Post Interview Reflection

 I feel like my interview went well overall. I was confident going into it but a little bit nervous because I wasn't sure what they were going to ask about.  I dressed like I was going into an actual interview but I mostly winged the interview honestly. I didn't do much preparation for it.  The only thing that went different than I expected was the somewhat casual conversation that the interviewer and I had. The conversation just kind of flowed the entire time.  One thing I would have changed would be to have more follow up questions to ask during the interview. I did ask 2 follow up questions, but in a real situation, I would have liked more information on the company. One thing I learned from this to take into my future workforce is that it is easier to have just a conversation than just trying to answer questions with a striaght forward answer.

A Glyph on Leadership

Glyph Key for Drawing A Self-Portrait of a Leader

 

Face Shape: If you believe that leadership is an inborn trait, draw a triangle-shaped head.  If you think that leadership stems from nurture over nature, draw a square-shaped head.

 

Eyes: If you think the vast majority of OTs are leaders, make big circles for the eyes.  If you think there is a fairly equal mixture of leaders and non-leaders in the field of OT, draw small circles for the eyes.  Fill in the pupils.  Add glasses if you feel that you have had more experience in leadership roles than most other people your age at this point in life.

 

Eyelashes: Draw one eyelash on each of the eyes for each of the five themes you can name based on your personal Clifton StrengthsFinder assessment from earlier in the curriculum.

 

Eyebrows: If you like to take the role of the leader in an out-in-front way, make curved eyebrows.  If your leadership style is more behind the scenes, make pointy eyebrows.

 

Nose: Draw a triangle nose if you think that seeing yourself as a leader is necessary to being a leader.  Draw a rounded nose if you believe that a person can be a leader without seeing himself or herself as a leader.

 

Skin:  Add a freckle anywhere on the skin of the face if you believe that self-awareness is vital to effective leadership.  Leave the skin clear if you don’t think it’s an essential trait.

 

Mouth: Draw a smiling mouth if you can think of at least one leader who has had a positive impact on you.  Draw a frown if you can’t think of a good example of a leader.

 

Ears: Draw round ears if you think technology is an important part of effective leadership in many situations. Draw pointy ears if don’t think so.

 

Hair: Draw the hair based on a continuum, based on your personal viewpoint in two areas:

 

What’s more important in leadership:             Curly hair  <------------------------->  Straight hair 

          creativity or organization?                   Creativity  <-------------------------->  Organization

                        AND

Can an introvert be an effective leader?         Short hair <-------------------------> Long hair

                                                                           No way  <------ I’m unsure -----> Definitely yes

 

Accessories: Add at least one accessory (example: a piece of jewelry) if you see yourself as a leader.  Add a hat if the way you think about or approach leadership has changed as a result of what you have learned since beginning in OT school.

 

Finishing Touch: Label your paper with your name, writing in cursive if you have a written plan or goal about to serving in leadership roles in the future; write in print if you do not yet have a written plan.

 

Below is my image I've drawn during my second year as an OT student. Comparing it to my first one, it is almost identical. I believe that I've had a lot of leadership experience and I've seen many different types of leaders, so I've had this in my mind for a long time. I do believe that OT school has given me a lot more perspective to view leaderships styles, but I believe this image will always be fairly consistent for me. 

 

Locus of Control

After completing the worksheet, I was not very surprised by my results. I scored a total of 10 for my locus of control which is almost right in the center of internal and external. I believe that I do fall more towards the side of internal locus of control because I do feel like I have control over most things that I do. I believe in working hard to achieve the goals that one sets for themselves and don't think things are just set in stone and never can change. I believe that the human mind is a very powerful thing and we can make changes if we try hard enough!

I can also see where I fall into the external locus of control at times.  Sometimes I feel like I'm on a "bad luck spree" and I just can't seem to catch a break and that is when I get in that external locus of control mindset. I usually stay in this for a while but as soon as I refuse to settle for "just bad luck", I switch back to internal and I do everything I can to make those changes because I don't feel like everything is already defined. 

SIM Lab 11-13-19

Overall, I believe my simulation encounter went really well.  I was very confident going into this SIM.  Even when I stumble over obstacles, I was able to think on my feet very quickly and respond to the situation.  I believe my confidence in this SIM came from how much knowledge I've gained through school so far and the experience of past simulations.  One thing I would do different if I had a do over with this SIM is try to get less hand sanitizer when I first enter the room and try to get more feedback about the child from the parent during the explanation of things to implement during his routine.  I did ask about his interest in different foods and things that he does at school, but I would have liked to know more on her perspective of the child's interests. One example of of how attitude of caring can be communicated to the client is by using active listening techniques and letting them express their concerns and letting them know that they are not alone in the situation.  Another example would be by following through with the things that you speak about with them and then following up at a later date.  An example of this could be attending a school meeting with the parent to advocate for the child if needed.  Taking the feelings of the parent into consideration is something very big that I will incorporate into practice in the future.  You could tell just from the actors that this was a very big deal to them because it was a situation that pertained to someone very important to them and it will be the same way in clinical practice.  Taking their feelings into consideration and being very empathetic is what I will incorporate into my clinical practice as well as future SIM labs.

Neuro note - TBI 2

For my fourth neuro note, I chose to return to a neurological condition that intrigues me more than any other, traumatic brain injury.  The video I chose to watch is a speech by Kim Gorgens called, "Protecting the brain against concussion."  I chose to watch this video because I feel like prevention is key to many health problems in our society.

In the video, Kim uses her over protection of her son to lead into the reasoning of the prevention for concussions. Many people would disagree with her thoughts behind whether kids should play football or the law requiring all bicycle riders to wear a helmet, but she is promoting the safety and prevention of concussions.  She goes on to say that the three keys to preventing concussions are to study up, speak up and suit up.  Studying up on the signs of a concussion could play a big role, especially in coaches.  Speaking up about the topic can help promote the safety laws and implementations put into place by legislation.  Finally, suiting up by wearing a helmet to protect the most vital organ in your body, your brain.

The video is very short (~9 minutes) and provides a good insight of prevention methods from concussions.  There is not much scientific evidence in the video to back up her thought process besides the concussions statistics, however, this is a big topic around football players today and I believe that it should be strongly taken into consideration the prevention methods that she provides.  If you would like to hear her thoughts, I have provided the link below to the Tedtalk. Hope you enjoy!



Link: https://www.ted.com/talks/kim_gorgens_protecting_the_brain_against_concussion#t-536488



Gorgens, K. (n.d.). Protecting the brain against concussion. Retrieved from 
         https://www.ted.com/talks/kim_gorgens_protecting_the_brain_against_concussion#t-536488

Media Project - Chopsticks

The "Ah-ha" moment for me with the project came when I decided what I was going to put in the middle of the chopsticks to keep them pulled together on one end.  I already had it in my mind that I was going to create something similar to a pair of "pliers" for this project. I started off with rubber bands and several different objects as a spacer between the chopsticks but I knew it needed some sort of spring in the middle for the tension that would be required for the tasks. The clothes pin also provides enough tension that would help with pincer strength if any deficits were to occur due to his broken arm. 

                                                 

This project taught me that some of the most unexpected things, such as chopsticks, can be such a useful tool for someone in their everyday life. A combination of simple household objects can give a person just the right amount of assistance they need to be independent performing an ADL. Completion of this assignment has helped me use my OT think skills to use an intervention to help a client engage in their daily lives. This can carry over into future practice by making use of what is available in the moment to come up with an intervention for a client that can be temporary or maybe even for long-term use.

Neuro Note - Alzheimer's

Due to my love of Tedtalks, I chose to watch another for this neuro note!! I chose to watch the video, "What you can do to prevent Alzheimer's" with Lisa Genova.  I already had an understanding of Alzheimer's disease and it's effects on an individual, but I was very curious to learn ways in which you can prevent the disease. 

Lisa Genova spoke about the affects of the disease and how it makes people forget things such as where they have put their keys or maybe even what their keys are used for.  She then gave the reason as to why people develop this disease which is the build up in between synpases. This build up occurs over time and gradually gets worse and the body is unable to clean it out.  There is currently no medication to help with this or to cure the disease at all.  So many people think that you have to keep using your brain as you get older or you will develop Alzheimer's which is not necessarily true, but it can be beneficial. 

Lisa talks about a group of women who had developed Alzheimer's disease but did not show any symptoms before they passed away.  How could this be?  It is believed that the women had a high cognitive reserve which means that they had more synapses in their brains than normal.  So the more synapses you have, the less likely you are to see the effects of this disease.  She explains it in further detail by explaining that if you know her as an author, a Tedtalk spokeswoman and a neuroscientist and then develop Alzheimer's, you have a greater chance of remembering who she is because you have more than one synapse connecting your memory to who she is. So if the synapse of her being an author and a neuroscientist is destroyed, you still remember her from the Tedtalk.

I recommend anyone who studies or is interested in neurodegenerative diseases to watch this because this links back to neuroplasticity in the brain. This is a quick ~13 minute video with some really good information to think about with Alzhiemer's disease.  The link is below and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twG4mr6Jov0

TED. (2017, May 19). What you can do to prevent Alzheimer's | Lisa Genova. Retrieved August 19, 2019, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=twG4mr6Jov0