Hello, Renrenspeakers! Happy second Saturday of Occupational Therapy (OT) Month, meaning that the best announcement of your day has arrived! I am back with part two of the Occupational Therapy Speaks mini blog series –CAPSTONE Edition who will be led by Marisa, a fabulous OTD colleague sharing her amazing capstone project with us! Marisa is someone who is SO dope, calm, and collected. She radiates such positive energy and was always the student in class who asked such innovative, thought-provoking questions that challenged me and made me think outside the box. Her curiosity and advocacy for the OT profession does not go unnoticed, so I am so excited to share this superstar’s story today!

Irene: What is your name/pronouns?

Marisa: My name is Marisa Lamb and my pronouns are she/her/ella AKA that girl  

Irene: Give us a quick synopsis of who YOU ARE! 

Marisa: I am a 26 year old who is enthusiastic about her present and her future. I am a woman who has stepped into many new roles lately – I got engaged in 2022, I became a mother in 2023 while in grad school, and I will be a Doctor of Occupational Therapy in 2024! God is so good!! 

Irene: Why OT? Tell us a little bit about how you found OT and what got you into this field.

Marisa: I was exposed to the career of OT while I was in undergrad at Franklin Pierce University in New Hampshire. It wasn’t until I began shadowing that I was exposed to the craft of OT, and immediately it clicked for me. There was something about incorporating the textbook knowledge of anatomy and physiology with psychosocial aspects of a person to provide ‘whole person’ therapy that my brain loved! I was always interested in healthcare careers but was never clear on what path I would choose. After shadowing OTs in the field and understanding what OT school would teach me… it was a no brainer! 

Irene: Choose three words that come to mind when you think of occupational therapy. Define each word in relation to OT. Why did you choose these three words? 

Marisa:

Practicality. To be practical means that you are concerned with the actual doing of something or that you are likely to succeed or be effective in real circumstances. Occupations are used as a means of therapy. There will be no guessing when you have completed treatment, on the patients end or the therapists end. It will be clear whether or not a daily task can be done with safety and independence because we have practiced it! We have gone through it! We use occupations to rehabilitate. We help you learn by doing. 

Strategic. To be strategic means that you keep long-term aims and interests in mind. As OTs, we keep the patient’s occupational goals in mind as we build new skills and relearn skills that may be hard to perform. We recognize the barriers that make skills difficult to acquire and pinpoint where we can intervene. We use evidence and assessments to back up our decision making. This also serves as a follow up word to my first word. I will not make you perform a complex task without being sure you can perform the foundational skills required to carry out that task. Say it with me, OTs – (sparkle emoji) activity analysis (sparkle emoji).

Potential. I think as a profession, we are just beginning to make our mark in the healthcare world. The OTs currently in entrepreneurship have really set the tone for just how successful and rewarding this path can be when it’s all said and done. I see potential for entrepreneurship to saturate the profession and allow for OT intervention to be provided in a way it might not have been within the modern healthcare model. 

Irene: What is the most beautiful thing about OT to you? 

Marisa: The practice recognizes the importance of treating with a whole person mindset and emphasizes the goals/wants of the patient. I received lactation consulting until my son was 5 months old. I was able to feel and pinpoint the difference in approach when I had an OT help me through this time in my life. I felt heard, understood and validated all while informed and educated about the new things I could expect with breastfeeding and motherhood. OT allows therapists to address all possible factors in order to reach client satisfaction.

Irene: Let’s delve into your capstone a little more. What is your capstone about, and what initially inspired you to pursue your capstone topic? 

Marisa: I like to break down my capstone into all of its moving parts because I had many projects taking place during this time. 

1. I sent out a survey to MSOT and OTD students across the nation with the purpose of understanding students’ levels of entrepreneurial self-efficacy. In other words, how well do OT students believe that they can carry out certain demands that require entrepreneurial skills?
2. This idea then gave way to the power of belief and the power of believing in your capabilities. I spent 14 weeks reading a psychology textbook by Albert Bandura titled Self-Efficacy, the Exercise of Control. This read really helped me inform the items I was to include on my national survey as far as their wording and their format. But, this book also helped me self-reflect and think about the power of my own beliefs – something that has to be solid as I plan to embark on the entrepreneurial journey. 
3. I gave a presentation on the logistics of independent contracting (IC) as an OT to the OTD class of 2025 in OTDE 6440 (a business course) at ATSU under the support of my community mentor, Dr. Adam Story. My main goal with this presentation was to introduce the idea of being a sole member business and the different ways it can be incorporated into our careers. It included the first steps on becoming one, the rules and regulations tied to IC in Arizona, and highlighted the differences between employee and independent contract work. This information was something that I was able to learn myself. I made it clear that I have no IC experience, but I am so passionate about planting seeds. I simply shared knowledge that was not received in our curriculum but I felt could be really helpful, even if it isn’t something someone would consider now. If 10 years from now they say, “Mmm, I remember that idea, maybe I should look more into it,” then cool!! DOOO IIIIIT!
4. I am currently helping my community mentor revamp the financial portion of the business plan assignment for increased understanding by students. 
5. I am currently curating a booklet of infographics that detail entrepreneurial resources that student’s can keep in their “OT Toolbox”. 
6. I am taking a CEU course taught by Sarah Thomas, titled Shifting Your Mindset: An Introduction to Entrepreneurship for OTs. I have never been more inspired by an OT. Sarah Thomas really highlights how we can modernize and value our OT skillset in order to provide services in non-traditional spaces. I absolutely love her!!! On top of this course, I have also been binging all the free content I can find. Doug Vestal has really been a go to! His Youtube account is filled with great videos you can access for free. I also recommend signing up to newsletters on his website freedomofpractice.com. These are emails sent to you full of great advice. 

Irene: What has been one win during your capstone and one aspect that has been difficult for you during this capstone process? 

Marisa: I will say that I was able to answer the questions I had when I first started capstone. How do I go about starting a business? What are the steps? I read, I searched, I consulted, I asked questions. I feel equipped in the sense of knowing what rules, regulations and processes I have to abide by when first getting started and feel that I know what resources are available to me should I have any questions. 

Because my capstone’s focus is on entrepreneurship, it was very difficult to not get ahead of myself. I had the space and time to come up with business ideas and reflect on my passions, but I would have days where it all felt premature. I have no experience as a licensed clinician just yet and I was a bit overwhelmed at times. I have had to learn how to pace my mindset in all of this and shift my perspectives. 

Irene: For future students pursuing their capstone journey, what advice would you give them? 

Marisa: The capstone in its essence is entrepreneurial. Use the time and opportunity to start doing something within your OT interests and make it something you can enjoy! I just watched a video titled Make the OTD Capstone Matter through Sarah Lyon’s OTPotential channel on YouTube. She states that “doctoral students are uniquely prepared for more diverse job opportunities, and sometimes jobs are even created due to the clear value of the capstone experience.” Check out her podcast episode here: https://otpotential.com/ceu-podcast-courses/making-the-otd-capstone-matter

Irene: What have you learned about yourself through your capstone experience?

Marisa: Being a mom and being a wife and being a doctoral student all at once some days makes me tired but most days, if not all, makes me disciplined. Self-directed and self-initiated learning can still happen even when life seems too busy. 

Irene:  What are your plans for the future of OT?

Marisa: I will become a CHT (certified hand therapist) but I have become okay with working towards this goal while working in a setting that isn’t strictly an outpatient hand therapy setting. I simply want to be exposed to as many diverse clinical experiences as I can. I want to absorb and take note of all the current issues that patients are facing so that I can directly provide solutions through my own entrepreneurial endeavors, come time. 

On top of the clinical nature entrepreneurship dreams, I also have dreams to contribute to the diversity within the OT profession. The election of the new AOTA president, Dr. Arameh Anvarizadeh, in my opinion, really sets the tone for the trajectory of a diverse, OT workforce. In order to adequately serve the nation’s population, our workforce must be a reflection of such demographics. I am a Hispanic woman and I have volunteered at ATSU for the Dreamline Pathways program. I want to continue outreach to Hispanic students through programs such as Dreamline Pathways and simply expose them to the idea of OT. Plant seeds and let them grow. 

Irene: Can folks connect with you to learn more about you/support you? If so, please drop your social media info and other creative pursuits down below!

Marisa:

Instagram: @thatotgirly 

Irene: Anything else you want us to know about you or anything you want to share with the readers? Feel free to drop it down below! 

Marisa: If there are any mothers or soon to be mothers who will have a child during ANY grad school/college program, please reach out to me. I would love to connect with you and share solidarity. 

God bless! And thank you Irene for considering me to be a part of your fantastic blog. Love!

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First of all, Marisa is really THAT GIRL yall, as you can witness through this beaming interview! Becoming a mother during such a rigorous time like OT school is not for the weak. I commend people who are able to become parents, especially mothers, during grad school and STILL can do it all! You defined OT SO WELL. I feel that I stumble sometimes explaining a clear definition of the scope of our profession, but I especially loved your word, practicality, to help the readers better understand OT! Occupations are the means of therapy, which makes this field especially unique! Marisa, you have learned a TON during capstone! Your capstone is especially unique because you did a ton of independent study and poured into your own OT cup in order to maximize your learning and service. Thank you for dropping all of these free gems on entrepreneurial resources that you found helpful. I will for sure have to check them out myself! I also admire the fact that you emphasized how your views and perspectives on starting a business has wavered and shifted during capstone. From personal anecdotes that I hear, it is not an easy thing to start a business, and it is something that you have to remain persistent and open-minded in pursuing. Some days will be more challenging than others, but if you have the drive and a good support system around you, I think it helps tremendously with the process. Last thing I want to comment on – YES, the capstone experience itself is entrepreneurial in nature! Thank you for acknowledging that! This is a unique opportunity where we can make our passion projects come to life and cultivate job opportunities for ourselves. I am so excited that OTs of COLOR are out here like Marisa who are paving the way to become entrepreneurs! Let’s make that impact and that money now! 🙂

Marisa’s blog interview just further validates the fact that OTs deserve to become entrepreneurs, yall! Especially in today’s economy where a lot of the times our role is not recognized and valued the way it should be, we should be encouraged to be self-starters and take control of our own careers. Marisa is definitely a person to keep in your circle because she is already spreading the narrative that we as OTs are entrepreneurs. Y’all can learn a lot from her through her experiences and newfound knowledge. Kind reminder that part 3 of my Occupational Therapy Speaks mini blog series – CAPSTONE Edition will be dropping next SATURDAY featuring another dear OTD student and colleague of mine! Don’t miss it! 😉

Peace and love,

Irene