Ahhh... sweet summertime. As a school-based OT, it's a good time. Not easy, per se, but still good.
I very much enjoy my job. It's the best fit that I have ever had with coworkers and type of work. Particularly, there are many built-in mind breaks that are really beneficial for me to stay sharp. I'm usually at a different school everyday, so I have time to be refreshed and think of things to do at each place (or sometimes overworking to try to do something before the coming week) and the natural break of the school year helps as well. I was never great while in school myself about doing all the productive things that I could do, and I don't know that it will be much better as an adult. But it is good.
I had a major grocery extravaganza, purchasing a number of items that I've never worked with before in hopes of following some new recipes. There's a lot of international flare in them, which reminds me of living in the big city and eating at splendid restaurants. Last week was the first week of vacation, and I made a Greek beef and orzo casserole, today I made a Thai chicken pizza. I also made a set of freezer meals on Saturday, so overall that's a lot more kitchen time than I do normally. I would like to become a more competent cook so that making dinner after work isn't an ordeal. I am hoping to spend some time in the kitchen this summer to work towards that goal.
I haven't done a lot of reading since the 18 months that I took to read the entire Wheel of Time series. Someone recommended another series and I just haven't been able to jump into another fantasy land yet. I did bring home a couple of work-related items to read and review for the coming year. One of these is the Coleman Curriculum for school-based OTs, which I hope to do a review on.
Today was my first full day off with only myself. Husband went to work, Baby (dare I say, toddler) went to daycare, and I was left to my own devices. Last week I got several calls to pick him up due to fever so there was never a full day. I slept in, watched crap TV, and spent most of the day in the kitchen. I did 3 crossword puzzles without hints (ahhh, Monday). I tend to loll about a bit when not scheduled, especially after a period of strict scheduling. Just as I started to get ideas for the coming days, I got a text to call me in for some prn work at the hospital. Totally needed, since we have a number of home repairs to pay for, but it does require a change of plans from relaxation to productivity.
I spend an inordinate amount of time writing during the school year. Session notes everyday, emails everyday, progress notes, evaluations, programs. However, it seems really hard to break back into blog writing. I have taken a long break, obviously, but I have plenty of ideas. I just have to remember how to connect the dots. I've read that one of the best ways to get writing done is to have a routine and stick with it, but my schedule that is so subject to flux makes that difficult. But I do want to get into a regular writing habit this summer that I can stick with during the school year.
Lots of busy-ness coming up for me... family vacation, family visiting times, trying to get together with friends, and trying to make enough to offset the cost of my second state license, daycare, and new windows (ugh). I'm trying to get active again, going so far as to climb a mountain, and have actually lost 5 pounds in 3 weeks, so I'm happy that is finally going in the right direction. My little boy is starting to chatter, walk on his own, and climb, so things are getting very exciting with him. My life is good, even if my blog isn't. And that's what's most important. So I'll set my summer goals and new school year resolutions and work towards those plans, but I'm learning to just enjoy the day to day successes and smiles that come along the way.
Happy summer to you!
2 comments:
Hello, I am a honors nursing BSN undergrad student and I am trying to come up with a research project topic that me and one other Honors BSN student and one Honors Pre-OT student are assigned for our capstone. We are trying to do an inter-professional research project that is not too extensive due to just being in undergrad. Our adviser suggested contacting an OT and asking if there were any topics that could be researched by surveying OT's and nurses of different units in a hospital setting. The only thing we have been able to come up with, is possibly surveying how nurses and OTs feel that they could best support each other for optimal patient care and improvement. If you have any ideas or thoughts on a topic that we could research without too much difficulty, or anything that comes to mind between the nurse-OT relationship that would be very appreciated.
Hey Kristin,
I'm not in the hospital setting anymore but this is an interesting project. I think that there is overlap between OT and nursing in wound care and LVAD management. Where a nurse can provide the education and monitoring of a device, an OT can assess how the patient best learns and how they can physically manage the device. Particularly with LVAD management if they don't have high executive functioning, I've heard it's very difficult since there's such a rigorous maintenance regimen. I hope that's a starting point for you- you can probably come up with some better ideas!
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