As a COTA you'll find some days can be a bit more stressful than others. I guess today was one of those days because I came home tired and frustrated, some from work, some from the drive home, some from a stop I had to make on the way home. Fortunately most days don't go like this. I really do enjoy being a COTA, but to let you know there ...

It is new years eve and I am looking back on the year very happy. Over this year I finished my Master's degree, took my certification exam and.....passed! I have been so excited and can't wait to get my official certificate and license and officially call myself an OTR/L. This year my daughter turned two and what a fun age it has been! She is the ...

     The last day of 2012.  Wow, what a year!  As I look back at this time last year, I cannot believe how far I’ve come and how much I’ve learned.  I did not know it at the time, but I was just a few weeks away from the most challenging term of the program.  A term that made me question what I was doing and ...

     I graduated!  I cannot believe that it is over.  I’m done with school.  I’m done with fieldwork.  It is all up to me now.  It hasn’t sunk in yet.  I have been waiting for this for over 2 years and now it’s finally here.     Going back to school at 29 years old was the ...

This past Thursday I took my NBCOT exam and am excited as well as nervous now that its over. I feel much less stress now that I don't spend every waking minute studying but now I am nervous for my results. I am almost more nervous because there is nothing I can do but wait! I have checked several times and will find out in a little over a week if ...

I cannot believe it has been so long since I have updated my blog.  Time truly is flying!  I have a mere 2 weeks left before graduation and I can hardly believe it.  I have been learning so much in acute care.  I have had the opportunity to work with a great variety of diagnoses including transplant patients, patients with ...

In a little over a week I will be taking my NBCOT exam and (hopefully) earning my R. Today I realized just how far I have come. I began reading my client's chart that I will be evaluating tomorrow. This will be his second admission so I was reviewing his old treatment notes and found my signature. It is fascinating to be on the other end ...

I have scheduled my NBCOT exam and have begun to finalize my studying. I have been casually studying snice March but with the test scheduled for two weeks from now I have started to study daily. Even though it is such a short period of time it is overwhelming the amount of time I need to devote to studying. It is even more overwhelming the amount ...

[Editor's note: ADVANCE thanks Dr. Brenda Coppard, associate dean and OT faculty member at Creighton, for sharing this information.] One of Creighton University’s first-year occupational therapy students in Alaska has won a $2500 Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway scholarship, and has the opportunity to win a $100,000 prize! Jennifer Stenga, OTS ...

Well this past week and half has been interesting. So far I have felt overwhelmed but happy in my new role. Before I started back working I thought the transition was going to be simple after all I have already completed two level two fieldwork placements and I worked with this population for a year before starting fieldwork. I found out quickly ...