Moving On in the Program

We are moving on to our second year--oh how the time has flown so far! I don't FEEL like a second year student although I can tell I have learned some things and retained some important information regarding occupational therapy and how it relates to function and wellness. I can see this in my ability to answer questions posed to me in class, and in the way I observed video taped treatment sessions this past week. I am starting to think like an OTA! This is exciting and although I should only speak for myself, I think my classmates are feeling the same--we have come through a demanding part of the program and will soon be reaping the benefits from our hard work. I am excited to be starting our geriatric fieldwork and wonder how it will compare to other experiences I have had with the elderly.
I honestly can't think of anything that daunts me today. I am sincerely excited to enter into the unknown of this part of our journey and I know our instructors have done their very best to prepare us for what lies ahead. I now appreciate the difficulty of last semester and realize the importance of feedback I have received from teachers and supervisors alike. I am truly excited about this semester even though I have no idea what to expect. Mostly I am looking forward to being on my own somewhat, to being faced with making observations and decisions about treatment, and to be working on documentation while under pressure. It's so important to me to go through this experience with confidence and open-mindedness. I want to welcome feedback from superiors, especially if it is negative because this is what will help me the most. I look forward to honest appraisals and to hopefully surprising myself with knowledge I wasn't sure I had! I also am looking forward to being at fieldwork alongside my classmates, and hope to be a source of encouragement to them as they will be to me. 
This week I have learned that I am more ready for this opportunity than I thought I was. Just hearing from our teachers about what to expect has gotten me really excited because it will be so different from anything we've done so far. Going over some facts about aging trends was another thing that stuck out to me and I was interested to hear that soon the number of people 65 and older will be HIGHER than the number of children age 5 and under. This has never been the case in all of recorded human history and speaks volumes to the changes that have occurred in lifestyles and health care. It also shows reason why many more changes need to occur in today's health care so that this ever-growing population can continue to thrive. I'm looking forward to being a part of that change--for the better!