Two week into elections, and four more to go. I can't believe I am on this journey again. I've built some great relationships across the nation with OT and got involved in some awesome projects.

My newest project is one for our state association, ILOTA. I am going to try to coordinate all of the research projects done by OT and OTA students in the state and make them available to everyone. All students know how much time those projects took, and to put them to good use - sounds like a plan to me! I am very excited to be asked to do this and hope this inspires other students to serve the state association in some way.

This project proves that I have the skills, relationships and drive to serve on the Commission on Education. If you haven't voted yet, please do (for me!)

-http://www.aota.org/Governance/Elections-2012.aspx

I started my first Level II fieldwork placement yesterday, a week behind most of my other classmates. The wait was well worth it. I have TWO wonderful fieldwork educators, and will have an opportunity to work with children in various schools, with varying diagnoses, and some amazing teachers. I could not be more excited for the next 3 months! I've already had the opportunity to participate in an evaluation and run treatment sessions. Great start to this awesome experience!

I feel prepared for fieldwork because of my education at UIC, but moreso for the support our department gave to all of us. I want all occupational therapy & occupational therapy assistant students to have the same experience in their educational programs. I want to help shape policy and change that will positively affect the student experience in the future. I want to be the next student representative to the Commission on Education. I am ready and excited to serve!

Voting starts January 17, 2012 (12:01 a.m. EST) and runs through February 28, 2012 (11:59 p.m. EST). Don't forget to check out my bio, as well as all of those running, so you can vote for your next Assembly of Student Delegates officers. Check out the links below for all of the information you need and how to vote. Encourage your friends to vote as well!

-http://www.aota.org/Governance/Elections-2012/ASD%20Steering%20Committee/ASD-Candidates.aspx

-http://www.aota.org/Governance/Elections-2012.aspx

When researching the role of the student representative to the Commission on Education, I went to the AOTA website to find information and this is what I found:

Commission on Education

Some of you may remember that I ran for an Assembly of Student Delegates position last year, and unfortunately for me, I did not win. However, this did not break my spirit for dedication to AOTA, and I am back again and running for a position that is a passion of mine -the Student Representative to the Commission on Education.

I have included the position description below and some of the reasons why I am the best candidate for this position in response to each of the responsibilities.

The student representative to the COE represents student concerns to the COE and serves on both the ASD Steering Committee and the COE.- I have served on several committees where I have been the voice of the students. While at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, I served on various campus committees including: Risk Management Committee, Celebratory Riot Prevention, and Campus Recreation. I served as the voice of the students as it related to the mission of the committee. During my time at the University of Texas, I served on the library committee and the Graduate Student Assembly. As a member of the Graduate Student Assembly, I was in a unique position to comment to the Graduate College on a wide range of student concerns. Currently, I serve on the student fieldwork committee at the University of Illinois - Chicago (UIC), having input on fieldwork changes and bringing to the faculty any issues students are having with the fieldwork process as a whole.

This position requires an overall commitment to education, research, and educational leadership.- I am most definitely committed to educational leadership. Before attending occupational therapy school, I receive a masters in Higher Education Administration, where I focused on college student development. During this time, I learned about the structure of higher education, its main goals, and how universities function. My role with the Graduate Student Assembly was aimed at advancing the leadership of the graduate students on campus and working with the University to find opportunities for students to lead. I am currently enrolled in the OTD program at UIC, where my secondary focus is education. I am dedicated to studying the process of education as it relates to occupational therapy and brainstorming ways that education can move our profession forward.

He or she is responsible for collaborating with educators and students in planning for the student delegate meetings at Conference and in working with the COE to represent student concerns. - I have experience planning large scale events for students from multiple universities. At the University of Illinois, I planned a full day conference for 500 women, many who came in from other areas of the country. At the University of Texas, I coordinated two large scale events, one for 5000 graduate students, and another for 20,000 students and community members. While at UIC, I served as the Vice President of ILLI-SOTA, our student occupational therapy student association. I have planned service projects and fundraisers for our organization. This requires collaboration with students and faculty, and our organization has had many successes this year.

I will continue to use this blog as a way to reach out to as many students as possible to inform them as to why I am the best candidate for this position. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to message me on OT Connections, send me an email at priven@uic.edu or hop onto my facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/119832068128651/ . I look forward to speaking and networking with as many students as possible during this elections process.

Moira Priven for Student Representative to the Commission on Education!

It is almost ridiculous how long it has been since I made a post - but alas, school wins in the time war. As I moves towards the end of the semester I find myself thinking about two things that I think all students can relate to: 1- Do I know enough to be successful on fieldwork? 2 - How does my FW Supervisor know how to do that without thinking??

1- Do I know enough to be successful on fieldwork? - I often have conversations with my classmates and professionals about the answer to this question and the same answer is always given. Yes you know enough and all OTs are always learning. Over the past few weeks, I have had the opportunity to practice more clinical skills of noting writing and intervention planning for real people! This is a nice transition from the case study approach as I value face-to-face interactions. I wish there was a way to develop more role playing and face-to-face skills into education programs. I know there is never enough time for everything, but to me, this has been one of the most beneficial parts of my program.

2 - How does my FW Supervisor know how to do that without thinking?? - The answer to this is lots of practice. Over time, I've watched several therapists do their jobs very well.  The reason they are so proficient is the continuing education opportunities that they sought out. I've posted before about my advocacy of continuing education. The best part of CE - is that you don't have to be a practicing therapist to attend! Many CE opportunities have discounts for students, and even if they don't list it - ASK. I've been to many great workshops and education opportunities because I asked if I could attend.

My education experience has taught me to always act like a sponge. You can learn from everyone you have contact with - and it doesn't just happen in the classroom. It can happen in the clinic, hospital, or just on the street. Just remember to keep an open mind and always be ready to learn.

As the election process is coming to a close this week, I found it pertinent to reflect on my time as a candidate.

When I began this process, I had no idea how lief-changing it would be. No matter the result of the election, I have developed some great friendships with future colleagues around the country. We are working on projects together, sharing ideas, and pushing ourselves to be better students and better occupational therapists. It is great to see that there is a large group of students working now to move the profession to the forefront, and I do believe we will not stop after graduating to become professionals.

A major problem in AOTA membership, is the drop off after students graduate. There are many reasons for why this happens, but we all need to work harder to capture this large population of new therapists. I can imagine (but cannot prove), that those who continue their membership directly after graduation, are more likely to keep up their membership, than those who stop and at some point choose to come back. We all need to create a culture that being a professional OT means that you are a member of AOTA. Creating a stronger culture of this while students are still in school will help continue their membership post-graduation.

I have always been dedicated to involvement in professional organizations. It is the main reason I ran for an ASD Committee position. I also believe in the importance of involving students early and getting their buy-in. I have alot of experience in both of these areas and hope that I will be able to serve and introduce some of my ideas to the country.

For those who haven't voted yet, I encourage you to do so (http://www.aota.org/elections.aspx). Everyone's vote does matter to the future of the organization, no matter the size of the position. I hope that my vision garners your vote.

I have been cooped up in my house all day today (along with the rest of the northeast) as a blizzard is pounding the area. Although the weather outside is not the most pleasant, it gave me some time to catch up on some reading as well as read some articles on the AOTA website.

While perusing the AOTA website, I found that they recently posted all of the candidate information online for the upcoming elections. (http://www.aota.org/Governance/Elections-2011.aspx) I encourage everyone to read over each candidate's information for all positions and make an informed decision. Voting in the election is important so get ready for January 18!

The holiday time for me has been spent answering the "What are you in school for again?" question many times. I've perfected my elevator speech about what OT is, why I love it, and what OT means to everyone. I encourage everyone to think about these things as you never know who will ask and what affect your answer will have on him/her. We are the voice of occupational therapy.

As the semester is coming to a close (only one more final tomorrow!), I have spent a lot of time thinking about why I wanted to become involved in AOTA and ASD and what assets I would bring to the steering committee. I have never been one who finds it easy to talk about themselves and their strengths (and weaknesses), but I have found that Occupational Therapy has already taught me a lot about myself. Much of what I learned about myself this semester was learned during a wonderful course in the Intentional Relationship Model. If you are unfamiliar with this model, please do read about it. It is one textbook that I enjoyed reading cover to cover.

Besides all of the practical OT skills I learned in this course, I learned a lot about my leadership past. As several other OT students I have spoken to over the past several months tell me, leadership is not easy. I have had disappointments in the past - not getting elected to positions I really wanted, not receiving grant opportunities that went to other students. I used to dwell on these things, thinking of them as "failures", but I have come to realize that each of these circumstances were personal growth experiences. I have had the privilege of serving in leadership roles for many organizations, and continue to volunteer my time for these organizations. I now want to share my experiences with others through AOTA and the ASD Steering Committee.

I decided to run for the ASD Steering Committee because I want to encourage more students to become involved in AOTA. I believe in professional organizations and what they can accomplish. I also believe that student membership is vital to the future of AOTA, as we will all soon becomes professionals. Whether as OTs or OTAs we should create a culture of involvement and support of AOTA as students, which will follow us into our professional lives. We all need to be the next batch of strong pixels to further our profession.

I hope that all occupational therapists, occupational therapy assistants, and students become involved in AOTA. The information, networking, and professional development opportunities are amazing and no one working in the occupational therapy profession should pass up being involved in this amazing organization. As students, we should encourage everyone in our classes to be involved. There is no reason not to be! If elected to the steering committee, I will come up with as many creative ideas as I can to get students involved in AOTA. I will also help to create more networking opportunities for student to get together and share ideas.

As we draw closer to elections, I look to my fellow AOTA student members for support. If you have questions for me, please don’t hesitate to send me a message. I love talking about occupational therapy and AOTA involvement. Look for election voting instructions coming soon to your inbox!

Moira Priven for ASD Secretary!

http://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_165808740107203 - Join my Facebook Group

http://otconnections.aota.org/blogs/moirapriven/default.aspx - Follow my blog

I had the pleasure of spending this past weekend in Louisville at the AOTA/NBCOT Student Conclave. When I first heard about this opportunity in August, I knew that I wanted to attend. I have been participating in national organizations for awhile now and love the opportunities that come with volunteering for a professional organization.

Although I spent a lot of time in informational sessions, I also made an attempt to meet as many people as I could. Connectedness and networking is an important piece to a productive professional life and it is never too early to start. Speaking with other students was great. We spoke about our programs, the differences and similarities and what made us choose OT in the first place. I learned so much from my peers and hope to continue learning from others as I continue on in my occupational therapy education.

The information sessions and speakers were great. I learned so much about areas of occupational therapy I was unfamiliar with. I also learned about the many roads my career path could take into the future and that it was alright not to know at this point. I have already put all of the presentations and notes into my CE binder that I plan to keep for a long time for reference in the future.

I also attended SC in order to gather support for my candidacy for ASD Secretary. When Dr. Braveman gave us a presentation on AOTA and ASD during a class period, I knew this was something I wanted to get involved with and quickly. I spoke to many tudents about ASD helping to explain what it was for students who did not already know. I hope to continue in this advocacy in the role as Secretary of ASD. I hope I can gain everyone's support for my candidacy!

Now that I am back in Chicago, I am re-energized and focused on finishing out the semester strong. It look the trip away to allow me to see the big picture and see the light at the end of the tunnel. This is all worth it and SC helped me remember that.

I am enrolled in a Research in Occupational Therapy course this semester. I was excited to take it because I have always been interested in research and statistics. Although the content is tough at times, I have learned so much and this is a great foundation course.

The major project in this class is an evidence-based practice paper and poster on a topic supplied by a clinician. I think it is great that our professor asked for real topics from clinicians in order to help them in their practice. By spending just a little more time, the project topics are real and will be used in practice. My partner and I finished the first draft of our paper last night and although our brains are a bit fried, it has been an amazing journey. We have learned a lot about doing meaningful searches for resources, appraising those sources, and synthesizing the information into something that a clinician can use in practice. Although research project sometimes seems daunting, I know I now have the skills to read an article and decide whether or not I can use its conclusions in practice. I will definitely use this skill through the rest of my program, and into practice.

On a side note, I am excited to be attending the AOTA Student Conclave this weekend! There are 10 of us attending from the program, and many of us are leaving Chicago on Thursday to be able to explore Louisville. I have attended national conferences in the past and have never had a bad experience. I am excited to meet with students from around the country and talk about our experiences. I am also running for a position on the ASD Steering Committee (Secretary) and will be trying to meet as many students as possible in order to gather support for my campaign.

I have always loved to write and when I heard about the blogs on the OT Connections page, I was thrilled. I knew this would be a great opportunity to put my ideas "to paper" and have others comment on them. The next step was deciding on a topic. I wanted to write from a personal place, but also write about experiences that I hope others are having as well. I decided to write about my journey as an occupational therapy student because I thought if nothing else, it would help me process all of my experiences in a place where others know what I am going through. Although I am now 10 weeks into the semester (wahoo!), it will be easy to catch everyone up on my experiences.

The semester started with a few jolts as our department lost a trusted colleague, mentor and researcher. The first month of class was difficult for many of us, even though only a few had met him. We all tried to be supportive of each other and the department, and everyone here did as much as they could to make our transition into occupational therapy school as smooth as possible.

We just finished all of our midterms. I can honestly say that I have learned so much already, and cannot wait to continue. Studying for midterms was fun in a way (and yes, I realize that sounds very odd), because it reminded me of why I chose this profession in the first place. Although most of what we have done this semester is theory based, I can already see the many applications in future OT settings. It was an adjustment for many of us to return to school in this intensive of a setting, but we all have made it through gracefully, even if we have a few bumps and bruises.

It is the time in the semester when group projects and presentations are beginning to wrap up. I have one later today and learned alot about myself in the process of completing it. Occupational therapy school is nothing like I have experienced in the past. Although I attended graduate school once before, OT school is a different environment. The students here are extremely intelligent, motivated, and want to succeed. Working in a group with students who are all like this can be more challenging because we all want to make sure it is done perfectly. I learned how to let go and trust others' judgment and work ethic. I believe that the end product of this specific project turned out better than it would have had I done it all myself. Just another lesson learned thus far.

I think this will be a weekly blog, maybe more or less depending on what I have going on. I hope that this becomes a forum where students can speak and process their experiences. Nothing that I will say is in any way the only way to think or do something. It is based upon my experience and thoughts in one specific setting. Comments are always welcome.