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Aging and Sexual Health Reflection

     Culturally within most areas of the U.S., speaking of sexual health or sexual activity is considered taboo especially in the Bible Belt.  As a society, discussions about sexuality are pushed to remain private and are not encouraged.  However, sexual health is extremely important to understand and discuss with appropriate clients.  Within the 3rd edition of the OTPF, sexual activity is listed as an activity of daily living.  This inclusion within our practice framework means that assisting our clients with understanding and carrying out proper activities related to sexual health is within our scope of practice.  Dr. Valli provided tremendous insight and knowledge about sexual health and how to address it with our future clients.      There were many key takeaways from Dr. Valli's lecture about aging and sexual health.  We have been exposed to some discussion of sexuality and sexual health during our didactic coursework,...

Driving and Community Mobility Reflection

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Retrieved from https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/know-how/driving-with-a-disability/      When considering the many populations that occupational therapists typically work with, individuals needing to be assessed and treated for driving and community mobility related deficits are typically not among the first populations stated.  With driving and community mobility being included as an instrumental activity of daily living within the 3rd version of the OTPF, I know that this area is within our scope of practice. Mr. Cody Stovall provided an ample amount of information to us about what being an occupational therapist and certified driving rehab specialist (CDRS) involves.  Over the last year and a half, we have learned many ways to adapt vehicles for individuals' unique conditions.  Mr. Stovall offered the same information with more insight and depth for us today  along with other necessary aspects.      When discussing the m...

Nutrition and Aging Reflection

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    Retrieved from https://www.businessmodulehub.com/blog/nutritional-tips-for-seniors/#.XTfJiC2ZM1I      Mrs. Holloway's lecture about the importance of nutrition as we age was extremely enlightening.  We are constantly told how important it is to eat well, but eating well involves many aspects that we do not always consider.  Among all of the insightful knowledge she was sharing with us, there are a couple things that I learned a lot about.  One of them was how important lean body mass is for each of our bodies to contain.  In a perfect world, everyone would have 75% lean body mass and 25% fat body mass.  Unfortunately, this is not the case.  As we age, lean body mass is lost much quicker, which is a great loss for our bodies.  As the total percentage of our body's lean mass decreases, the more at risk we are for many problems.        The second big piece of information I took away from Mrs. Ho...

Comparison of Glyphs -- OT 630 Reading Check #2

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     When we first did the glyph drawings in Foundations last year, I remember having to really reflect on how I felt about my own view of leadership and the leadership traits that I did or did not have.  Now that we are in our second year of OT school and finishing up our didactic portion of this program, my view of leadership has remained somewhat similar but has changed some too.  My thoughts about the following things have remained the same:  I believe leadership is an inborn trait.  I think there is a fairly equal mixture of leaders and non-leaders in the field of OT.  I believe that a person can be a leader without seeing him/herself as one.  I believe self-awareness is vital to effective leadership.  I can think of at least one leader that has had a positive impact on me.  I think technology is an important part of effective leadership in many situations.  I believe creativity and o...

OT 640 Debrief Video

Hey hey! I have attached a link to my debriefing video for OT 640. I cannot believe we have completed our last Level I Fieldwork! I am looking forward to hearing more about everyone's experiences. 😊 Watch my debrief video here!

Media Project

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After finishing my media project, I believe the most meaningful thing that I discovered was that almost any and every object can be creatively manipulated to construct an object for an intervention.  Before completing this assignment, I thought that I would really struggle with finding a relevant way to use a shoebox for my client.  However, the more I thought of the activities he enjoys doing the most and how I could recreate them in a rehab hospital setting, it became more and more clear to me.  I am very happy with how much this assignment pushed me to get my creative juices flowing, as they say.  This project has allowed me to see the wide variety of ways to use everyday objects for occupational therapy activities.  

Memphis Rollin' Grizzlies

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I had the pleasure of getting to watch one of the Memphis Rollin' Grizzlies' team practices on Wednesday night.  Aside from being such a fun and energetic group of men, they are some extremely talented basketball players.  Their motivation and drive for the sport is something that can be sensed immediately while watching them play.  It is currently their off season, so they come together for practices where they spend their time scrimmaging one another, keeping active, and doing what they love.   The Memphis Rollin' Grizzlies are a nationally ranked wheelchair basketball team.  They have ranked 3rd and 10th in the national tournament within recent years.  Wheelchair basketball is a very competitive sport.  While most of you may be wondering to yourself how it all works, it's simple.  Almost every aspect of the game is the exact same to that of typical basketball games with a couple tweaks here and there.  Other than the obvious ...