OT Students Interaction Topic 1: Getting to know you

KawJemilyn

Hey Nicole! My childhood dream was to become a pediatrician when I grow up; and now that I'm beginning to learn the practice of Occupational Therapy, I might dive into developmental pediatrics if I get the chance and the decision to go into med school! Now I realize what the old men say, everything is connected with one another. Isn't it cool? All the science courses that we know have certain relations to one another, and there are still courses that are not yet well-known but could surely help us in our future occupations!

Maria Nicole Sombillo wroteHello everyone! I'm Nicole again, from University of the Philippines, Manila. As a 2nd year OT student, I was inspired by a professor and now I'm becoming very much interested in the field Developmental Pediatrics. I want to know more about it. Is anyone else interested in specializing as a developmental pediatrician? 🙂

KawJemilyn

Hey Kyla! I enjoyed our fieldwork on visiting clinics also! It was so fun! I really had a fun time observing kids, writing down notes, asking the OT questions and especially, interacting with the kids! There are some stereotypes about people and kids with disabilities in our present society, some people label them as 'special' with negative meaning. Are they negatively special? Nope, they aren't right? Every child (with or without disabilities) is special; They're so special in the way that they can accidentally touch your heart with their innocence, wit, and of course, WARM HUGS <3

Hope that we can defend these children with our own advocacy and stop the stigma. (Everyone should be accepted, right?)
Hope you have a great day ahead!

kyla.rocafort wroteHello, everyone! I'm Kyla Rocafort, a second year OT student in University of the Philippines-Manila. OT in our school is a 4 year course. As early as our first year, we were already introduced to an OT environment through fieldworks. We visited different clinics to have a glimpse on what an OT does. Some of us were sent to an adult section while others were brought to the pediatric section. I was assigned to the pediatric section, and I was really thankful that I was assigned there because I love interacting with children. While observing the OTs in the clinic, I remembered the time when I was teaching karate to children because we have to adjust by making the drills easier and more feasible for the children to follow and practice. I really had a meaningful experience as I was able to talk too with other OTs about their duties and challenges that they encountered. That two-day observation made me certain that I really want to be an Occupational Therapist in the future.

Byeul

kyla.rocafort wrote
Byeul wroteHi, everyone! I'm Byeul Kim, a second year OT student in the University of the Philippines Manila.

Before entering college, I would here the adults say to pursue something you like in order to love what you'd do in life. I really didn't know what degree to choose. I didn't have a dream course, so to speak. But I've always loved dealing with babies and playing with kids. With little background on the profession, I chose to take OT in my current university. As I go along with my degree, I grow to love how the profession enables people to live and pursue what they want to do. This keeps me going in school, despite the workload in academics. 🙂

Statistically speaking, OT isn't a very well-known profession in our country yet. This affects me in the sense that as a student, it can be challenging to address others on how our profession works. I'd like to say that I'm still in the process of understanding and figuring out how I can explain OT to outsiders in the best way possible. This encourages and drives me to pursue my course, to be able to fully comprehend it and contribute to sharing how it can improve lives. Forums like these are actually a great help for me and other students to better understand and acquire insights from other professionals abroad - to improve our comprehension in our field. With this, I look forward to hearing more from everyone for us to have a stronger relationship in the OT community!

Hi, Byeul! 🙂 I can feel your pressure before whenever someone asks you what course you'd like to take! Like you, I have no dream course as well. All I know is that I want a profession where I'll be able to interact with children. And here I am enjoying the diverse scope of OT. There's still so much to learn yes, but slowly I'm beginning to be prepared to take the rough road each day. I'm thirsty for new OT topics and perspectives, and I can't wait to make an impact on different kinds of people. 🙂 I hope that we can both strengthen our love for OT by discussing more OT related topics. 🙂

Hello, Kyla! The fact that people ask about our course really does say a lot about its continuing need to be noticed as a profession. Hopefully, in a few years time, this need will be lessened which would mean that OT in our country is working its way towards becoming a well-known profession. I'm looking forward to making and sharing experiences that would touch others life even in the simplest means possible. In that way, we are able to contribute to sharing the OT knowledge and continue to enhance our skills as newbies in the field. <3

Byeul

Maria Nicole Sombillo wroteHi Byeul! I agree with you. OT is not widely known in the Philippines so when people ask what my course is, there will always be back-up questions like "What is that?", "So can you massage me?", "Ohh is it like physical therapy?" (Yes, I become a little bit irritated when they say the second one.) And this also drives me to know more about our course to be able to explain it better and clearer to people who ask. When someone will ask me know, I believe that I can now explain better what occupational therapy is and what can OT's do. I start by teliing them what an "occupation" means. Then I tell them what an OT aims to do, the difference between PT and OT, and other examples of what we do and focus on (like fine motor skills, ADL's, etc). Now, I'm getting better reactions and responses when I explain our course. My favorite response is when a family friend told me that I should study hard to finish my studies and be an OTRP because OT's are very much needed and important for our community, that we can really help, encourage, and inspire other people, especially persons with disabilities 🙂

Byeul wroteHi, everyone! I'm Byeul Kim, a second year OT student in the University of the Philippines Manila.

Before entering college, I would here the adults say to pursue something you like in order to love what you'd do in life. I really didn't know what degree to choose. I didn't have a dream course, so to speak. But I've always loved dealing with babies and playing with kids. With little background on the profession, I chose to take OT in my current university. As I go along with my degree, I grow to love how the profession enables people to live and pursue what they want to do. This keeps me going in school, despite the workload in academics. 🙂

Statistically speaking, OT isn't a very well-known profession in our country yet. This affects me in the sense that as a student, it can be challenging to address others on how our profession works. I'd like to say that I'm still in the process of understanding and figuring out how I can explain OT to outsiders in the best way possible. This encourages and drives me to pursue my course, to be able to fully comprehend it and contribute to sharing how it can improve lives. Forums like these are actually a great help for me and other students to better understand and acquire insights from other professionals abroad - to improve our comprehension in our field. With this, I look forward to hearing more from everyone for us to have a stronger relationship in the OT community!

Hi, Chewy! Yes, it can be a bother at times when people misinterpret what OTs do; however, it's also a great feeling when someone knows what OT is, what we do and how they've witnessed its effect on someone's life. The fact that OTs here in the country are few also makes me want to pursue our degree. It would be such a great experience to contribute and affect someone's life, even in the simple daily tasks they wish to accomplish. This gives meaning to what we do and it definitely warms my heart to hear such stories. <3

Byeul

Meg wrote
sdarguson wrote
Meg wroteWow! It seems like there are a lot of students checking in from the Philippines. My family is from Cebu, so I'm glad to see other Filipino students here!

My name is Meg, and I am an OT student from Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York. I am in my last level 1 fieldwork rotation (pediatrics), and I am loving it. In December, my class and I will be undergoing our level 2 rotations, and we're pretty nervous. We have 2 sections (day and evening), each containing around 30 students. We don't really have many opportunities to interact with the evening section, but for the most part, my class is pretty chill. My classmates and I love to share OT related news and events with each other, and we went to a lot of volunteer events. One really cool event that we did was an adapted surfing event for people who sustained traumatic brain injuries. Another was a service learning trip to Belize in Central America, which was eye opening and a great experience. It helped me decide to go into pediatrics (I'm still open to other settings though!).

Ever since I got into the OT program, I've been taking on a lot of volunteering, and it reaffirmed my decision in going into OT. It even made me more inspired and proud of this career.

I'm looking forward to having discussions with you all and reading your entries!

- Meg

Hi, Meg! Taking up OT in New York must be quite interesting. Did you grow up in the US? How are people's perception of OT over there?
I must say, the reason I actually came to the decision of taking up OT was because of volunteer experiences back in high school. It's a very satisfying feeling.
It really is interesting! I feel like there are so many opportunities in NYC that it sometimes makes me go crazy. And yes, I grew up in the US.

In my experience, it depends on who I talk to. Those in the health care field are pretty receptive to OT and generally have positive things to say, but I still find myself often explaining what OT is to the general population. I still get the "Oh, you mean like PT?" and "Oh, so you work with handwriting?" But sometimes, I find people who know about OT because they know someone who received it, and that makes me really happy.

Volunteering can be one of the most amazing experiences, and I'm glad you had the opportunity! If I may ask, what kind of volunteering experiences did you have?

Hello, everyone!
Wow, it's so nice to hear such heartwarming stories from you guys. <3 it's amazing how OT is able to reach out to many, such as in volunteering.
I agree with you on the perceptions, Meg. 🙂 Somehow there's a stereotype that OT is similar to PT, and it can be a struggle at times to let everyone know what OT really is. When someone asks me what OT is, I ask them if they know what PT is and their answer is always a yes. Hopefully, sometime soon, there won't be a need to explain the difference of our profession from the others.
P.S. The surfing event must have been really cool. Do you mind sharing more about it? Was it actual surfing or were there some modifications? 🙂

avaguila1

Hello everyone! I am Alyssa Cyril Josef V. Aguila, a 2nd year BS OT student from UP Manila.

I learned about OT through my mother. She was the one who suggested to me to take up OT. Only that time that I was able to know that one of my cousins took up that degree and that’s how my mom learned about OT. I was actually thankful to my mom because she helped me widen my choices. The thing is, when I was deciding on what course to take, I actually don’t have any particular course that I really want. All I knew was that I wanted a course that is included in the science/health department. Also, I wanted to take up something that is different from what others usually get for a college degree. So, I considered OT as a course for college. When the college entrance exam result came out, I was accepted to my first choice which was Pharmacy. By that time, I don’t want to take up Pharmacy anymore. As you can see, I was a mess. I don’t know what I was thinking when I put Pharmacy as my first choice. During the time that the results came out, I was already decided I really wanted to take up OT, taking into more consideration that I also wanted a course different from what others usually get. Thankfully, I was able to shift to OT even before the academic year started.

My journey on becoming an OT student was indeed like a rollercoaster. You may think that when I entered college, I already fully understand OT but the truth is up until now, sometimes, I still get confused about our role as an OT. For me, understanding OT and the nature of our profession is a continuous learning process. Each new day, I get to learn more about OT and I get to appreciate and love it more. Every time I get a glimpse on how we work as an OT and how we help other people do their occupations again, it reminds me of how we could be a powerful tool on the betterment of other people’s lives. I really think I made a good choice. I hope you feel the same way too.

avaguila1

Franzes Dizon wroteHi! I'm Franzes Dizon, an Occupational Therapy student in the University of the Philippines Manila.

The only thing I know about OT is that it is a pre-med course, that's why I chose to pursue it as my college degree. The dream IS to be a doctor, but with the things I know about the profession, I'm starting to think of exploring the world of OT before entering medicine (if ever I still want to by that time). I've also considered shifting into another field, a completely different field, but something about this course keeps me from doing it. It could be the fun of helping others or the opportunities waiting once I graduate from this degree. Considering the current status of Occupational Therapists in the Philippines, many have considered working for other countries, that's one thing my professors keep on telling us: work for the country. Filipinos are not much aware of the importance of our profession, unlike in other countries wherein OTs are highly regarded.

When we had our fieldwork last year, I was assigned to observe in pediatrics area and it was a really fun experience I must say. The patience they have was unbelievable, some kids just cried the whole session yet the therapist still tried to carry out their activity. I know that I still have tons of things to learn, especially the patience part before engaging in those kinds of work and I'll absolutely continue this course despite the high level of difficulty and stress it gives me.

Hope to hear more from you guys!!

Hi Frances!
I agree with you that many Filipinos are not aware of the importance of our profession, some do not even know that our profession even exists! I hope that we could do more campaigns so that many would be more aware about our field.
I was also amazed on the great patience OTs have when I was able to observe them when I also had my fieldwork. They did not give up instead they tried new ways on how they can get the kid's attention to be able to reach their goal for that session. I look forward on the coming months since I know that step by step we will get to learn things we need to become a competent OT.

Naja Forchhammer OT

Hey guys 🙂
I'm Naja, a 27 year old OT student from the Metropolitan University in Copenhagen, Denmark.
I'm very interested in OT, and I think it's amazing how you learn to help people live a meaningful life, no matter where they're from or what they need help with.
I've been doing exchange in both Berlin, Germany, and in Parnaiba, Brazil. In October I'll start writing my thesis about OT and yoga and will be finishing my education in January 2017.
Besides studying I'm running an Instagram account (regarding me and my work as an OT), and a Facebook page. At the moment I'm preparing different posts for the Global ADHD Awareness Month, which will take place in the month of October. If any of you are interested in following it, you can find it under Naja Forchhammer on Facebook 🙂

If you've any questions, please feel free to ask 🙂

Best regards Naja.

KawJemilyn

Hey Naja!
I'm so glad that you visited our conversation room! (Thank you for responding my Instagram messages as well)
I really love your Instagram account! It's a nice idea of relating yoga to the OT practice, it will surely help your clients in the future! Can you share about your experiences in your exchange program? It looks cool! I always wanted to try an exchange program if I have the chance to.

I'll add you on Facebook and tag me along if you have posts about ADHD, I would gladly share it with my friends.
Good luck with your thesis! Best wishes!

Naja Forchhammer OT wroteHey guys 🙂
I'm Naja, a 27 year old OT student from the Metropolitan University in Copenhagen, Denmark.
I'm very interested in OT, and I think it's amazing how you learn to help people live a meaningful life, no matter where they're from or what they need help with.
I've been doing exchange in both Berlin, Germany, and in Parnaiba, Brazil. In October I'll start writing my thesis about OT and yoga and will be finishing my education in January 2017.
Besides studying I'm running an Instagram account (regarding me and my work as an OT), and a Facebook page. At the moment I'm preparing different posts for the Global ADHD Awareness Month, which will take place in the month of October. If any of you are interested in following it, you can find it under Naja Forchhammer on Facebook 🙂

If you've any questions, please feel free to ask 🙂

Best regards Naja.

Naja Forchhammer OT

KawJemilyn wroteHey Naja!
I'm so glad that you visited our conversation room! (Thank you for responding my Instagram messages as well)
I really love your Instagram account! It's a nice idea of relating yoga to the OT practice, it will surely help your clients in the future! Can you share about your experiences in your exchange program? It looks cool! I always wanted to try an exchange program if I have the chance to.

I'll add you on Facebook and tag me along if you have posts about ADHD, I would gladly share it with my friends.
Good luck with your thesis! Best wishes!

Naja Forchhammer OT wroteHey guys 🙂
I'm Naja, a 27 year old OT student from the Metropolitan University in Copenhagen, Denmark.
I'm very interested in OT, and I think it's amazing how you learn to help people live a meaningful life, no matter where they're from or what they need help with.
I've been doing exchange in both Berlin, Germany, and in Parnaiba, Brazil. In October I'll start writing my thesis about OT and yoga and will be finishing my education in January 2017.
Besides studying I'm running an Instagram account (regarding me and my work as an OT), and a Facebook page. At the moment I'm preparing different posts for the Global ADHD Awareness Month, which will take place in the month of October. If any of you are interested in following it, you can find it under Naja Forchhammer on Facebook 🙂

If you've any questions, please feel free to ask 🙂

Best regards Naja.

So, first I did an exchange at a university in Berlin for one semester, where I followed 1st year, 3rd year and 5th year classes. I followed up on that semester by doing 10 weeks of internship in the neuro-geriatric depart in a hospital in Berlin. Both of these experiences were very interesting, and gave me new inputs as to how to understand OT as well as different ideas on how to do interventions.
About a month ago I finished a 6 weeks internship in Brazil, where I worked at an NGO for children with special needs. It was a real contrast to what I've seen here in Germany and Denmark, and was also a very good experience. I can only recommend people to go on an exchange if it's in any way possible.

K.V.Rivera

Hi guys, I’m Keith! I’m a 2nd year BS Occupational Therapy student here at the University of the Philippines Manila.

Like many others, I barely knew anything about Occupational Therapy before entering my course. I’m going to admit that I entered the course so that I could use it as a pre-med course. Yet as I continued to study my major subjects I grew more and more to love Occupational Therapy. It seemed as though the more I learn and the more I knew made me love the profession.

It is for this reason that I want to have advocacy as one of my main points when I practice. I first noticed it in my family. They barely knew what I was studying, they had this assumption that everything that Occupational therapy covers would be under the traditional meaning of Occupation; which often relates to actual work rather than anything that our clients finds meaning in. I would also ask former classmates of mine and they would, more often than not, reply with the same thought in mind. Not many schools had a talk regarding our course, and that may be a reason why not many apply for it. That is why o would love to go back to my high school and maybe give a talk to students, informing them of what Occupational therapy entails. I’m sure that, like me, they would grow fond of the profession if only they knew more about it.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about advocating our future profession, both here in the Philippines and all over the world.

sagacho

Maria Nicole Sombillo wroteHello everyone! I'm Nicole again, from University of the Philippines, Manila. As a 2nd year OT student, I was inspired by a professor and now I'm becoming very much interested in the field Developmental Pediatrics. I want to know more about it. Is anyone else interested in specializing as a developmental pediatrician? 🙂

Hi Nicole! I also wanted to be a Developmental Pediatrician. However, as I continue my OT program I am developing more passion with OT. We'll never know... I might reconsider Dev Ped again.

Byeul

Naja Forchhammer OT wroteHey guys 🙂
I'm Naja, a 27 year old OT student from the Metropolitan University in Copenhagen, Denmark.
I'm very interested in OT, and I think it's amazing how you learn to help people live a meaningful life, no matter where they're from or what they need help with.
I've been doing exchange in both Berlin, Germany, and in Parnaiba, Brazil. In October I'll start writing my thesis about OT and yoga and will be finishing my education in January 2017.
Besides studying I'm running an Instagram account (regarding me and my work as an OT), and a Facebook page. At the moment I'm preparing different posts for the Global ADHD Awareness Month, which will take place in the month of October. If any of you are interested in following it, you can find it under Naja Forchhammer on Facebook 🙂

If you've any questions, please feel free to ask 🙂

Best regards Naja.

Hi, Naja! So glad you could check out our forum.
I checked your instagram account and I noticed you're a fan of the outdoors aside from yoga. Just out of curiosity, is yoga something you've been doing for quite some time now or are you able to engage in it because of OT? 🙂

Michelle77

Hi everyone 🙂
My names Michelle and I'm just about to start my second year of occupational therapy at Salford University, UK. Really enjoyed reading all your introductions...what a great idea this is!
So about me...I'm 39, a mother of 3 and I'm brand new to occupational therapy. My previous experience centres around customer service roles and I spent 3 years as a police officer. I've always wanted a career I love and one where I can help people, and this is definitely it. I've really enjoyed my time at university so far though it has been a steep learning curve in regards to academic writing. I'm making progress though that's the main thing.
I don't have any preferences as yet regarding specialist areas of OT, though I'm really looking forward to my next placement in mental health. It's my first mental health experience so any tips would be greatly appreciated?

I look forward to hearing from you and getting involved in the topics lined up xxx

csimpson33

Hi I am Claire from the University of Salford, UK 2nd year full time student, i have worked in occupational therapy for 7 years and really enjoying the process of qualifying as a therapist.

csimpson33

hi Naja 🙂

Byeul wrote
Naja Forchhammer OT wroteHey guys 🙂
I'm Naja, a 27 year old OT student from the Metropolitan University in Copenhagen, Denmark.
I'm very interested in OT, and I think it's amazing how you learn to help people live a meaningful life, no matter where they're from or what they need help with.
I've been doing exchange in both Berlin, Germany, and in Parnaiba, Brazil. In October I'll start writing my thesis about OT and yoga and will be finishing my education in January 2017.
Besides studying I'm running an Instagram account (regarding me and my work as an OT), and a Facebook page. At the moment I'm preparing different posts for the Global ADHD Awareness Month, which will take place in the month of October. If any of you are interested in following it, you can find it under Naja Forchhammer on Facebook 🙂

If you've any questions, please feel free to ask 🙂

Best regards Naja.
Hi, Naja! So glad you could check out our forum.
I checked your instagram account and I noticed you're a fan of the outdoors aside from yoga. Just out of curiosity, is yoga something you've been doing for quite some time now or are you able to engage in it because of OT? 🙂

Naja Forchhammer OT

Hey Byeul, so nice to hear from you 🙂
I have been doing yoga for some years, and I am so happy, that it is possible to integrate it with OT 🙂
Yeah, I love the outdoors too! I just got back from my internship in Brazil, where I was so lucky to travel around a bit and visit an amazing natural park!
Are you also interested in yoga?

Byeul wrote
Naja Forchhammer OT wroteHey guys 🙂
I'm Naja, a 27 year old OT student from the Metropolitan University in Copenhagen, Denmark.
I'm very interested in OT, and I think it's amazing how you learn to help people live a meaningful life, no matter where they're from or what they need help with.
I've been doing exchange in both Berlin, Germany, and in Parnaiba, Brazil. In October I'll start writing my thesis about OT and yoga and will be finishing my education in January 2017.
Besides studying I'm running an Instagram account (regarding me and my work as an OT), and a Facebook page. At the moment I'm preparing different posts for the Global ADHD Awareness Month, which will take place in the month of October. If any of you are interested in following it, you can find it under Naja Forchhammer on Facebook 🙂

If you've any questions, please feel free to ask 🙂

Best regards Naja.
Hi, Naja! So glad you could check out our forum.
I checked your instagram account and I noticed you're a fan of the outdoors aside from yoga. Just out of curiosity, is yoga something you've been doing for quite some time now or are you able to engage in it because of OT? 🙂

Maria Nicole Sombillo

Wow! I'll be checking your accounts for they sure look interesting! 🙂

Naja Forchhammer OT wroteHey guys 🙂
I'm Naja, a 27 year old OT student from the Metropolitan University in Copenhagen, Denmark.
I'm very interested in OT, and I think it's amazing how you learn to help people live a meaningful life, no matter where they're from or what they need help with.
I've been doing exchange in both Berlin, Germany, and in Parnaiba, Brazil. In October I'll start writing my thesis about OT and yoga and will be finishing my education in January 2017.
Besides studying I'm running an Instagram account (regarding me and my work as an OT), and a Facebook page. At the moment I'm preparing different posts for the Global ADHD Awareness Month, which will take place in the month of October. If any of you are interested in following it, you can find it under Naja Forchhammer on Facebook 🙂

If you've any questions, please feel free to ask 🙂

Best regards Naja.

Maria Nicole Sombillo

Hello Claire! May you tell us some of your experiences in working as an OT? 🙂

csimpson33 wroteHi I am Claire from the University of Salford, UK 2nd year full time student, i have worked in occupational therapy for 7 years and really enjoying the process of qualifying as a therapist.

KawJemilyn

Hello there, Michelle! Thank you for joining us here @ OTion.
I've got a big WOW for you because of your previous occupation and soon-to-be occupation; it's evident that you're a person with a big (kind) heart because the main agenda of your past and future occupations is to serve the people. (Your children are so lucky to have you as their supermom!)

These past 2 months and the next 3 months, we're tackling about OT theories and childhood development in class; we get to observe children of different ages and check on their milestones. I prefer pediatrics, but my second choice of field is mental health. We surely will be excited when we get to the mental health portion.

What are your thoughts about specializing in mental health? Are there reasons relating to your past occupations that made you choose studying occupational therapy?
Hope that you'll join us in this conversation room until the second week of November! 🙂

Good luck on your academics! Best wishes!

Jem

Michelle77 wroteHi everyone ?
My names Michelle and I'm just about to start my second year of occupational therapy at Salford University, UK. Really enjoyed reading all your introductions...what a great idea this is!
So about me...I'm 39, a mother of 3 and I'm brand new to occupational therapy. My previous experience centres around customer service roles and I spent 3 years as a police officer. I've always wanted a career I love and one where I can help people, and this is definitely it. I've really enjoyed my time at university so far though it has been a steep learning curve in regards to academic writing. I'm making progress though that's the main thing.
I don't have any preferences as yet regarding specialist areas of OT, though I'm really looking forward to my next placement in mental health. It's my first mental health experience so any tips would be greatly appreciated?

I look forward to hearing from you and getting involved in the topics lined up xxx

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