Sorry it has taken so long for me to come back and tell you all about the student conclave. My semester is just wrapping up so it’s been busy, busy. Anyways, the conclave was great! It was educational and definitely a good networking opportunity.
The morning consisted of visiting a few of the companies’ booths that were represented, and then attending the children and youth session. This session was very informative and reviewed occupational therapy services in an early intervention setting, school based setting, and the sensory integration approach. I am presently taking an early intervention elective and this part of the lecture coincided nicely with what I have learned throughout my semester. IDEA was briefly reviewed and how it impacts EI services, as well as the IFSP (individualized family service plan). In addition, how to create appropriate measurable outcomes for the children who receive this service was also discussed. The information presented about occupational therapists in schools was mainly aimed at school mental health issues which was not something I have learned a lot about through my schoolwork. The most interesting thing that I learned during this part of the lecture was about the three-tier model of school supports and how the academic system and behavioral system are more similar than I expected. Both systems have the same 3 tiers (core instructional interventions, targeted group interventions, and intensive individual interventions) with the only difference being that the academic system is a more intense tier 3/intensive individual intervention and of a longer duration than the behavioral system. I found the sensory integration part to be less informative because of the background I already have in it from my school curriculum. It was a nice overview of the SI approach for those who were not familiar with the basics.
After the first session, I was able to visit a few more booths and then I attended the returning soldier's lecture session. This was my favorite session. The presenters were very passionate about what they did at their facilities, and presented fascinating statistics and pictures that kept my attention throughout the session. It was also interesting that during this session one of the speakers reinforced two of the messages my professors have been trying to get across this semester which were that the most powerful thing an occupational therapist does is interview their client and find out their individualized goals. The second message is in the occupational therapy procedure and when working with ortho patients to always first stabilize the limb. I think that being an occupational therapist in this field would be emotional but very rewarding. I was correct when foreshadowing that this session would be inspiring…it really was!
I was able to finish visiting all of the companies present and obtain a lot of information and business cards before heading to my last lecture session. The session was about health and wellness and covered universal design, virtual gaming in therapy, and fall prevention for older adults. I have been learning about universal design and think it is very interesting, so when the speaker spoke about their involvement with a grant funded program to redesign children’s museums I was again inspired. The museums had to be universally designed for not only wheelchairs and those with physical disabilities, but also for those with visual, auditory, sensory, etc. deficits. The next speakers were from RehabCare. They reviewed the use of the Wii as a therapy tool which relates to my ongoing research project of using a virtual game to increase trunk control in those who sustained low spinal cord injuries. It was good to note that when using virtual games in therapy, that the documentation must relate to functional outcomes and not to mention the Wii or other gaming systems. This will be beneficial during my research collection as well as when I am a practicing therapist and have the ability to use such virtual games in therapy. Lastly, the speaker on fall prevention for community-based older adults gave a great overview of fall prevention, assessments, and overall prevalence of falls. This was eye-opening.
I know I’ve gone over a lot so far but I’m not done yet! I followed the last lecture sessions with the information session on the realities and myths of the OTR examination. I had not known anything about the OTR exam before this session and so learning the format of the test and general information contained within the test were the two most beneficial aspects of this session for me. To end the day, I attended a personal resume critique which was also beneficial. My resume has been critiqued many times by family members and writing professionals at the school but it was nice to have a working therapist’s opinions. They also gave a list of commonly used interview questions which I will definitely keep as a resource for when I start applying and interviewing for jobs in the next year.
Overall this conclave was very valuable and I recommend it to all OT students and professors. And thank you to RehabCare for providing me the opportunity to attend this year's AOTA/NBCOT National Student Conclave!
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