIVAs (one in less than 6 weeks), a group presentation, a dissertation and 2 placements at level 6 which feels like a mountain in such a short space of time. But I know I can do it, I can pass assessments at masters level! It's not impossible!!  

So what is terrifying me the most? It is this time next year It will be over and I'll be job hunting, I'll be an OT (Thanks to the lovely tutor that reminded us of that on day one of second year!). I'll need to be able to utilise the skills I'm learning every day to help people and make a difference to them, to keep them safe and also mange to do so within the constraints of service provision and at times with limited resources. 

BUT:

I'm excited to be back in university, to increase my knowledge, to make the most of opportunities to grow and develop so that this time next year, I might be terrified to be starting out as a qualified OT, but I will know I have the gained as much of the skills I can to be starting in the role! 

To any first years starting out: Make the most of it! It will feel exciting and new but may also feel scary and overwhelming - remember others have been there and survived those moments; support your class mates they will most probably be feeling the same, if not at that very moment at some other point. Speak to the second years, we want to help and support you! And most of all don't be scared to ask questions! 

At the end of welcome week last year I talked about meeting a great bunch of people who I felt would make the next two stressful years a lot of fun and one year in I can share that they have done much more than that! They have made me laugh when all I wanted to do was cry, made the hardest assignments bearable and giving me chances to just be me and share the unique skills I have in the stuff that we have been doing. I'm in a class of enablers and if you are on an OT course, I bet you are in a class full of them too.  

Keep up with my OT journey on twitter:

@OTontheTrack

Week 40: Creative Reflection

Key Term: Creative Reflection & Group Working

This week allowed the class to reflect on one of this terms modules 'Applied OT', in a creative way. It also gave us a chance to reflect in groups as we created our canal metaphor of our journey. I was surprised by how positive an experience this was - being able to bounce ideas and thoughts of other certainly helped my look at my journey this term.


Not sure if you can tell by the picture but it's a canal that we are metaphorically travelling down... It starts with us at the start of the module in February with the knowledge we had from out first placement and two modules from last term... the bridge represents linking theory to practice in the first part of the module and sometimes the difficulty we had in doing so, the tunnel represents being out on placement and almost in a darker place as we are on our own without our classmates but there is also a light guiding us through and that is the skills we have learnt in the classroom and from each other. there canal after that point repressed that the sun is starting to shine and we are starting to feel like it makes sense... Just the presentation to get through before going under the rainbow at the end of the module.


I'm at a point now where I know I have a massive hurdle to overcome before the end of term i.e. the dreaded 30 minute individual assessed presentation. I have actually been worrying about this since starting the course in September as I've always (since as far back as I can remember) had a fear of public speaking! But I know i do need to do this! I am purposely writing this in my blog post because if I don't I feel I'm just going to be in complete denial about having to do it! I can do this!!!


I have also found this week exhausting, and I'm thankful for a week away from uni this coming week.. there is still so much work to do on my presentation, not to mention my research proposal before meeting my supervisor on 7th July! But its a week without commuting which I'm so happy about!


I'm reminded this week of how thankful I am to have chosen a university that has such supportive staff and that try to encourage us as much as they can! Always a plus when a tutor brings chocolate and crafts to a reflective session! Made worrying about the presentation a little less awful!


Until next time!
I hope you all have a good week!

Week 30: PP2.2

Week 30: PP2.2

Key Term:  Lots to do... 

[PP2 Week 2]

Week 2 on placement always feels more controllable in the respect that you start to work out how the setting you are in works and thankfully start to remember who people are, which is a bonus as I'm rubbish at remembering names.

Starting to get to grips with the assessment and services and equipment the department provide... it felt like a really quick week in the end.

[Research...]

I'm starting to try and refine my idea for my research and scholarships module proposal that is due in August... Thankful for support of a supervisor at uni (Such a good move from UoC to allocate the dissertation supervisor earlier to be with you through the whole process, instead of just after you have submitted your proposal.), too many ideas but have managed to scrap a few ideas that although interested me, didn't really add anything to research base.

[#OTalk - Welcome Kelly OTea Party]

This Tuesday was also my first #OTalk in the position of "Student Digital Leader Intern', which was a good experience, I really am looking forward to the opportunities that it will bring.


It's a short update this week as I'm fighting off a headache, so limiting my screen time!

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

Week 25: Too many ideas... so little time

Key Term: Development of thinking....


Research and Scholarship & Dissertation

This week saw the launch of our dissertation module to run along side our research and scholarship one. It is actually a really positive thing as it means our supervisor for dissertation module will be there to support us with the proposal for research and scholarship which is due at the end of first year.

As always I seem to have too many ideas and not really sure how to make the best decision about which one to take forward, so I'm thankful that we are allocated a supervisor over the next week and hopefully they might help me reign it in onto a particular topic.

Slightly daunting (and also really exciting) to think i'm going to have to write a 1000 word assignment at masters level... but that is a worry for next year at this stage... 4000 word proposal is my focus for now.


Applied OT

This week helped us review what we had learnt over the last 5 weeks, which surprisingly does feel a lot more than I originally thought. It is a module that we will continue to develop out on placement and when we are back in university in June and July.  We have been focusing on information gathering and assessment as part of the OT process which is helpful to develop before we go out onto placement in a few weeks time.


Practical Sessions (Intro to OT)

This week sessions focused on hoisting and wheelchairs, which are both things I have experience in using in my role as OT assistant, so I had some knowledge which was a bonus. I am writing a separate post on these sessions so please check that out for more on the experiences.

Week 24: A mixed bag of a week...

Key Term: Step Forward

This week has included research module, applied OT and moving and handling so it has been a really mixed week. 

We refreshed our knowledge on ethics for research, and also began to think of posiblw ideas for our research proposals which fingers crossed next year we will follow through with our masters dissertation. Im actually quite excited about research which is an odd concept for me as during my undergrad I really hated doing my dissertstion on a topic I didnt really have an interest in. We are having our dissertation module launched next week along with our research module so we can understand the link between them more... So that should be really interesting. 

Applied OT gave us an oppurtunity to look at different standardised assesments which was good, and helped me understand diffrent ways of focusing assesments with patients.

Moving and Handling was practical as you can imagine; I also noticed how unnatural stepping forward can be with another person... I must have an odd wsy of walking I think. It was good to refresh my skills though which is always a plus.  

Now for a weekend of brainstorming research proposal ideas! 

Week 23: The Positives of University

Key Term: learning from others...

It's been another busy week at university, with assignment deadlines and getting back into the swing of prep for classes. 

We have been learning more about research this week as we begin to think of our research proposals... It still feels quite scary to think we have to think up our own ideas for research when we are just begining to get our head around the  complexities of occupational therapy. Thankful to have a knowelegable lecturer who is head of research at the university to share with us on different forms of research.  

This week has given some of us time to reflect on the course so far and it's been good for me to think about the positives of studying the MSc at UoC. 

If you are a reader of my blog, you will know I havent found the transition to masters level plain sailing... But thinking back now, if i had the choice between the BSc and MSc. I think I would still choose to do the master course. 

Considering interviews have started for September 2015, I thought it would be worth listing the plus' of studying here:

Supportive Tutors

The campus in Carlisle is small, and so is the course. This means you get to see the tutors around the building most days and they are really helpful. I've found that my personal tutor (PAT), is fab for advice and support. Im sure the other tutors are too.

Self-directed Study Skills

The course teaches you to be independent and search for information to aid your and others in the class' learning. 

This is a skill we are still getting our heads around 5 months in, but I know these skills will be crucial as we become qualifed OTs in the work place.

Research Skills

The tutors also place a big focus on research skills which as OTs working with evidence based practice. It is important we can recognise where to look and how to critique what we are reading to guide our practice. 

It is also very apparent that they have a passion for researching and increasing the evidence base when they are sharingtheir  experiences with us. I'm hopefully this enthusiasm will rub of on me as I start my research proposal for my dissertation in the coming weeks...

Incredibly Knowlegeable Staff

The majority of the OT staff are involved in research of their own or are studying towards qualifications such as PHDs; they also have a great depth of knowledge about practice - just need to seek it out of them! 

Links with Practice

The course benefits from having guest OTs from practice, come in to teach the students. As a first year we have only had a few as first term is quite theory heavy, but i'm told you get a lot more in second year.

Support Services for Students

The university benefits from fab student support services - the library staff are so knowledgeably, and always willing to lend a hand when you are feeling lost with referencing, finding resources as well as most other things you might need support with.

Placements in a wide range of locations and settings

Currently i've only had 2 placements - an observation week and a 5 week one; but looking at the range of settings and locations we have had as a class; there seems to be a good range. 

Small Cohort of Students

I think the normal intake is around 27 a year which means you really get to know your class mates and have a chance to learn from each others experiences.  

Im sure there are many more positives I haven't thought about. But at least there is a few to get you thinking about why studying a MSc at Cumbria is worth it.

This post is very purposly one sided, as I feel that as student OTs it is important to focus on what people can do and not what they can't. With all courses there are things we might want to change and as human beings we can't all like everything... But I think the positives do out weigh the things that arent ideal for me and I wanted to share those!! 

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

Week 18: PP1.3

Key Term: Expectations

[PP1 Week 3]

This week included the half way report and visit at placement; which I was a little concerned about as I didn't feel I had got involved enough in the OT process to meet the requirements; but by actually taking a step back and looking at it from another viewpoint I really hadn't had time to have the opportunities to get involved at this point in placement; mainly due to only having 9 days in placement when my report was written and it being the first placement. 

After talking to my visiting placement tutor and my educators, I did feel a lot better about it and was reassured this is a normal part of placement. It has led me to wonder what my expectations are for myself and if they are always realistic? I'll openly admit that I am a bit of perfectionist and do often feel that my best isn't good enough. It's a tough one, which I can't really find a balance for at the moment. All I do know is that for me I need to 'Be the best version of me that I can' I need to do the best I can as I go through life and hope that is good enough. 

This week did allow me to get more involved in the OT process, taking part in interventions and actually getting to see how occupational therapy is helping the children that my placement OTs come into contact with. I really enjoyed getting to be involved in the process and feel like I was helping the clients with their goals. I have also been able to help decide on SMART goals for some of the children, I have been getting to work with which is great but has allowed me to focus my own thoughts on the goals I set for my self and whether they are smart! 

• Specific – The goal needs to be specific as a pose to general!
• Measurable – The goal needs to be measurable so you can work out if it has been met
• Achievable – The goal needs to be able to be met... there no point in making wild goals if you can't achieve it
• Realistic – Is your goal realistic and able to be achieved?
• Time - what is your time frame to achieve this?

I'm looking forward to getting stuck into week 4 of placement when it starts on Monday, I have a few more treatment sessions planned with the OTTI/OTAs which will give me lots of opportunities for client skills to be developed. 


[Being a 'real' student]

Had a good evening mid week catching up with a few people from course which was nice to do. I didn't really think how much I'd miss seeing everyone from uni when we are all spread across the north of England/Isle of Man on placement. Seeing others from course does make me look forward to being back in uni in a few weeks even if that does mean more essays and presentations! 

Anyways I think I may have procrastinated enough for one day and I should go do some reading for my next uni assignment which the deadline for seems to be getting ever closer!



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

Week 17 - PP1.2

Snowy Views on way back to Placement

Key Term: Participation


[PP1 Week 2]

It's hard to believe that another week of placement has flown by already. Week 2 has been a good one for me as my confidence grows in my placement setting. I just about know all the OTs names now so at least that's one achievement (Anyone that knows me well will know the trouble I have with remembering names). I have actually had the chance to participate in some of the OT process (be it only in small ways to assist the OT during assessments) which is helping me learn and understand the theory a lot easier...

I'm learning lots about OT in the community and the importance of building longer term relationships with clients and families, which I haven't really experienced in acute inpatients and how the roles differ because of the setting... It's encouraging to learn how diverse the role of occupational therapists are and the varied activities and tasks they will encounter in the everyday roles.

[Being a 'real' student]

A Successful Cooking Attempt

Another week in student halls, and thankfully still managing to eat without giving myself food poisoning [Mainly thanks to Vicky supervising my cooking attempts].

Also managed to go home for the weekend which was great to see the other half and some friends; I feel really re-energised to start week 3.







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

Week 14 & 15 Christmas Holidays and Placement Preparation

Key Term: (Week 14) REST and Relaxation!


I hope you all managed to have a wonderful Christmas; I am really thankful for a bit of a break to spend time with friends and family and forget somewhat about uni for a few weeks... that being said as an OT student I think it's hard to turn off after spending 3 months learning to observe people and their occupations...




I had a moment on Christmas day when we were playing a board game (Logo - really good game if you are looking for a new one!), when a question can up regarding someones occupation (can't for the life of me remember the actual question), which led into a conversation about what occupation actually was - meaningful activities Vs job sort of conversation... Made me realise how proud I already am about our profession of OT and how it helps people's everyday lives!

Walk along the Water of Leith Walkway
(Edinburgh)

The Christmas week also gave me loads of time to rest and relax, which if you have been reading my blog post up to now, you will probably agree is a good thing for me. I got to go on some nice walks around Edinburgh with friends and generally be quite lazy on other days and indulge in some sofa movie time which was fun!










Key Term: (Week 15) Placement Preparation 

The Pentland Hills (Edinburgh)

The week of New Year, was a mixed bag of spending time with family and friends and preparing for placement.  I always find the week between Christmas and New Year as a sort of limbo time where you are never quite sure what day you are on and what to do. Again thankful to have had time to spend with my mum and my husband Pete before moving down to England for a 5 week placement this coming weekend.



I am looking forward to placement starting but know its going to be such a big learning curve. I have been reading up on child development in preparation but know that it is going to be a step out of my comfort zone into an area I don't have any experience in.

Now: off to do some more reading...


My Motto for 2015 
(Which you may need to remind me of throughout the year)

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

Week 13: Deadlines, Deadlines, Deadlines...

Key Term: Technology is key to getting a degree...

So classes finished last week, but we still had one assignment to submit before we could really get on with relaxing and enjoying the lead up to Christmas. This meant facing and embracing pebble pad... Which most of the cohort have been avoiding like the plague for the past 12 weeks... I'm thankful that I had played about with it a good few weeks ago so sort of had an idea of how to use it... For anyone reading this who is thinking of MSc at Cumbria - When the tutor says in week 2 to download it and get used to using it... Just trust that they know best and do it! As i know a lot of our class ended up worrying about using it so put it off which led to more stress as the deadline approached... 

I'm not saying I enjoyed using it, as I don't think it is the best software and doesn't do half the things I wanted it to do to make my assignment look the way I wanted it to look... But I guess we dont need to enjoy using software, we just need to accept that it's the required submission method and work as best we can with it. 

Anyways after fighting with pebble pad and being incredibly thankful for RefWorks (A website that stores your references and creates the reference list in the Cite Them Rite format that UoC requires), the assignment was saved by Thursday night... Mainly due to being terrified that if i logged into pebble pad on the Friday, I might forget to log out and it would look like I was in editing it after the deadline!! Can't afford to loose marks over that. It is now time to enjoy a few weeks off before placement starts!! 

I have officially survived the first term of my MSc... If you had told me 13 weeks ago that it would have been such a roller coaster in the first term, would I have started the course?!?! Definitely! No questions asked... Through the laughs, tears and huge moments of confusion, I have met such a great supportive bunch of people and learnt so much even in such a short period of time and reflecting on it now I can honestly say that the more I learn about occupational therapy... The more I want to be an occupational therapist! 

As a wise person said to me a few weeks ago: At the moment we are just baby OTs, finding our way through a course at masters level in a subject we have a limited knowledge in... We aren't expected to know it all yet, otherwise we wouldn't be on a course! 

We need to give our self a little slack and be proud of what we have learnt in the time we have been on the course; which is actually a huge amount so far!!!

Now to go and enjoy a few weeks of rest and recharge my batteries!! 

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

Week 12: Last week of Term

Key Term: Does my head look straight in this?

Well this week I found out my shoulders aren't alighted and my head isn't straight... thanks for that anatomy class! We spent the morning looking at physical assessments, but to be honest I spent a lot of the morning worrying about my lack of anatomy knowledge. I know what I'm reading up on over the Christmas holidays...

This week also included our practice placement launch lecture; I'm really excited to be going out on placement for 5 weeks after Christmas; to put into practice or at least start to make sense of the theory I have learned so far in the course. 

The week ended with our group interventions on Thursday. My learning set focused on art therapy techniques for use with people with PTSD and trust issues. I think it went quite successfully, I was glad our group was up first so I had limited time to get worried about it. We aimed for the group to work in pairs, with one partner blindfolded to make a Christmas picture, with the help and direction of the un-blindfolded person... I was actually really impressed with the final pictures considering the time limit and lack of sight...

The other groups sessions were really interesting too, which was a nice end of term activity for us all (even if technically it was a formative assessment). Now all we need to do is critically reflect on the process as part of our marked assignment that will be submitted this week and that will be us for Christmas.

I plan to blog more regarding the first term on MSc after I have submitted my assignment... so will have more reflections to come in the next week or so. 

For now: Enjoy your weekend! 

Week 5: Engaging in occupations

Key term: Accepting Support and Understanding my Difficulties as a Student/Occupational Being

Following on from last weeks post; this week still felt a tad overwhelming and a bit up and down...

Tuesday was a mixed day with a few meetings and the last Scholarship and Research class of this term... Which if you have been around me the last few weeks, you'll know has caused me a great deal of anxiety as I tried to get to grips with level 7 (masters level) writing.  It was also the day our first assigment was due [see last weeks blog for more info]. I am aware I talked about this in the last blog post so I will just add a few comments on the topic before moving on... 

On reflection: I know I ended up in a complete panic when faced with this particular challenge and to be honest this made the task a lot worse. I hope as I continue on the course this will become less of an issue.

On a more positive note I am really enjoying my Thursday and Friday modules which focus more directly on occupational therapy practice. We have been continuing to develop our understanding of the human life span and the developments that are part of the changes we all go through but yet make us all individual. Our Fridays have been focused on activity analysis the last few weeks and it was great to relate things I did as an OT assistant to the theory we are learning.  We also had the benefit of the second year MSc students with us in the afternoon to help relate it to use on thier placements 

This week has also been a week where I have had some conversations which have challenged me to think about my learning style, approach and the difficulties I can sometimes encounter as a dyslexic student (hence you may sometimes see spelling errors in my blog). I'm really thankful to be in a learning set/class with a group of people who so far have accepted me with my difficulties and managed to work around things if need be... Which is a great trait in a bunch of people training to be OTs. :) I also had a few conversations regarding the need to use the techniques and equipment I have in place to help enable me to get as much out of the course as possible. I love the word enable it is such an OT word too I think. May have sidelined there... The point of me rambling on about this is: it made me appreciate almost being on the otherside of the process as a person wanting to pursue an occupation i.e. being a student (which is a activity thats meaningful to me); and how having strategies (support) and adaptations (equipment - coloured overlays, different software on laptop) can help me to engage in that occupation. 

Don't think I need to grade the activity though? Any fellow OT students want to advise on it?!?

Anyways as a new week starts tomorrow; its exciting if not slightly nerve-racking to think that this time next week I will be in a travel lodge settling down before my first placement; all be it a one week observatory one. 

Lots of things to get done this week... Hopefully it is a intresting and exciting week as the group all prepare for the first outing from university as 'Student Occupational Therapists'.

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

Week 3: A four day week

Key Term: Anatomy (with models)

This week was one of a couple of four day university weeks I have over the first year. I've had the usual classes with an extra day in to cover some anatomy and Portfolio planning.

Anatomy was enjoyable if not slightly eye opening in regards to the amount we have to learn... Good news that there is no formal assesment for it in the MSc course. Although will mean having to be really disciplined to learn the stuff I will need to know to be a good OT.

Also had time this week to refresh on searching journals and e-resourcesfor our  Research and Scholarship module, where our first assesment is due in a couple of weeks! 

Scary thought of the week: 3 weeks into course and my first one week placement is in 3 weeks time. If the time goes as fast as the last few weeks i'll be on a ward before i know it.

Nearly my train stop... Until next time :)

Week 2: First Proper Week of Teaching

Key Term: Occupational Therapy

I guess thats a bit of a cop out, as of course we will be learning about OT on an OT course... But this week we were learning about defining OT as a grounding for our learning.

We also spent some time learning about the history of both occupational therapy and occupational science and how they fit together and enhance practice.

I won't mention the frightening lecture on masters level writing!!!! 

This is a short update this week as I have a mountain of reading to get done.

Until next time from a very wet and rainy Carlisle Train station!! 

Week 1: Welcome Week

Key term: Overwhelmed! 

Like all first weeks, be it school, college, work or university. The first week is always overwhelming and this first week was no different.

I chose to stay down in Carlisle for the week and im glad that I did. The mountain of new information added with meeting so many new people contributed  to feeling rather exhausted all week and being 10 mins away from campus instead of 2 hours commute away certainly helped me surivive this first week.

I met such an amazing bunch of people that I think are going to make the next two stressful years, a lot of fun!! 

The week consisted of introductions, info of services the university had to offer, group working and a group presentation on the topic of entertainment in Carlisle.

The week was great for getting to know the class and the area as well as bits about the course.

Keep up with my OT journey on twitter:

@OTontheTracks 

9 days to go!

Can not believe it's now only 9 days until I start the MSc OT (pre-reg) course. The last few months have flown by... And i imagine the next two years are going to be just as fast.

I've finished up as an OT assistant now and im picking up a couple of shifts in my new job (see previous post for more details) over the next week before starting university on the 22nd. I have been trying to start looking at anatomy over the last few weeks in preparation for starting. Its alot harder than i thought it would be. Im starting to like my brain is going to take a wee while to get back into the student mode i.e. Remember loads of facts and figures.

Hopefully it will start to stick in my head over the coming weeks. 

Any tips on learning and remembering anatomy? 

Speak soon.

It's Actually Happening!

Some of you will know that for the last couple of years I have been aiming towards this point... Days shadowing OTs in different settings, working as an OT assistant; All with the aim of going to university to study Occupational Therapy.

After looking at various options and universities I decided to apply for the MSc Occupational Therapy (Pre-Reg) at The University of Cumbria. I chose this university for a number of reasons:

1. The NHS would pay my fees in England as appose to £9000 a year to study in Scotland.

2. Its the closed English university to Edinburgh that I can study the MSc at. I plan to commute to Carlisle for classes!  

3. I like the fact the Cumbria is a small university and has a really friendly feel to it. I hope this will be a place that as a student I'll be well supported.

After applying, having an interview and finally hearing I got a place... I have been gradually going through the process of completing the final checks to confirm my place which has been quite a simple process (maybe not as simple when i chose this time to move house... Changing address half way through checks, complicates things slightly).

It's Actually Happening!!

Yesterday made it all start to feel really real as I travelled down to Carlisle for the orientation day! It was great to meet other people on the course and find out a little more about the course content even if it has increased my anxiety on the workload. 

All in all I'm really excited about starting the course in September and I hope this blog will allow me to share my experience from OT assistant to OT student and then to an OT graduate. 

The blog gets it's name from the daily commute by train to get to classes. I will hopefully use the time to blog as well as do the recommend reading...