Where did you work during your CFY? i worked at Little Company of Mary in San Pedro. What is was like, and how much support (from supervisors, fellow alumni, former professors, etc.) did you receive throughout that time?
it was very informative and eye opening to get a taste of what responsibilities and duties are required of you in future professional arena. it was a good safe prep ground before entering into a hospital setting on my own. i was allowed to work with variety of outpts and inpts with many neurological, voice, speech, communication problems. the hospital also had a few outpatients who were children so that was fun to also have a diverse variety of ages as well.
Where do you work now? i currently work at little company of mary in torrance.
How long have you been working there? for 5 years, gosh time flies by!
What is a typical day for you at work? this is kind of a general question... but... i'll try to answer as best as i can. i get into work around 7:30/8:00 am, collect my referrals from the printer for the day, then prioritize my evals and treatments. the referrals can encompass anything from dysphagia evaluations, OPMS (a swallowing test), to speech/language/cognitive linguistic evaluations. after i finish with evaluations i proceed onto to priority patient treatments.
What are the pros and cons about your job?
PROS:
1. interdisciplinary team approach with all physicians and therapists working towards benefitting pts' physical and mental health as well as accomplishing their goals.
2. working with great coworkers who are very informative and listen to you.
3. very mentally stimulating and challenging at the same time- learning something new everyday on the job, medically, clinically, etc.
4. it's fun for me deal with different types of personalities on the job... from dealing with aggitated pts, to grateful family members, to educating uninformed nurses, to discussing and working on pt goals with other occupational and physical therapists.
CONS:
1. Nursing is not always compliant and sometimes do not follow through with our recommendations. this happens at all hospitals.
2. Hospital administration is often difficult to deal with for all therapists.
3. sometimes pts stay in 2 patient rooms and that gets a little distracting for my patient to focus on my therapy, especially if her/his roommate has visitors.
How long did it take you to feel comfortable/confident with your work? immediately! j/k i was pretty confident and prepared in regards to my clinical skills on site, i think it took a little bit more time to get used to the procedural aspects and computer system at the hospital. with hospital and paperwork procedures it took me probably 3 months before i was fully comfortable where i was working at.
What is the most memorable moment of your career? probably when i received the "employee of the month" award from among the entire hospital staff/facility. it just validates that i'm in the right profession and that my patients and coworkers appreciate all the hard i do.
What do you wish you learned in grad school before hitting the real world? there are many skills you learn on-site rather than in grad school. i think majority of skills you acquire is based on hands on experience as with most professions. .....mmmmhhh.....i think my graduate program really prepped me for the real world setting.
Do you have any advice for the graduate students of CSULA?
Yes, it's not all about the money as long as you have the passion!!!
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