On Fieldwork
I've probably already mentioned that my fieldwork placement is anything but convenient. Now that I've found out specific details of where I will be, it's even more inconvenient. I'm in 4 schools, 3 elementary, 1 middle. Of course the school I am in the most (3x a week) is the furthest away. On paper it's only 30 miles, but in practice, the drive is about 75 minutes on a good day. I have yet to discover what a bad day is like, but I might tomorrow because there is supposed to be an ice storm. Maybe I'll luck out and school will be canceled or there will be a delayed opening.
Now, you might be saying, hey, that's not so bad. However, anyone who really knows me knows that I detest commuting. I think it's the devil and I pretty much refuse to work anywhere that is more than 40 minutes away from me. An hour is acceptable if it's accessible from public transportation. If it's any more than that, I'm not doing it, unless it's my dream job. Suffice to say, this is not my dream job.
It also turns out that the therapist I'm with 4 days a week is the less active of the 3 supervisors I have. She's basically a standard school OT and works on handwriting with every single kid. That's my nightmare. The OTs I am with on Monday are so much better; they get down on the floor with the kids, incorporate things like handwriting into creative activities, and just have more fun. Granted, they have a lot more space than my regular supervisor, but she still has a room of her own.
I guess it's early and I shouldn't really judge. I do think she is a good therapist; she's already proven to be very knowledgeable. I just got my hopes up with the other two ladies the first day and then today's very classic approach just felt like a bit of a letdown. I think what I'm trying to say is that I went from being with therapists who went above and beyond with their students to someone who does enough. I guess all that matters is that the kids meet their goals and progress.
Speaking of the kids, they have all been great so far. I do really like kids; it's definitely not them that make me not want to work in pediatrics. It's the nature of what an OT can do in a school. Since everything has to be education-related, sometimes you are limited to making sure Timmy puts the right spacing between his words or copies shapes correctly. That is important, but when a kid has 15 other problems that also need to be addressed and you can't do anything about them, it's frustrating. Watching kids struggle is hard for me, especially when they're so young.
I'm thinking that this placement will turn out to be one of mixed feelings. I'll enjoy working with the kids, but will have no love for the commute or the school-based structure. One never knows, though, and I'll try to keep an open mind.
And for the silver lining, I have to drive by Trader Joe's every day. It's so far away that I rarely go in spite of my love for their tzatziki sauce and dried pineapple (seriously, they have the best dried fruit because they don't add sugar to it - I also love the dried granny smith apples). I'll at least get to enjoy those delicacies for a couple of months. Oh, and I suppose it's good that gas isn't $4.00 a gallon anymore, so I can afford all this driving. Let's hope it stays that way.
Now, you might be saying, hey, that's not so bad. However, anyone who really knows me knows that I detest commuting. I think it's the devil and I pretty much refuse to work anywhere that is more than 40 minutes away from me. An hour is acceptable if it's accessible from public transportation. If it's any more than that, I'm not doing it, unless it's my dream job. Suffice to say, this is not my dream job.
It also turns out that the therapist I'm with 4 days a week is the less active of the 3 supervisors I have. She's basically a standard school OT and works on handwriting with every single kid. That's my nightmare. The OTs I am with on Monday are so much better; they get down on the floor with the kids, incorporate things like handwriting into creative activities, and just have more fun. Granted, they have a lot more space than my regular supervisor, but she still has a room of her own.
I guess it's early and I shouldn't really judge. I do think she is a good therapist; she's already proven to be very knowledgeable. I just got my hopes up with the other two ladies the first day and then today's very classic approach just felt like a bit of a letdown. I think what I'm trying to say is that I went from being with therapists who went above and beyond with their students to someone who does enough. I guess all that matters is that the kids meet their goals and progress.
Speaking of the kids, they have all been great so far. I do really like kids; it's definitely not them that make me not want to work in pediatrics. It's the nature of what an OT can do in a school. Since everything has to be education-related, sometimes you are limited to making sure Timmy puts the right spacing between his words or copies shapes correctly. That is important, but when a kid has 15 other problems that also need to be addressed and you can't do anything about them, it's frustrating. Watching kids struggle is hard for me, especially when they're so young.
I'm thinking that this placement will turn out to be one of mixed feelings. I'll enjoy working with the kids, but will have no love for the commute or the school-based structure. One never knows, though, and I'll try to keep an open mind.
And for the silver lining, I have to drive by Trader Joe's every day. It's so far away that I rarely go in spite of my love for their tzatziki sauce and dried pineapple (seriously, they have the best dried fruit because they don't add sugar to it - I also love the dried granny smith apples). I'll at least get to enjoy those delicacies for a couple of months. Oh, and I suppose it's good that gas isn't $4.00 a gallon anymore, so I can afford all this driving. Let's hope it stays that way.