As this post is entitled... it really has been a bit of a roller coaster! I am delighted to tell you that I went for my first interview and got the job! I attended the COT annual conference and was very inspired, I also had an amazing final placement where I spent 10 weeks with a community learning disabilities team - I just loved it! And it was a pass! Last week I sat my final exam which was a 45 minute viva and I was ecstatic to find out that I gained my best mark yet for this and I am so so proud of myself! It's a big achievement for me considering I only just about scraped a pass on my last viva and being told when I was diagnosed with dyscalculia that I would really struggle with viva's.
So all of that sounds fantastic right? And it really is only I've missed one little thing out of there... My dissertation. My dissertation was a fail.
I was completely devastated when I found out and I cried my eyes out all the way home from placement. I had worked incredibly hard on my project and utilised supervision throughout and still managed to fail. Sometimes you really just can't see the wood for the trees with these things! It was a couple of weeks into my placement when we got the results and it completely knocked my confidence. My placement educator was a fantastic support during this time and really made me realise how good I am as an OT - It was so amazing to hear that and it really boosted my confidence in my abilities as an OT.
It's not all doom and gloom though, I get to re-submit in time to graduate with the rest of my cohort if I get a pass so the next couple of weeks I will be working with my supervisor to make adjustments to my article and get it re-submitted! It's so difficult when everyone else has finished and I feel really far behind at the moment - but I will get there!
So enough about that... here's some more details about my final placement and my job!
Final Placement
So as I mentioned above, my final placement was spent with a community learning disabilities team and I had a fantastic time! I walked in on my first day and was handed two referrals for my very own case load... It was a terrifying feeling to say the least! I sought re-assurance from my educator who simply told me I have the core OT skills... It is now time for me to go out there and use them. And he was right! It sounds silly but I've not really once over these past two years stopped and thought about my own core skills and clinical reasoning skills practically. You read in books that you should have these things as an OT and on previous placements due to the level we did not have to be competent in these things but this time we did!
So I did just that, I went out to their homes all by myself and I did initial assessments for these two service users... I did it! I was an OT. I suddenly had this huge surge of confidence and this was re-inforced when I was able to discuss the information I had gathered and come up with a plan using my own clinical reasoning skills! It was such an amazing feeling.
Throughout my placement my case-load grew and I worked with a variety of different service users within lots of different settings which included forensic services. I worked with quite a challenging case where I had a disclosure of abuse made to me by a service user and followed the safeguarding process which was an amazing learning experience - And that all happened in my first week!
I also had an opportunity to work with members of the MDT to plan and facilitate a group based upon sexual health for a group of young adults with learning disabilities within a college setting. This was way out of my comfort zone but I enjoyed it so much and got to plan lots of activities for the groups to engage in each week. The staff members commented that having the perspective of an OT within the planning of the group was really valuable. The group was raised from the many referrals the team were having for people with a learning disability getting themselves into very vulnerable situations regarding sexual health. A lot of this involved the use of mobile phones and social media. Many people with a learning disability are targeted for sexual abuse online and many individuals with a learning disability become the abusers themselves. The group focused on preventative work and to promote an awareness of sexual health and online safety. I assisted in creating a resource for this group so that the materials can be used again by other staff members and this project has been nominated to be published in the trusts best book of good practice :)
The OT team on placement used MOHO and I have to say that I am a huge fan of MOHO. It just structured everything we did with an occupational focus and the MOHOST is a great tool to use with individuals with learning disabilities who may not always be able to communicate their needs as you can utilise information from others and use observations in activities, lots of information gathering - and it provided an occupationally focused outcome measure - great stuff!
Everyone in the team was so lovely and I was really made to feel welcome and a real part of the team. I wasn't ever referred to as a student and always as an OT and my opinions were really valued within MDT meetings and client formulations. My educator was a fantastic support to me and he really did facilitate my confidence and was always available if I needed help or advice.
The placement really gave me a confidence in my own skills and abilities and made me realise that my previous experience of working with adults with autism has given me such great experience for a role within learning disability services. It really re-inforced that this is an area that I would love to work... and now I will tell you about my new job!
My First OT role!
I did it! I got my first job! Interestingly though it is a generic role and was not advertised as an OT but as an Inpatient Recovery Practitioner. I have to be honest - I was a little apprehensive applying for it at first because you could be an OT or a nurse to apply and throughout my training I have learned about the many challenges OTs face with the profession appearing fragmented to other professions, a lack of understanding of the role of an OT and role blurring! Sounds a nightmare right!? But then I stopped and read the job description and it really appealed to me and the philosophies I believe in as an OT. The role is very much based upon the recovery model and this can be very much likened to the COT code of ethics and professional conduct for OTs. Not only did it scream OT to me - It was with adults with learning disabilities within a secure setting... It was getting more and more appealing! I do recognise that there are going to be challenges but I also feel that the role will be an excellent opportunity to promote OT and the role we can have in inpatient recovery! So I went for it!
The interview was a panel of nurses, ward manger and one OT and I also had a service user interview. At the time I didn't think I had done very well and was incredibly surprised when I received a phone call to tell me I had got the job! I practically screamed down the phone at the poor lady... not very professional, oops! But I was so excited!
Within the unit there is already a team of OTs however, I will be supervised and managed by the ward manager who is a nurse... This obviously rings alarm bells for little me, newly qualified OT so I have arranged a meeting this week with the lead OT and ward manager and I am going to arrange to do my preceptorship with the OTs and gain OT supervision. I also want to find out where my role fits within the current set up and how I can feed in to the team of OTs there whilst also recognising my limitations and not taking on too much of a nursing role that I am not qualified to do! It is going to be a challenge as it is a brand new role and I am a brand new OT. But it is a positive challenge to make the role my own, show off my OT skills and experience and really gain some good work experience to move on and progress throughout my OT journey.
So it is all very exciting and I am looking forward to visiting there this week and gaining some clarification on the role as well as meeting some of the service users I am going to be working with :)
So there you have it. It has been a roller coaster but one full of many accomplishments and achievements. Time to get this masters completed once and for all!
Oh one last thing...
I got a new cat :)
