Tag: #otsofcolor

Posted on in graduate school, occupational therapy

Dr. Kwangaba, 100% Fully Loaded! OT School—Complete!

Hello, Renrenspeakers! I hope all is well! WOW, it has been such an eventful, accomplished month thus far. I am proud to announce that I have successfully completed my grad school journey. Allow me to reintroduce myself—Dr. Irene Kwangaba, the founder of Renrenspeaks, is here! I added new credentials to my name as of last Friday (OTD) because I am now a Doctor of Occupational Therapy, whoohoo!

So, how am I feeling about achieving this milestone in my life? The amount of excitement and gratitude that I have right now is unmatched. I was able to proudly cross off Graduate from OT School from my vision board the other day. My lovely family was in town to celebrate with me. They all witnessed me walk across the stage, receive my diploma, and get hooded. I felt an outpouring of support, love, and blessings from everyone who has directly and indirectly been following my grad school journey these past three years. I received screenshots and live updates of my commencement ceremony from my loved ones who could not physically be present with me, making it feel like a whole live event! The text messages, posts, phone calls, and gifts made this day even more special. Knowing that I set out a goal for myself since college, and then actually accomplishing it was so incredible. All glory be to God!

To me, having this degree is a testament to the dreams and values that my parents instilled in me. Yes, pursuing higher education is wonderful and all, but truly this opens doors for me to connect with all kinds of people and become the best therapist that I can be. It allows me to network with a diverse community of people using my newfound leadership skills and therapeutic use of self so that I can improve the lives of my future clients. I felt that my educational experience was even more enriched by the capstone process. I am forever grateful for the unique, authentic connections that I created through my capstone and will continue to nurture through the next stages of my life. I am also so happy to be a Congolese-American, Black OT breaking barriers and stigmas that we cannot achieve higher education successfully. Of course, the demographics will always illustrate that I am a minority in the profession. However, I hope to inspire future Black OTs and show them that we too can do it, and our place in the field is incredibly valuable and necessary.

With all that being said, I also cannot lie, friends—I don’t think it has really sunk in that I graduated to be quite honest. I am giving myself at least a one-week break to just BE and exist, which I truly deserve.

Now you are probably going to ask… what is next for me? In terms of the blog: Now that I am done with school, I hope to create more time to consistently catch up with yall and update you with other things happening in my life. There is a lot more to me than OT, friendly reminder! In terms of my next move in the world of OT: Well, even though I obtained my degree, I am not quite a working occupational therapist just yet. My next feat will be to study for my national board exam AND pass it (because I refuse to take it more than once), and then become licensed. Then I can add OTR/L to my email signature to make the OTD part more prominent and less lonely, lol. So, I still have quite the journey to go before I can start officially working. However, based on how quickly grad school flew by (for the most part), I know that it is only a matter of time before I step into this new era in my life—my career girlie era!

Thank you all so much for your endless love and support throughout this journey with me. Thank you to all my family, friends, mentors, peers, professors, and followers for always believing in me and rooting for me. Renrenspeakers, you all have had the inside scoop on my journey and life reflections this whole time. It is so cool to see how full circle this moment has become.

To wrap up my reflection, I have learned two major aspects about myself during grad school that I would like to share with yall. 1) I can do hard things, and 2) I have a lot to offer to this world (even when I don’t think I do). I hope that for future OT/grad school babes, these two gems ground and resonate with you and that you too can also receive this revelation during varying stages of your lives.

Peace and love,

Irene

Posted on in Occupational Therapy Speaks series

Occupational Therapy Speaks – CAPSTONE Edition: Mini Blog Series Loading!

Hello, Renrenspeakers! Happy first of April and happy first day of Occupational Therapy (OT) month! To my occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs) out there, y’all ROCK, and the world is so blessed to have you in this field! Occupational therapy, as you will learn, is a beautiful profession that focuses on the person as a whole and aims to help people of all diverse backgrounds and identities achieve independence through engaging in meaningful occupations, or activities.

To celebrate this month, I have such a fun mini blog series that I will be launching! This month’s series is called Occupational Therapy Speaks – CAPSTONE Edition. I have the honor of teaming up with some of my fabulous colleagues who will be sharing their passion areas within OT. Every Saturday, a new interview will be featured on the blog, so make sure that you stay tuned each week to read their incredible stories. We are wrapping up our doctoral capstone experience, so these interviews will focus on the niche areas of OT that is currently being advocated for through their capstone. I am so in awe of my colleagues’ wealth of knowledge that they will be sharing with us on the blog!

Also, I want to give yall a little background about this cover photo for today’s post. I had the privilege of attending the national American Occupational Therapy Association conference this past weekend. I sat in on so many sessions spearheaded by many inspiring OT folks who are still in school or are currently practicing in the field. I felt revived knowing that there are people who want to revolutionize this field so that it is a more inclusive, equitable space for all people. I was able to take a picture behind these famous letters (after a long time of waiting in line, of course). Therefore, I am even more pumped to share with y’all all of the many possibilities of OT through the perspectives of these pioneers in occupational therapy this month!

Peace and love,

Irene

Posted on in graduate school, occupational therapy

Inpatient Rehab is the Jam – Fieldwork Wrap-Up Reflection  

Hello Renrenspeakers,

Happy December! It is already the end of the month and close to the end of the year, I can’t believe it! How is everyone’s December going thus far? As for me, it is going well! I just completed my second level II fieldwork at an inpatient rehabilitation facility here in Arizona, which also marks the end of another semester of grad school. I have ONE more semester to go and then I graduate – finally! I know that I initially updated yall on my fieldwork experience after my first week, but I have not been consistent (sorry). Therefore, I have SO much to delve into that I am going to sum up as concisely as I can.

The past 12 weeks have been such a learning curve in which I was challenged physically and mentally every day. Overall, my experience was a very pleasant one. I met so many individuals across the lifespan with various conditions, personalities, diagnoses, and life histories. Some highlights of my time being there include a patient’s wife who said she wanted to adopt me LOL, me being mistaken for a 19 year old several times, breaking through to more difficult patients behavior-wise, and overall affirmations from patients regarding my care. At this site, I learned so much about the importance of collaboration among all health professionals – OTs, COTAs, PTs, SLPs, nurses, case managers, rehab doctors, and RTs. Everyone was so willing to assist me regardless of their discipline, and I often felt like I was a part of the therapy team, as staff members asked about my clinical impressions to further confirm their treatment ideas or documentation. Quick side note – shoutout to my clinical instructor for teaching me all that I need to know and for being such a sweet soul! Though I often felt like I did not know what the heck I was doing, reflecting on how treatment sessions went afterward and witnessing patients beam about their newfound independence to don their own socks, reach down to pick an item off the floor without losing their balance or stability, or even receiving a green band were all wins that the patient and I were able to celebrate. The more knowledge and experience I gained each week, the more I was able to step out of my comfort zone and try novel ideas. If they failed (which def happened), I managed to be okay with it because I ended up learning way more from those not-so-fun experiences than if everything was perfect all of the time. Though thank God they were few, I did have some instances when a patient was maybe not the easiest to work with. It would be easy to think that it was a reflection of me, but these not so pleasant instances helped me to view the patient holistically and be more sympathetic to their current condition, life circumstances, coping mechanisms, and support systems that they may or may not have in place.

Every patient, though may have had similar diagnoses, presented very differently. It was very nice to know that over time, I was able to separate the diagnosis from the patient and view the patient as a whole. I guess that is where our famous OT theoretical frameworks come in handy. Several patients taught me the KISS acronym which also helped me regroup when it came to treatment ideas. KISS – keep it simple, stupid. Sometimes, I felt like if was not doing something super creative and innovative, my sessions were not effective. However, I had to remind myself that starting from the basics is okay! Working on what the patient NEEDS in that immediate circumstance rather than fluffing it up with distractors can sometimes be the most powerful form of therapy that will lead the patient to increased independence and function. I loved seeing the progression of care from evaluation to discharge, and observing the resilience, motivation, and improvement my patients developed during their stay. OT is truly a collaborative effort, and it is very cool to be a part of a process that feels rewarding and benefits the patient’s overall well-being.

The intense, fast-paced nature of this setting overall made me feel very accomplished, as I was initially very intimidated by the sharp learning curve. There is still a plethora of things that I need to learn and am excited to build my skills in. The beauty of this profession is that I am a life-long learner. With more experience, I learn more about the essence of people, the barriers they experience, and the tools to advocate for their care. I am blessed to have met so many people from all walks of life, and I learned so much from each patient I encountered. This setting definitely confirmed that I would like to begin my OT career in a setting similar to this one to continue building my clinical skills and reasoning in a medically-complex, challenging, and fast-paced environment.

Thanks all for tuning into the blog today! And shout out to all those who have supported me and listened to my rants, thoughts, and reflections on my clinical rotations throughout these three months. Stay tuned for more content coming your way!

Peace and love,

Irene

Posted on in graduate school, occupational therapy

Back At It Again With Fieldwork: First Week Wrap Up!

Hello Renrenspeakers! I hope that all is well! How are yall doing? Happy official start of FALL! The weather here in AZ is finally about 95-100 degrees, which is basically equivalent to a 70 degree day in San Diego 😉 I have had a BUSY month of September, let me tell you! Every week has been jam-packed with fun and entertainment. I went back home to San Diego over the Labor Day weekend to visit my family, and then I went on a roomie trip/staycation the following week, and THEN my bestie came to visit me for a few days and we did a 24-hour staycation/day trip to Sedona the following weekend. During this time, I was wrapping up getting IRB approval for my capstone project implementation starting in January, completing my two classes, and compiling my final capstone paper while prepping for my clinical rotations. It has been a whirlwind of a month, and I cannot believe how fast it went by!

One important update about my busy life is that I am back to working full time (for free LOL) doing my second clinical rotation required of me to graduate from OT school. Also side note yall – I am finally graduating NEXT YEAR can you believe that I have 9 months left of school, yahoo! Anyway, I have left the world of pediatrics and entered the world of adults. I am currently placed in an inpatient rehabilitation setting, so I am doing my internship at a rehab hospital. I have officially completed one week of fieldwork in my new setting, and let me tell you, it is SO different than my first rotation. So far, I am really liking and enjoying my new rotation. Of course, getting familiarized with a new facility is always an adjustment. My new uniform consists of solely black scrubs instead of colorful shirts. My voice and tone changed a ton to accommodate my new population, which has mostly been the geriatric population from what I have witnessed thus far week. Though I have been there for one week only, I feel like I have already learned a TON of information. I have seen a variety of conditions, injuries, disabilities, and illnesses ranging from strokes, amputations, knee replacements, fractures, Parkinsons, and spinal cord injuries and surguries. No two patients have presented the same. Each patient has their own story about how they entered the facility. The things that I have observed my clinical instructor teach her patients thus far are things that I take for granted daily such as getting into my bed, transferring onto a toilet, showering, or dressing myself. These activities of daily living (ADLs) are a no-brainer for me to do, but for all of my patients, it can be so difficult to achieve these ADLs because they need extra time, an extra boost from another person, or need adaptive equipment to achieve these ADLs with ease and efficiency. I love that so far, most of what I have seen has been taught to me at one point during my didactic years. So shout out to my school for preparing me well enough to take on this new challenge for 12 weeks. I take comfort in being pretty familiar with OT in an inpatient rehab setting and that it is not a completely foreign territory so far. I am also gonna shout out the Palomar Pathmaker Internship that I did prior to starting grad school because I was also at an inpatient rehab facility doing shadowing hours, and I have seen a lot of overlap between that hospital and the place that I am currently at.

Documentation is always going to be an adjustment and a learning curve, and honestly the least fun part about OT. My favorite thing thus far has been helping patients achieve as much independence and function as they can or return back to. The amount of patients that have told me that they finally feel human again after our therapy session, whether it was learning how to use adaptive equipment for showering, dressing, etc. or making large strides in their recovery has been so heartwarming and reinvigorating. These patients have endured so many hardships, so the power of respectable care goes a LONG way in this setting. My patients have had incredible journeys that they have overcome in a short time. They have experienced a life that I have not, and I greatly admire their resilience under difficult circumstances.

Going into this fieldwork rotation, I feel like my energy and attitude this time around is different. I do not feel quite as scared and nervous as I did before, even though I can arguably say that this place is more physically demanding than my previous rotation. Of course, the nerves are there, but it seems easier to center myself back to confidence rather than spiral downhill (something that I struggle with at times, admittedly). I think grounding myself and gleaning on my inherent soft skills that were augmented in my previous rotation has helped a ton. My clinical instructor this week gave me an affirmation that made me reframe the way that I want to navigate this fieldwork. She said that I have my people skills down and not to worry because the clinical skills will come with time. Thus, even if I have a time when I am frozen and do not feel competent clinically, drawing on those soft skills with my patients I believe and hope will make all the difference in my sessions. Slowly, my education is coming full circle, and I am excited to see how I grow and learn as a professional after the end of my rotation and into my professional career later on. I thank God that I have been blessed with the opportunity to be a blessing to others in this field.

I will leave yall with one tip of advice that a patient told me on my second day. He first asked my CI and me about how much energy we spent on worrying per day. Of course, I know I personally exert a lot of energy toward worrying, but I couldn’t provide a measurable response. He said 98% of our energy goes to worrying, which was a shockingly super high number. Then, he said that one way to stop worrying is to verbalize the word STOP every time we have an intrusive, worried thought. He said we might look ridiculous constantly saying STOP out loud, but after 2 weeks of this practice, we would have more control over our thoughts to mentally stop worrying thoughts. According to him, from this practice, we can eventually train our brains to say STOP and release the concept of worry because worry does nothing for us but stresses us out. This was very fitting to hear my first week of this rotation especially because as a new student, there is always a need and tendency for us to be stressed, be a perfectionist, and to not fail at all. Though failing is not fun, it is through failure that I have learned the most and remember it for future application. My patient was very insightful and definitely dropped a gem I needed to hear. It is harder said than done, but if my patient can be as worry-free as possible despite his seemingly difficult condition, then I can also try to implement this practice into my daily life.

Overall, my first week in inpatient rehab has been a very pleasant and positive experience. I am excited to continue absorbing information like a sponge and to eventually start applying it to my own caseload I will start to adopt. Thanks yall for tuning into the blog! And remember, if yall are worried about anything, try implementing the STOP strategy. I will let you know how effective it was for me in 2 weeks 😉

Peace and love,

Irene  

Posted on in graduate school, occupational therapy

Second Year of Grad School Complete! Dr. Kwangaba, 66% loaded! Reflections on 1st Fieldwork Experience

Hello, Renrenspeakers! It has been a minute since I have updated you all on my life’s endeavors and adventures! How are you all doing? As for me, I am now concluding my first week of summer vacation. I finished my first three-month clinical rotation, which we call ‘fieldwork’ in occupational therapy school. What a positive experience it was! I did come into OT school thinking I would be a pediatric therapist, and though that narrowed vision of mine has somewhat changed over time, working with children and seeing how fun and excited they were to also work with me, Ms. Irene, was so rewarding!

I learned so much about myself through this fieldwork experience. Of course, I had my challenges such as being overwhelmed by documentation and managing my time wisely. I would say those two aspects were the hardest things for me that I had to juggle because it was a completely different learning curve that I had to quickly acclimate to. As a writer, I was tempted to write down every detail that went on in the sessions that I led. Realistically, being given about 10 minutes to write my notes and trying to do a pretty narrative is not a feasible option. I had to learn how to document using the SMART method, and it was something that just took mere repetition. Time is also something that we often take for granted that had to always be on my side to be efficient with my day. Every minute always seemed to fly by. So, shoutout to my Apple Watch because if it wasn’t for that thing, I would have been so behind.

I think my favorite moment from this rotation was the children that I was blessed to have interacted with, work with, and seen progress in over time, even if they were small wins. To see my clients be able to improve their motor planning and attention to tasks to improve their life skills such as washing dishes or folding laundry, or improve their bilateral and visual-motor skills for independent leisure skills with arts and crafts via handling and using scissors properly was very rewarding and motivated me to just be a better therapist to help even more of my clients. To think that I helped contribute to this change over time in their performance and helped increase their independence reigns true to the core of occupational therapy.

I always thought that I was somewhat creative, but boy, you have to be SO creative in pediatric OT. I will say, kids get bored so quickly and they notice way more than you might think, so creativity has to be on 10 100% of the time. My iPad came in handy (shoutout Goodnotes!) for finding different ways to make various arts and crafts or other materials that could support my clients’ goals in a fun and interesting manner. What I found really cool is that if I did an arts and crafts activity, for instance, I could address so many performance skills such as bilateral hand use, visual-motor, fine motor, and attention to task, just to name a few. Even everyday games such as Candyland could facilitate turn-taking, following directions, and other essential social skills, all skills that again, seem so intuitive to the average person. However, I witnessed how crucial these skills are for this population to obtain to build friendships, interact with others appropriately and positively, and overall be as independent as they can be.

I think that the biggest takeaway from my placement is that there is never going to be a direct right answer to challenges I may come across and that I do have the skills and demeanor that it takes to be a great occupational therapist. As a student, imposter syndrome is so real. There were so many times that I felt very stressed, unsure about myself, and felt like I was merely not being effective. And yes, there were so many times I literally did not feel like I knew what I was doing, I cannot invalidate that. However, the number of affirmations and compliments that I received from my community at my placement helped build my confidence as an emerging occupational therapist. I learned to put myself out there even if it was uncomfortable so that I can grow and not be stagnant in my learning experience. I also had to consistently remember that at one point, every therapist I worked alongside was in my shoes and that they also were a novice, feeling the same imposter syndrome and lack of confidence at one point in their early career. To me, it is totally OKAY to feel like an imposter and to acknowledge these feelings, as they will help me work toward unpacking this feeling and getting the support I need to tap into my own potential. Overall, I really am so glad that I was able to do my first Level 2 at an outpatient peds clinic. The support that I had along the way did not go unnoticed, and it helped me be less Type A about results and outcomes and to trust and enjoy the journey I embarked on.

All this to say, I definitely have a heart for the pediatric population. I still am an open book and am excited to learn more about other populations I will soon encounter in my next rotation. Establishing positive relationships with clients that will forever be a part of my grad school experience at this specific site was the perfect way to end my first rotation and conclude my second year of grad school.

Thank you all for reading my reflections and for your unwavering support as always. Dr. Kwangaba is officially 66% loaded!

Peace and love,

Irene

Posted on in Black Is Beautiful series, occupational therapy

Black is Beautiful Mini Blog Series Health Care Edition Part 4: Meet NANCY, OTR/L!

Hello, Renrenspeakers! Happy Saturday and last week of Black History Month! Can you believe that the month is already coming to an end? The month went by so fast! I hope that you all have been supporting Black folks throughout this month through actions such as reading these blog posts! Today I have such an inspiration to me on the blog. I had to save the best health profession for last (no shade to my beautiful Black allied health professions haha). Nancy, OTR/L will be concluding the Black is Beautiful mini blog series with her amazing story. Before we get into it, I am gonna hype up Nancy real quick because she is a person to have in your network!

Unlike everyone else that I have interviewed thus far, Nancy is unique in the fact that I did not meet her at UC San Diego, lol! When I was delving into my occupational therapy (OT) journey, I was desperately searching for Youtube videos on how to be the best competitive applicant and what the field of OT was all about. I came across her Youtube channel, LovelyyOT. After watching her first video, I was hooked. She shared gems and unique insight regarding her experiences as a travel OT, an OT in a SNF, and an OT in entrepreneurship. Nancy is so intelligent and has so much wisdom to give. She further inspired me to pursue OT, as she gave me the confidence as a Black future OT to share my story and to be an advocate for our profession. Moreover, she is so selfless. She took time out of her busy schedule to read my personal essay and give me feedback, which was so kind of her to do and served as a confidence booster throughout my application process. She truly is goals and is making waves in OT. Below is her story. Let’s get into it!

Irene: What is your name/pronouns?

Nancy: Nancy Yamoah, she/her

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

Nancy: I am a God-loving Ghanaian and occupational therapist, specializing in adult geriatric rehabilitation. I am popularly known as LovelyyOT on social media. I’m your favorite OT Auntee with all the tea lol. 

I’m a visionary, founder of the Therapist of color/TOC network, created for people of color therapists and students, and co-founder of BLACK IN REHAB. I am also the author of 3 E-books for therapists. My business provides consultation for students and clinicians as well as yearly workshops for new grads. 

My goal is to continue to inspire other healthcare professionals to do more with their degrees and live on purpose, be their true authentic self as well as create a better healthcare system for older adults.

Irene: Choose three words that come to mind when you define “Blackness”. Define each word in relationship to Blackness. Why did you choose these three words?

Nancy: Bold, resilience, beautiful

For you to be authentically Black you have to be bold. This world tries so hard to imprison Black people – the way we talk, walk, dress, etc. The way we show up is constantly criticized, so for me it’s important that am bold in my blackness.

Resilience because it takes strength to be Black. You have to be internally strong.

Beautiful because Black is beautiful, from our skin to our features. The way we are is beautiful.

Irene: What is the MOST beautiful thing about being Black to you?

Nancy: My skin color and my heritage/culture. I am Ghanaian and I love the richness of my culture and my background. The way we speak, our accents, our food, our cultural outfits, who we are is everything. 

Irene: How has your experience been as a Black person in your respective field thus far? 

Nancy: Like I always tell others, life experience can happen to you or you can enjoy it and be a full participant in life experiences. I always choose the latter; my blackness in healthcare has been a wonderful experience because I take an active role in making that happen in every way you can think. I speak up and advocate when needed, I ask for the money I deserve and I will correct you on everything even if you say my name wrong. We get to choose everyday to be victims or conquerors. 

Irene: How do you plan on showing up for the people as a Black person in your respective field? 

Nancy: I have started many platforms and events on social media for both Black and POC and I will continue to support them in this way. Black in rehab is one that I am a co-founder of and very proud of. If you are interested in becoming a rep in your city, contact me. 

Irene: Any advice, gems, or words of encouragement for future Black people who want to pursue your field? 

Nancy: Refer to answer 5, and do not let your color determine what you can or cannot accomplish. This world is your oyster; show up and speak up for yourself. You deserve to walk into a room and pull up a seat. Remember that your power is not in what others gave you permission to do; it is in what you give yourself the permission to do. Don’t wait to be invited! Initiate, create, move. 

Irene: What is one of your favorite songs that fit/exemplifies that Black is Beautiful?

Nancy: African Queen by 2face and Black is Gold by Wale

Irene: How can we support a fellow amazing Black person like yourself? Do you have any projects, businesses, creations, etc. that you are working on that you would like to speak briefly about and/or that we can support?

Nancy: Black in rehab – we have an in person event every Juneteenth weekend in a different state. Join us on IG. We will start hosting more events throughout the year as well. See you in ATL this year.

I also have 1:1 consultations for new OTs. You can book that via Instagram as well as other services and ebooks I have on Lovelyy_ot on IG. 

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

Nancy: LOVELYYOT on all social media platforms including Youtube.

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! 

Nancy: Be yourself, be unapologetically BLACK! Refrain from the need to prove yourself. You don’t need to prove nothing to anyone. You are enough for whatever dreams you may have.

—

Yall, isn’t Nancy such an iconic woman? So well-versed in so many settings, so many platforms, and most importantly, she connects to so many people. Support our favorite OT Auntee! Her consultations are so helpful! I will be a new grad next year (whoohoo) so best believe I will be reaching back out to my OT Auntee for her guidance. I have yet to meet Nancy in person buuutttt these Black networking events across the nation is something I am going to have to hop on so that we can finally meet! Black in Rehab – what an uplifting space! If yall get the chance to go to ATL this summer, definitely check the event out!

My goodness, does the Black is Beautiful mini blog series really have to end? I am so sad! This has been such a fun series to put on for you all and I have been blessed to have reconnected on a deeper level with all of my interviewees. Each person is so special to me and honestly, we could really all just start our own interdisciplinary clinic and treat people in our communities. I have thoroughly enjoyed featuring all of these amazing individuals on my blog and I hope that you all come away from this series further understanding the vastness of Blackness and how glorious our melanin is. We are the people who are at the frontlines treating you all and helping to restore yall back to health and well-being, remember that! Thank you all again too for supporting me by reading this blog, sharing it with others, and following me on Renrenspeaks on Instagram! Please subscribe as well to get the latest scoop on the content I have coming your way! Stay Black Blackity Black, yall!

Peace and love,

Irene

Posted on in graduate school, lifestyle

End of the Year Reflection – Moving Into 2023 with Intention + Two-Year Anniversary of Renrenspeaks!

Hello, friends! Happy Friday, and most importantly, happy end of the year! We are two days away from the new year, and as most of you are doing, I am reflecting on this very busy year called 2022. I am currently feeling so much peace and happiness, as I have been blessed to have made it through another year safely and in good health. I made my first Instagram Reel that I posted to reflect on this year, and it was so much fun! I am def going to have to incorporate Reels more into 2023 😉 Also, fun fact! It has been TWO YEARS since I started my blog too. Happy two years, Renrenspeakers! I learned so much about myself through this blog, and I am so thankful that you all have been reading my content and supporting me along the way. What are yall’s goals and resolutions for the new year? What has been your favorite blog post on Renrenspeaks since 2020? I would love to hear them (comment down below or email your answers to me)!

This year has been one filled with so many fun memories, sad moments, heartache, times of pure stress and anxiety, and lots of love. For starters, I am now officially halfway done with grad school, friends! She did THAT! Your fav OT doctorate student is 50% done with grad school and I could not be any more proud of myself because I am telling yall, grad school is not for the weak. I’ll be honest. This past semester has not been an easy one for me. It was a lot for me mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I felt at so many points during this semester that I was not creative enough, not competent enough, or not confident enough to understand the material I was learning in my lab courses. I found myself still comparing my progress and my processing to other people, whether it was in their capstone research process or in their clinical reasoning skills. However, this semester has also taught me a lot about myself. I am confident, I can do hard things, and I have pretty solid people skills. It has been really neat to see myself slowly blossom into a practitioner in training and I am thankful for the support system that I have had on my side thus far to get to where I am currently.

A highlight of the semester was that I received my white coat since I am pursuing a doctoral degree. I think I fooled the masses – I did not graduate friends, so I want to clarify that, though it did feel like graduation. The white coat symbolizes the next step in my graduate career of contributing to occupational therapy academia and scholarship. I was honored to be the student speaker, and I think I gave a pretty humorous speech that was personable and relevant to my cohort. I also got to see my tribe come and support me too.

I was also able to do some traveling this year! I know, I did not go abroad as you may have anticipated. Instead, I went to Dallas, Texas in September for the very first time ever. When I tell you it was the break that I needed, I am not lying. My love for traveling has been halted with grad school for obvious reasons. I visited my best friend, explored the area, and caught up with old friends and family members. It was a trip that was well-deserved and allowed me to unwind from all the stressors in my life at that time. Shoutout to Harena for being the best tour guide ever and for making me feel welcome in Dallas! 😉

Another monumental moment for me this year is that I moved to a different home literally right after my week getaway to Dallas. I was impressed by how fast I was able to pack up and move all my things within two days (a very stressful two days, might I add). But shoutout to my wonderful friends who helped me move and to my awesome roommates who have made me feel so welcome in this new home. I am so grateful for people like them who have been alongside me cheering me on and supporting me through a stressful time such as moving. Moving to a different home felt like closing a chapter of my life, which I did. My old apartment was symbolic of me stepping into my mid-20s and living independently in a different state for the first time ever. I laughed, cried, yelled, prayed, and sang in that apartment. It connected me to many different types of people and helped me to prioritize my physical and mental health. It was the first time I was really on my #growngirlmoves apart from living abroad for a bit.

I know I asked yall about your new year’s resolutions, so I will share some of mine! My biggest goal is to be more intentional. I feel that God has put this word into my heart, intention. I want to be more intentional about who I surround myself with, the relationships that I build, the places that I explore, the career I pursue, the money that I spend and who/where I give it to, the food that I intake, the networks that I develop, the way I treat my body inside and out, and the way that I navigate spaces. It is easy to do things just to do them without purpose such as getting assignments done just for the sake of completing them rather than learning through them. I will say, there are so many times in school that I will continue doing things just to get them done because of a lack of time and that is the reality of life sometimes. However, I want to really try my best to take every moment as a learning opportunity, whether it be a positive or a negative experience. I am gonna start off the year with my 26th birthday, which is always a time for new beginnings and a new outlook on the year for me. I am excited to see how I bring intentionality to all parts of my everyday life and how it shapes me into a better person. I also want to be more consistent with blogging, friends! I miss talking to yall on this platform. School often gets in the way of me feeling like I have time for myself, but so many changes are happening that I would love to keep yall posted on. I cannot commit to a certain number of posts, but I am gonna try to keep yall in the loop as much as I can, especially now that I will be starting my internships next year.

All in all, I feel very accomplished this year, though it has been one that has been very challenging mentally for me. I am feeling wholesome, renewed, and restored, as I have spent the last few weeks in San Diego reconnecting with old friends, spending time with family, and revisiting some of my favorite spots around town. I wish everyone the best new year. I hope that you all can claim 2023 as a year of intention as well.

Peace and love and a very happy new year,

Irene

Posted on in graduate school, occupational therapy

Incompetence – Let’s Deconstruct That.

Hello, friends! WOW, I haven’t chatted with you all in a while, I apologize for that! We are taking a mental health break for the rest of the week, so I have today off, whoohoo! Today I went on a run in my new neighborhood, took a nice shower, washed my dishes, completed my morning skincare routine, and listened to a great podcast. Self-care is the best care, and my mental cup is currently full. I miss you all, Renrenspeakers! Life has been chaotic as usual in the life of this grad student. I want to briefly share with you how I have been doing for real.

My mind at a glance this past semester:

July: Second year – lightweight, a breeze. No more neuro, thank God, so it is much easier, and we have so much TIME. #occupationalbalance.

August: Oh shoot, it is starting to pick up but I’m still chillin.

September: Dang, things are starting to hit the fan, as all these assignments and sudden expectations for shifting our way of thinking have been sprung upon us.  

October: Yeah… it’s kinda rough out here.

All this to say, I realized several things so far this semester. First, I don’t think the word “easy” should be used to describe grad school at any stage because that is a façade – at least for me, lol. Sure, there are different levels of busyness that I think my first year and second year demanded, but the more I go through school, the more I realize that nothing should be easy for me. If so, I am doing grad school all wrong because I personally invested my time here to be challenged and to become a better critical thinker, even if it is hard and it sucks. Second, and honestly, I think this is my biggest revelation – I think that suddenly being challenged to think like an OT is a very uncomfortable way of feeling. I believe that this year feels harder than last because, for 25 years, my mind has been trained to study hard, take tests, and repeat. However, being asked “How would you go about this?” and having to critically think while considering the psychosocial components of an individual, their client factors, their environment, AND individualizing it to the person AND always being alert AND practicing a therapeutic use of self AND taking into account barriers to care whether that is through insurance AND so many other nuances is quite difficult. This is a novel way of thinking; my neuronal connections haven’t developed appropriate pathways to readily retrieve these connections. I totally understand that I must trust the process and I do believe that I will make it out victorious at the end of it all. However, I think facing the fact that I really am more Type A than I thought makes thinking like an OT or a healthcare provider, in general, a struggleeeeee.

One of my professors sent out a check-in email last week to see how we were feeling as OT students during the semester. One of the questions that they asked was three words to describe how we are currently feeling, and I included overwhelmed and stressed in the mix (which is typically standard), but the word that I was brutally honest with which made me a bit sad to admit was incompetent. I am not sure if all the life transitions I have been going through also informed my choice of this word, but it was very fitting. That was one of the few times I’ve recently viewed myself as so because I generally feel like I have mostly worked through my imposter syndrome. At that moment, the word incompetent signified that I felt like I was not completing assignments to my full potential and that I was actively skipping opportunities to fully immerse myself in the grad school experience through networking, professors, events, etc. I went home that day and honestly did not really do anything else because I felt the need to reflect on why the word incompetent ground my gears. It is unlearning the perfectionist, people-pleasing complex that I have been conditioned by for so many years now that I believe made me feel extra vulnerable that day. I find that I am hard on myself for not knowing how to solve these case studies immediately and for second-guessing every thought that I have to offer, which is ridiculous because of course I should struggle through it. Weirdly enough, I also felt like the word incompetent was validating because I was able to pinpoint exactly how I felt particularly this semester of grad school. It made me realize that it is okay to feel incompetent sometimes. What matters is just how I proceed to work on that insecurity. That is what I believe will make me a better student, clinician, and person in the future.

I will also share one thing that I feel reinvigorated my momentary weaning passion for the field. Last week, I attended an event regarding pelvic floor therapy, and though this is not a particular niche of OT that I am super interested in, I thought it would be valuable to get a break from the traditional ways of classroom learning and to connect with current practitioners not in academia. I am so glad that I went because it resparked the possibilities of starting my own practice, but it also taught me that I could advocate for myself, market my worth, and make a difference in people’s lives without being bound to the not-so-glamorous side of healthcare such as strict insurance regulations and reimbursement policies. It was just motivating to see another self-starter previously feeling burnt out and taking action to change her life around to do what truly makes her happy. I am sure that at one point she also felt incompetent and hopeless working under someone controlling her opportunities to provide care. Again, what was inspiring was the action she decided to take to change her trajectory. And that, I believe, is what made me accept and normalize feeling incompetent for myself. There is always a way to rise above incompetency, and I have complete power to do so.

Yes, I acknowledge that my thoughts are kind of all over the place because it is reflective of how my semester has been – all over the place mentally and academically! But overall, I can say that I am feeling more refreshed now that I blurted all my thoughts here today, and that I am optimistic that I will be able to overcome my feelings of incompetency as I progress through grad school. Thank you for reading and checking in with me, and for the love and prayers you all send my way continuously. I so appreciate them, and I hope that this word touched you a bit!

Peace and love,

Irene

Posted on in graduate school, occupational therapy

Dr. Kwangaba, 33% loaded! Reflections on a Year of OT School

Hello, friends! Happy June! I hope that all is well and that everyone’s summer is off to a great start. It has been a bit over a month since I last checked in with you all. I was in the midst of my finals as I wrapped up my first year of OT school two weeks ago. I cannot believe that I am officially 1/3 of the way done with my graduate school career. After 10 months of straight stretching of my brain, constant exams, papers, group projects, some tears, and a whole lot of Maverick City Music and prayer to get me through the hard days, I got through it all.

My brain feels like a sponge. It is wild to think about how much I have learned (and some retention of facts I still gotta improve on, shoutout to my professor for coining that phrase lol) in this year. Being in OT school simultaneously made me more familiar with what OT is and all that it has to offer as well as made me wonder what the heck is OT! Critical thinking is an aspect that I initially hoped would improve upon as I began school and took challenging courses such mental health, neuroscience, and kinesiology. Before, I was only familiar with the names of diagnoses such as cerebral palsy, schizophrenia, and muscular dystrophy. Now, I come out understanding the prognoses, assessments, and possible interventions that I can begin to utilize to improve the quality of life of those with these various diagnoses.

Here are 10 highlights of practical skills that I can now add to my toolkit!

  1. I can transfer literally anyone despite my small frame.
  2. I can take manual blood pressure (I struggled so hard before).
  3. I can administer motivational interviewing, Socratic questioning, and strategic interviewing to gather pertinent info to build an occupational profile on a client.
  4. I can complete an entire case study related to OT in mental health settings in 2 hours (and I write way too much so that is impressive for me!)  
  5. I can use various types of Hoyer lifts and transfer patients such as kiddos with muscular dystrophy who have limited range of motion and weakness in their extremities.
  6. I can assess range of motion of joints and administer a manual muscle test for various muscles for folks experiencing musculoskeletal symptoms or pathologies of the upper extremities.
  7. I can teach a person who experienced a stroke on how to implement upper extremity hemi-dressing to promote independence in ADLs.
  8. I can create and implement (and hopefully sell one day) a group protocol.
  9. I can properly measure and fit a walker.
  10. I can juggle three group projects at one time.

Besides all the cool OT things I’ve been learning this year, the most critical aspect that I’ve taken away from my experience of being an OT student is that I really can do anything that I set my mind to. School is HARD and it is really difficult to remember the purpose of it all when I am boggled down with assignments, projects, and exams that seem to never end. However, a support system in and out of school, surrounding myself with positive folks who uplift me, and faith and confidence in my abilities are truly the most integral aspects that have made this journey all worth it. I walked away with lots of golden nuggets (shoutout to another one of my professors for coining this term) that I am excited to continue to build on and implement into my emerging career as an OT.

Now, I am going to take my much needed hiatus from being a grad student and tap into being all identities of Irene this summer. Thanks for cheering me on, Renrenspeakers, on this journey and being so invested in it as well!

Peace and love,

Irene  

Posted on in occupational therapy, Occupational Therapy Speaks series

Occupational Therapy Speaks Mini-Blog Series Part 6: Dr. Candace Speaks!

Hello, friends! Welcome back to the blog! I hope you enjoyed learning about Dr. Linda and seeing the world of OT through her lens. I have been having so much fun putting together these interviews and showcasing amazing individuals, both students and practitioners, who love OT. I certainly have learned so much about occupational therapy this month through the unique perspectives of the lovely individuals who have shared their experiences. I am so thrilled to feature the last person I have for you all this evening. Dr. Candace is a current occupational therapist that I highly admire. We were privileged to meet through the wonderful organization of COTAD National before I began applying to OT school. She has been cheering me on through my journey of getting accepted to and matriculating into OT school. Dr. Candace has poured lots of wisdom and encouragement into my life and has challenged me to be my best self throughout the two years that we have known each other now. So friends, I present to you Dr. Candace as our final feature of the Occupational Therapy Speaks mini-blog series to conclude this series.

Irene: What are your name and pronouns? Give us a quick synopsis of who YOU ARE!

Dr. Candace: Candace Chatman, OTD, OTR/L (she/her). I am an occupational therapist based in Southern California. My area of practice began in pediatrics and I have transitioned into academia as an assistant professor of clinical occupational therapy at the University of Southern California. I am a Seattle native that feels more like an Angeleno since moving here in 2003. My passions are God, my family, and friends, finding fulfilling work with children and families- whether that be in practice or the community- and working towards a more equitable, accessible, and diverse Occupational Therapy academy. 

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

Dr. Candace: When I was 17 years old, my family adopted my niece, who had Down syndrome. I cared for her and our relationship has helped direct major parts of my career with families and children. I started my professional career as a high school special education teacher and special equation coordinator in underserviced areas of Los Angeles. I always knew that I would not stay in that career as I wanted to have a larger scope of expertise in a more flexible job trajectory. I learned about occupational therapy after having decided I would transition to nursing. It was a medical field I could handle and I knew that there would always be a need for nurses. While taking pre-reqs for nursing school, in a Lifespan Psychology class, an occupational therapist spoke about her pediatric clinic and the work she did around the world with children and increasing their access to meaningful activities.  I had never heard of occupational therapy during my time taking care of my niece or during my time as a teacher. I loved that it aligned with my desire to provide care in a more holistic way- not just in the classroom. I wasn’t sure at the time that pediatrics would be the area of occupational therapy I wanted to focus- I was a bit burned out from teaching- but I was clear that I wanted to be an occupational therapist. 

Irene: Choose three words that come to mind when you think of “OT”. Define each word in its relationship to OT. Why did you choose these three words?

Dr. Candace:

Person-centered – We work with living, human, beings… people. Not labels, conditions, diagnosis, socio-economic status, clients, patients, or consumers. So our work must be centered on the people- their wants, needs, concerns, strengths, and removing barriers to those wants, needs, and concerns.

Advocacy – Using our voice and skills to make a change in complex systems- whether it be voting, writing letters to senators, calling insurance companies, or providing parents clarity about their rights in IEP meetings.

Flexible – We must be ready to grow and change our perspectives, our understandings, and our actions as the contexts around us change. We must be almost malleable as nothing is really fixed or predictable. 

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

Dr. Candace: The depth and nuisance in the field. I think that’s why people don’t know what we do unless you’ve worked with one of us. There is so much we can do. I love the passion and the drive of OTs. I love the potential also. Collectively, we could do so much. I think this is why advocacy is so important so that we can get funding for all the areas in which we provide care. I also think this is why no matter what we do, we need to do it as occupational therapists first. This is such a valuable field but that puts us at risk for other careers poaching the OT scope. This is why we need to go out there with all the things that we can do and with our entrepreneur mindset and our knowledge and ability to apply the IT process and let people know that we are occupational therapists first and that specific area of work second.

Irene: What are your plans for the future of OT? How do you want to revolutionize the field of OT in the future?

Dr. Candace: My plans currently are to continue to create an academic landscape that is holistic, accessible, equitable, and diverse as the communities we serve. The promise/attempt to create a holistic, accessible, equitable, and diverse OT educational landscape cannot be in words only- get the students in, and then the students will sort it out.  We have to apply as much as we know about pedagogy, teaching, and occupational therapy to create an academia in which all students can be successful- whether they identify as black, indigenous, people of color, or have a disability- visible or invisible-, LGBTQIA+, male, etc. At the 2022 Spring Academic Leadership Conference, the demographics of the field of occupational therapy confirmed that occupational therapy is largely a white, female field. Changing academia will help move us towards the vision of a more diverse workforce. 

I would like to revolutionize supporting OTs to be fieldwork educators. Fieldwork educators are an extremely important part of the occupational therapy education. I’m grateful that my job allows me to address the needs of clinicians which will hopefully impact their work as educators to occupational therapy students.  

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

USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy: Candace Chatman, OTD, OTR/L.

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! 

Dr. Candace: I believe in you and I know you can do it. Keep your eye on your dream and your goals and your community.

—

Dr. Candace is truly revolutionizing OT as we speak. I love the integration of academia and OT and how you discussed the interplay between the two. It is so important, and I also aspire to do work in academia further down my career trajectory to help advocate for the underheard voices who I believe have the power to break down multifacetered barriers present in OT. Thank you for your words of affirmation as well – that is true mentorship! 😉 It was so exciting to spotlight the voice of both a licensed occupational therapist and faculty member at USC today!

Well Renrenspeakers, thank you so much for tuning into the blog every Saturday this month for OT month! I am honored to have shed light on this amazing profession that I am currently pursing through the perspectives of my guest interviewees this month. I really hope that you all took something away from the stories that were shared on this platform. I have so many ambitions and plans for OT, so reading about other students and practitoners’ visions and aspirations was very inspiring and fruitful. It illustrates that there are so many passionate folks who are currently active in making occupational therapy an accessible, equitable service for all people across the lifespan regardless of their demographics, backgrounds, and experiences. For more resources about what OT is and all of the exciting things happening in the field, I strongly encourage you to visit AOTA. I also encourage you all to connect with the folks featured this month or myself if you are curious and eager to learn more about OT.

I really enjoyed hosting Occupational Therapy Speaks this month, and I hope you all return soon to Renrenspeaks for new content! In the mean time, go and thank an occupational therapist or an occupational therapy student for their dedication, hard work, and drive!

Peace and light,

Irene