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WHERE’S THE GOOD IN GOOD BYE?

Before I jump in and flood you with my feelings and reflections on my last block, yes guys MY LAST block ever, of my life. (with the prayers of God, that I pass my exams) 

I cannot even begin to imagine where all these four years went. I know I'm going off topic but I just need to explode the million feelings that are surrounding me currently. The fact that I’m no more going to be living the student life is terrifying. I have become so accustomed to this life that change right now seems a tad bit scary.

When I first got accepted for occupational therapy, I was so two minded. I mean I couldn't even define what it was. Which is currently still a problem for many occupational therapists. That one question " what exactly do you do" was a haunting one. But finally at the end of four years I can finally provide an answer to that. I do EVERYTHING. As simple as it is, it couldn't be more true. As an occupational therapist I have learnt you have to be a jack of all trades AND a master of all. Our scope has no boundaries. We have been taught to provide help in any area that we can within our personal capabilities. 

Ending of this year with community could not have been better; I won't lie the year that I had was pretty pretty tough. From getting 'not so good' placements to having a crazy filled year with getting married. It has definitely been a rollercoaster ride. But hey being spontaneous all rollercoasters are worth the ride. 

Coming back to why I'm really writing the blog, the community. In one sentence community was a block that showed me the true meaning of what occupational therapy really is. It is the only block that does not differentiate conditions in terms of paeds, physical or psych but rather opens you to the opportunity to all areas of treatment in one. It prepares you for the real working world. Because out there you cannot pick and choose what you want but rather have to provide care and treatment to all individuals despite what conditions they come to you with.

Jumping into my experience in the community, it’s hard to sum up in one blog as there were numerous positive and negative experiences that I can take from it. From my previous blogs that I have written you can gather a number of my experiences that I have been exposed to during this block. All the good and the bad and the life changes that I can take with me.

Overall being in the community, from the beginning I can say I was quite stressed going in as I had no idea what to expect, word is that don’t stress in fourth year your best block in by far community. But still being the anxious person that I am, I was stressed. Community has been by far the best block for me in this year, it awarded me the opportunity to gain exposure into what an occupational therapist is in the real and raw world. (personal conversation, 2017)

This module is a practical module that helps you through the block by articles and readings to help you along the way. It is one where it ups to you to do the best and be the best. Community is a block that has taught me responsibility like no other. On block there is no “police man” watching your every mood. Providing the intervention and carrying out your work is solely on you. It is up to you to be an adult.

Out of the experiences that I take with me, I want to share one that will be with me always, it was the day we went looking for home clients, and we crossed this house, after knocking a number of times, there was no response, we walked past the window and saw this extremely malnourished looking child who looked like a cerebral palsy kid. When we walked to the garden, the lady of the house was asked if there was anyone in the house that we as occupational therapists could help. The lady quickly responded with a blunt no and stated that if we wanted to see anyone in her house we must make an appointment. This shook me. We were coming with the sole intention of helping and to receive negative vibes was truly a let-down. This stayed with me always because it has thought me that the reality of life is we cannot simply think we can enter peoples’ homes and lives and dictate to them how to change it if they do not require the help. We have to respect the opinions and decisions of all and aim to achieve the best we can without going against the wishes of others.

The health promotion project that we implemented will be a fond memory, one in which we could make a difference to a small group of people but nonetheless make a difference. The joy and enthusiasm displayed by the members was truly moving.

Overall community was a great experience, one with the best exposure and lessons learnt that I can take with me into the community service year. Some motivation going forward...

“The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking down complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one.” — Mark Twain 

“As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand that it is the common, everyday blessings of our common everyday lives for which we should be particularly grateful. They are the things that fill our lives with comfort and our hearts with gladness — just the pure air to breathe and the strength to breathe it; just warmth and shelter and home folks; just plain food that gives us strength; the bright sunshine on a cold day; and a cool breeze when the day is warm.”

— Laura Ingalls Wilder

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Promoting Health..

“Human health is a social matter, not just an individual one”

Coming into the community, you keep hearing the terms, health care and health promotion. This is a hot topic for everyone, especially those health professionals based in community settings. Being the last block of students placed in the community, we were able to look at all previous blocks handouts from the students which all recommended the importance and the need for promoting health. Seeing as this was a topic that was continuously emphasized on, we as the fourth block decided to look at making it our final project. So, what is health promotion?

Before defining health promotion, let’s look at the definition of health? According to WHO, health is defined as a fundamental human right indicating all people should have access to basic resources influencing health. Health is defined by a state of complete physical, social and mental wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (Nutbeam, 1998). A misconception amongst many in terms of the definition of health is that many associate freeness from illness and diseases to being healthy. This definition accepted by the individuals need to be addressed as the holistic overview of a person’s physical, social and mental aspects should not be excluded when defining health.

According to the Alma Ata Declaration, everyone should have access to primary health care. Primary health care is defined by essential health care that is made accessible to a country and community at affordable prices with methods that are practical, scientifically sound and socially acceptable. Primary health care includes health education, for individuals as well as all members of the community, on the size and nature of health problems, and on methods of preventing and controlling these problems. Examples of health education topics include; the promotion of adequate supplies of food and proper nutrition; sufficient safe water and basic sanitation; maternal and child health care, including family planning; immunization; appropriate treatment of common diseases and injuries; and the provision of essential drugs. Primary health care is relevant in a community setting as it encompasses key points such as equity, community involvement and affordability. This emphasizes the importance of equality of health care provided despite different levels of income. Primary health care is a concept that needs to be included in the lives of all community members in order to work together and educate their community allowing for uplifting and improving insight into health related lifestyles and conditions (WHO, 2008)

Coming to the topic of discussion, health promotion, health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over the determinants of health and thereby improve their health (Nutbeam, 1998). Health promotion represents a comprehensive social and political process; it not only embraces actions directed at strengthening the skills and capabilities of individuals, but also action directed towards changing social, environmental and economic conditions so as to alleviate their impact on public and individual health. Within the context of health promotion, health is considered as a means to an end which can be understood as a resource which permits people to lead an individual, social and economically productive life. This could be understood by seeing health as a resource for everyday life and not merely the object of living. It is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources as well as physical capabilities.

So where do we as occupational therapist fit in?

Occupational therapy is a client-centred health profession concerned with promoting health and well-being through occupation. The primary goal of occupational therapy is to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life. Through participation in their daily occupations, individuals can positively influence their health (Wilcock, 2006). Within a community, occupational therapists aim to enable people to increase control over the determinants of health. It is not only provision of intervention and curing of diseases that is our role, but equipping, educating and providing the community with prevention of reoccurrence of the same diseases experienced  (Gupta, 2008).

So this is where our community project comes in. As explained earlier my group and I decided to do a health promotion project as we found there to be a need for it within the KwaDabeka community. Upon many personal encounters that I experienced, it was noted that many members within the community were suffering from conditions that they either lacked awareness and knowledge into, or that could have been avoided or controlled. We as occupational therapy students wished to bring more attention into these conditions, how to control and manage it. A simple condition I was exposed to was that of diabetes, the individuals within the household of this person did not have the knowledge and sufficient mechanisms in order to control or early detect these conditions. The actual diabetic individual herself was unaware of necessary coping mechanisms she could incorporate into her daily lifestyle that will assist in improving daily living.  Our project aims to educate the community on different health conditions and lifestyles in order to promote and achieve well-being. All fair and good that a project was formed, one problem, how are we going to get our message across? Being the generation of social network, we turn to what we best know, the social media! This was one of the easiest and most effective ways we could think of to get the message across. This emphasizes the importance and power of social media today.

Let’s look at the role of media in terms of health professionals. The media is an important ally in any public health situation. It serves the role of being a source of correct information as well as an advocate for correct health behaviours (Fluenza, 2009). The media is a crucial part of our job. It is the connection to the outside world in order to promote and get messages across. Seeing as the media has become second nature to us, let’s be honest, it’s out go-to. We wouldn’t dare want to leave our phones. It has become attached to us. We need to use this to our advantage and promote our work using ways that will reach the people. The media includes all aspects, be it the newspaper, the social media, or just the TV. It’s amazing how many homes you can walk into whilst being in the community and you see the one item that is quite “fixed” in everyone’s home is that famous box, yes I’m talking about the TV guys. It has become a necessity to many. So why not use it to our advantage? Media plays a big role in our daily lives so providing education and empowering people through the use of it could only prove beneficial.

References

"Avian Influenza: Media Orientation Training Notes." USAID: From the American People Mar 2006 Web.15 Jun 2009.

Gupta, J. (2008). Occupational Therapy’s Role in health promotion . AOTA .

Nutbeam, D. (1998). HEALTH PROMOTION INTERNATIONAL. Oxford University Press .

Primary Health Care: Report of the International Conference on Primary Health Care, Alma Ata, USSR (1978). WHO Geneva.

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ALL ABOUT OCCUPATIONS..

Hello everyone, Yes the above pictures are me. Believe it or not! But that is me toiling hard on a sunny day in the community of Kwadabeka selling some lovely fruit and vegetables to loyal customers.

 As part of the community module, we had to engage in community occupations. Occupations refers to all activities that individuals occupy (What is Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, 2016). As occupational therapists we dedicate our time to assist individuals to participate in these occupations and activities of daily life, whether it be paid or unpaid, leisure or work. Occupational Science is the study of human participation/occupation focusing on the benefits of productive, social and physical activity in people’s everyday lives (Chan, 2016). Occupational Therapists aim to help individuals and families participate in their daily lives and face challenges.

So as aspiring occupational therapists we had to get exposure to occupational science, this meant we needed to find a local business in the community and go and work with them in order to identify their work, challenges and related factors. Exploring the community for almost three weeks, we finally got down to getting a chance to venturing out and finding local proud business that uplift and benefit their community. As we were driving past 34th avenue, we came across a lovely road side vendor. This vendor was selling fruits, vegetables and sweets. I took this as a great opportunity to find out more about this business and see what it was like to be an employee for half a day.

 I was greeted by the kindest lady named Lungile, she was a 31 year old who was running the shop, she gladly allowed me to join in and assist in helping with packing of the goods and making sales.  Lungile and I got chatting as she began opening up to me about her life and work. She stated that she has been in this business from since she was a little girl, this business was in her family for generations and since she was a young girl, she was exposed to the ins and outs of this business. She remembered returning home from school every day and heading straight to work to assist her mother, she also worked on weekends going out to the market with her mother to learn the purchasing of the business. Lungi (her nickname that she told me to address her by) stated that she had been to school, received an education and studied a degree in tourism and travel. Sadly she expressed that although this business was now her life she had been hunting for a job in her career for more than 2 years without any luck of employment. This has definitely demotivated her as she has worked hard and spent money towards her studies only to be left back at her family business unable to be pursuing her dream career. This introduces us to the nature of her occupation identifying her occupational features.

 Lungi stated that this business which they labelled “34 fruit and Veg” was one that she was proud of and one that she works hard in to please her family as well as support them. The name was taken after the area that the business runs in. this is referred to as the context that the individual works in. Lungi’s vendor is set up on an intersection resulting in any cars stopping to be aware of her shop and motivate them to stop; it is near a school allowing kids to come purchase. A threat within her occupational context is the two neighbouring vendor shops selling the same produce. Lungi has stated that due to these other two vendors, her competition is high resulting in her not always making the sale. (Bridgett, 2011).  Another threat faced by Lungi is the weather, in the heat she has one umbrella to provide her with shade however it does not cover her whole store resulting in some areas being exposed to the heat. In rain, she is unable to open her business due to not being sheltered. This proves as a threat to her as rain is unpredictable causing her to lose sales for that  period.

 The business is owned by her mother Ntombifuthi, who now takes the role of overseeing the business but has left the running of it to her daughter. Within the family business, Lungi has 3 brothers who help out, One of the brothers are permanently working with her while the other two are currently studying and come straight after. All four of the members were present helping out whilst I worked there as they schools are currently on holiday. I was quite amazed at the family respect and integrity placed in these boys, anyone else who had just been given a holiday from school, you would expect them to be hanging out with their friends or just plain down doing nothing, especially as teenagers. But no, these boys were standing in the heat and assisting their siblings. The sense of pride for this family business was clearly evident as when they were asked if they would stop working here, they stated that even when they get their jobs they will always help out and ensure this business remains running.

 Aside Lungi the entire time was her cute 6 year old daughter, when spoken about the future of her daughter, Lungi expressed that even though she has not reaped the benefits of her education and study, she believes education and knowledge is power. She is sending her child to school and wishes that she is able to fulfil her dreams whilst still keeping this legacy alive. A legacy that has provided them with their basic needs allowing them to live and thrive through receiving education escaping the harsh poverty their family once faced.

 The fruit and vegetable shop is not all that easy and fun going. Working there for nearly half a day taught me that. The tedious crouching and packing of produce can weigh you down and leave you with a painful back. Lungi was shocked at my stamina and said she has become accustomed to it. She stated that her routine every second day consisted of her waking up at 4 am in the morning to catch a taxi into town which is 45 minutes away. In town she goes to purchase her produce which consists of all types of fruits and vegetables, namely bananas, tomatoes, lettuce etc. Lungi buys them in bulk resulting in her having to carry extremely heavy boxes.  The taxi rank is a short walk from the market resulting in her having to carry the heavy loads for a short distance.

 After analyzing Lungi’s occupation and her situation, I can associate the term occupational deprivation/disruption to Lungi. Occupational deprivation describes a state in which people are precluded from opportunities to engage in occupations of meaning due to factors outside their control. i.e such as unemployment (Whiteford, 2000). Lungi has studied her travel and tourism and has graduated with a degree. She is however not working in this field due to being unable to find a job. Lungi has attempted numerous times to find work however it is out of her control that there are a lack of job opportunities causing her to continue working in her family business. The fact that Lungi is working in her family business as opposed to working in a job relating to travel and tourism does not mean she is experiencing occupational alienation. Occupational alienation refers to the sense of isolation or estrangement a person may experience when employed in a job that is not personally meaningful or fulfilling. This is not the case for Lungi as although she is not in her preferred line of work, she is still proud and happy to work in her family business to ensure her family legacy goes on. This job does not bring her feelings of isolation nor does she regard it as being not meaningful (Durocher, 2013). Lungi had limited occupational choices as although she was unable to find employment in the field of travel and tour she was left with having to join her family business of selling produce, she didn’t have the opportunity to go and find other occupational choices as it was understood by her family that she would take over the business.

 This experience of learning how other individuals make a living has opened my eyes into the world of employment and how buttering your bread isn’t all that rosy. Making a living is hard especially when you are continuing with a legacy that has been past down to you from your family. The occupation you are engaged in definitely plays a role in your daily life affecting your thoughts, behaviours and feelings. If you love what you do, your outcome and attitude will be positive. Therefore it is important to find comfort and happiness in what you do to ensure your holistic being is happy allowing you to be positive and spread positivity.

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Problems with Politics?

Politics? That’s not really something I get myself involved in too much, its way too consuming and it would just make me really angry if I have to delve to deep into it. This country we live in, there’s a big division between those we have and those who don’t, and those who don’t are the ones that are experiencing firsthand the negative effects of a poorly run government.

Luckily for me, I can thank my dad and grandfather for working extremely hard to fend for my family and me allowing us to lead a comfortable life.

I’ve always been someone who has been sheltered from the country politics, but after working in a public hospital and more importantly a community setting, the issue on politics played on my mind. How was it that there were basic needs not being met? People every day are struggling trying to make ends meet, living in unhealthy and inhumane conditions, and the rest of us (me included) remain oblivious to this and continue with our airy fairy lives.

Working in the community, a major concern that screamed to me was the indescribable situation on the housing within this community. Going into this community, the sight of seeing five family members living in a one bedroom informal settlement was common. There was a vast variation between the houses as you would drive down one road and you would be exposed to a double storey well developed house and then right next door would be a shack. There has to be some medium?

Just to give you more information on the community I’m referring to, The Clermont KwaDabeka study area is located on the border of Pinetown/New Germany within the Central Municipal Planning Region of the eThekwini Municipality. Clermont KwaDabeka was one of the most well located previously disadvantaged areas in eThekwini. (Plan, 2010). The Clermont KwaDabeka area is home to approximately 110,000 people, housed in approximately 31,600 households. It is a dormitory township with old four-room state housing, informal settlements and hostel establishments.  In KwaDabeka central, the housing typology is mixed – with the highest density being in the form of hostel units. Other housing units are in the form of single detached dwelling units, both formal and informal. (eThekwini Municipality, 2008) (Plan, 2010).

So as South Africans what are our rights in terms of housing? According to the constitution each person has the right to have access to adequate housing as housing is referred to as a basic human need (Republic of South Africa, 1996, p. 12). What is adequate housing you may ask? Adequate housing is “A permanent residential structure and with secure tenure, ensuring privacy and providing adequate protection against the elements; and  potable water, adequate sanitary facilities including waste disposal and domestic electricity supply” (Department of Housing, 1994, p. 12). So no, the informal settlements in KwaDabeka that I’m referring to is Not adequate housing.  

So what sparked this disappointment you may ask? To boil it all down, it was the cutest cerebral palsy boy I’ve seen. Within the community as I mentioned in my previous posts, we come in as occupational therapists in aim to identify home clients that require intervention. On our search we visited one of the informal settlements to look for this client who had been referred to us from the previous students. We reached the place, the driver directed us up a slope, the terrain was uneven and there was no real pathway. As stated by the people, there are no passages that we can use to walk past other houses (Tsinde, 2015). We reached nearly the top of the hill and got directed to a small box house, made of nonconventional building material and with what looked like any scrap material. We were welcomed into this families home, boy did the inside shake me like no other. It was a two room home, the minute you walked in, there you saw the cutest baby lying on the floor, just lying there doing nothing. This home had no access to water, and minimal lighting as it was extremely dark. This boy did not have the space to play let alone breath. It was extremely congested and just overwhelming as a whole. The sad part was this was just one that we entered out of the many surrounding us. As occupational therapists, not even, as humans to watch these living conditions is heart wrenching and painful. Throughout my four years of studying OT, it has been drilled into me; the environment of an individual plays a huge impact on their lives and in treatment, when you looking at providing treatment for an individual you have to provide holistic intervention which includes their context. This alone can emphasize the context that an individual lives in. These poor living conditions prove risky for many who are experiencing health conditions, these individuals during all seasons, be it summer with the extreme heat or winter with the freezing cold they are not well equipped in both situations placing them at risk. Just for example this little boy who has cerebral palsy experiences extreme cold conditions with no access to heating tools. This is not an ideal situation for him as he is unable to normalize tone in this condition. (Clark, 2010). How can we aim to achieve improvement when their actual home conditions are setting us back?

According to the Clermont/KwaDabeka Urban Regeneration Plan in 29 October 2010 the desired outcome is that the physical, social, economic and institutional environment adequately provides the means for people and communities to meet their basic needs, provide them with the opportunity to improve their lives, and allow them to live with dignity. (Plan, 2010). This was aimed for almost 7 years ago, but till date we have still not being able to see the people of this community being provided with a basic need. The people of KwaDabeka have been upset by the poor service delivery in their community; in 2015 they marched to the housing department in New Germany, complaining about the slow service delivery in their area, angry residents said they were tired of 20 years of empty promises  (Tsinde, 2015). Till date they are fighting the same battles and experiencing the same troubles. Nothing is being done. Seeing as this is just one basic need not being fulfilled is worrying, what about the other needs of this community? Such as access to safe water, electricity?

These are people that have been promised over and over from the changing political parties, are these all baseless promises? Can we as human sit back and ignore the sufferings of these people right in front of our eyes? Hypocritical don’t you think? Any disaster or war occuring in the world, and we are the first to respond and wish to help? Can we not see the disaster occuring in our own back yard? When is enough really enough? It’s hard to say, but it’s time the naive protected individuals (me included) start becoming aware and taking a stand. A basic human right shouldn’t be something one needs to fight for!

This has really opened my eyes, someone like me who has been extremely sheltered, just needs a little exposure to the true reality of this life to see the suffering of the people. Every person counts and it only takes one to make a difference.

References

Clark, H. M. (2010). Muscle Tone and the SLP:. Retrieved from Asha convention: file:///C:/Users/Rumaisa/Downloads/2284-Clark-Heather.pdf

Huchzermeyer, M. (2001). Housing for the poor? Negotiated housing policy in South Africa. Habitat International, 25(3), 303-331.

Plan, C. U. (2010). Clermont KwaDabeka Township regeneration project . 1-74.

Tsinde, S. (2015). Empty promises anger KwaDabeka residents. Retrieved from Highway Mail: http://highwaymail.co.za/200044/empty-promises-anger-kwadabeka-residents/

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Team talk

‘Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.’ Henry Ford. 

Good day everyone, I’m back with more stories and tales to unfold, I’ve been given the opportunity to unfold and discuss my feelings on any topic of my choice. Having completed my second week at the community, I knew that I had to write up on something that I experienced and my thoughts regarding it, so my head was working in overdrive to capture and remember any incident that was out of the ordinary for me. It’s been a fulfilling and experiencing week that has opened my eyes to the different ways and lifestyles of the people at my community.

You must be thinking what does that random saying by Henry Ford have to do with anything? But just sit tight and hold on while I unfold for you my thoughts and experiences. The topic that I am about to discuss ignited from the previous week; the end of the previous week most importantly; Friday, it was one crazy hectic day. It was a day in which three health science professions attend the clinic, namely speech therapy, physiotherapy and of course us, the OT’s. Each one of us going in with the aim of venturing out, attending meetings and finding our home clients all which require the bus transport, but what can I say it was a complete mess up with a large number of us trying to utilise one bus heading in all different directions. The schedule and plan for Friday was clearly not achieved due to the disruptions. But just a minute! The issue of sharing the bus with the other health professions was not even the biggest problem; you should have seen their attitude and sense of entitlement like they ‘owned’ the bus. They did not attempt to work together or around us but rather dictated what they required and expected it. This attitude was one that appalled me! Who is anyone to believe that their work should be priority to another’s? (OK besides a doctor who is saving lives! But you know what I mean!). Honestly it was Friday and I was just looking forward to the weekend break, so I looked past this situation hoping it would be a once off thing.

Being in the second week of community, starting off with Monday in which it was only us occupational therapists attending the clinic we had the bus driver and clinic to ourselves as we were in desperate need to go out and begin searching for our home clients due to not fulfilling our plans on Friday. Everything went smooth sailing and there seemed to not be a repeat of Friday’s events.  An issue picked up after meeting the home visit clients were many of them required the services of another health professions alongside with us. Tuesday came and the transport situation aroused again due to having more than one health science profession travelling in one bus. It was a constant argument as to who needed to go where and when causing the driver to become a little frustrated as well.

How was it that all the health professions were facing so much conflict when at the end of the day each one of them should understand better than anyone else the importance of providing the community with their expertise? Speaking to past students and friends from different years it was noted that this situation is unbelievable because in the prior years not only should the different professions come to the same venues but they should work together as a multi-disciplinary team treating patients together.

A multidisciplinary team is a group of health care workers who are members of different disciplines (professions e.g. Psychiatrists, Social Workers, occupational therapists etc.), each providing specific services to the patient. The team members independently treat various issues a patient may have, focusing on the issues in which they specialise. (Health Service Executive , 2017) Within the Kwadabeka clinic there is a physiotherapist, occupational therapist and speech therapist, after communicating with them it was learnt that they often work together with patients as many of them required the expertise of all the health professions. They expressed that working together allowed them to view the patients holistically (personal communication, 2017).  This made me see the true meaning of a multi-disciplinary approach and allowed me to understand that a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team should have relevant knowledge and skills to work together towards common goals for each patient allowing the involvement of the patients’ family and care givers with the aim to maximize the patient’s participation in his or her social setting and minimize the pain and distress they experience. (Fanfon, 2017).

Having not been exposed to working as a multi disciplinary team before, I needed to go and research further into this topic; I needed to decipher the pros and con’s to this approach and why the university has decided to no longer send the health professions together. Among the few benefits that I read up on, these are a few; an MDT approach allows for diverse knowledge and skills to be brought together resulting in quick decision making, professionals see clients and their families holistically to provide intervention regarding all necessary aspects, it allows professionals to accommodate larger functional goals and integrated interventions, instead of working on isolated tasks and overall allows the patients the opportunity to receive intervention/services from different health profession simultaneously.  We are constantly reminded of the value of diversity within teams, but the reality is that working together from a variety of perspectives is sometimes difficult to achieve. (Firth-Cozens, 2001). Drawbacks include; differing attitudes towards the way to bring about a good outcome, and even what actually constitutes a good outcome, some team members are threatened by the notion of giving up some of their autonomy to the group effort, there may be lack of confidence and trust in the opinions and decisions of individuals from other disciplines. (Fanfon, 2017). Sometimes each member is not as motivated as you or simply does not provide the same level of treatment to the client which could naturally cause conflict.

From my viewpoint a multi disciplinary has it’s positives and negatives, for me, I feel working together with the main aim of having the best interest of the client and providing the client with the holistic intervention is reason enough to work well together with other health disciplines whilst putting aside differences by putting the client first. Therefore coming back to my opening quote Henry Ford summarizes the challenges and benefits of teamwork concisely: “Coming together is the beginning, keeping together is progress, working together is success.” (Fanfon, 2017).

 Drinkwater, M. (2008, 06 19). CommunityCare. Retrieved from Multidisciplinary teams: http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2008/06/19/multidisciplinary-teams/

Fanfon, T. N. (2017). The importance of multidisciplinary approach in the development of rehabilition.

Firth-Cozens, J. (2001). BMJ Quality & Safety. Retrieved from Multidisciplinary teamwork: the good, bad, and everything in between: http://qualitysafety.bmj.com/content/10/2/65

Firth-Cozens J. Cultures for effective learning. In: Vincent C, ed. Clinical risk management. London: BMJ Books, 2001: 355–68.

Health Service Executive . (2017). Retrieved from https://hse.ie/eng/services/list/4/Mental_Health_Services/dsc/communityservices/Multidisciplinaryteam.html

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hello Kwadabeka

its’ been quite a while since I last had a chance to sit and share my thoughts and feelings with you guys and what better excuse then to talk about my new block at the Kwadabeka community. So firstly before I go further, the last I spoke to you guys was last year! Yes peep’s it’s been ONE year! I have finally made it! (Well not yet technically) I still have my last and final block of my entire career. Wow let that sink in for a bit. Surreal isn’t it? Feels like just yesterday I was a first year baby where everything was all rosy and fun and now I’m down to the final months of my degree (with God’s Help).

My entire year has been one rollercoaster with me trying to juggle my studies and a husband. Yes guys’ 25th March I became a Mrs. What can I say, Prince Charming came, and swept me off my feet. So all I can is that it’s been a lot of late nights and time planning to get me through my first 3 blocks! But it was all worth it. Entering into my final block, I couldn’t be happier that it was my community block. Truthfully all the feedback from my fellow students were not all positive, just like everything I heard the good and the bad about this block, but nonetheless it was one that I was looking forward to and anticipated due to it being described by my fellow students as being the one block with the most independence and experiencing a true feeling of being an OT in the real world.

Going into this block I did a lot of research and reading up on the actual area of Kwadabeka, I’m the type of person that wants to know where am I’m going and what the area is all about. Prior to beginning this block I borrowed books from the library to gain a better understanding on what was expected from an occupational therapist in a community setting. YES, I borrowed books (hard to believe I know). But hey they do say “The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn the more places you'll go.” ― Dr. Seuss, and yes this couldn’t be more true! The more you read and the more you increase your knowledge, the better you will understand. The research that I had done into community, engagement and the role of occupational therapy has given me a greater understanding of what is expected from me. This allowed me to go into this block feeling a little prepared and motivated to provide the best services that I possibly could. Another aspect that helped was the previous block who had taken off the time to sit and do a verbal handover over what was expected of us and just an overview of the projects and carryover we needed to continue with. After that 45 minute session we had with them my stress levels rocketed at the work load and expectations that were coming our way.

My first day on community was a little different to the rest of my blocks, we had the first half of the day to go into campus and orientate ourselves which was a real help, it was comforting to see I wasn’t the only one who was kind of stressing out with what to expect on the first day at community.  Due to a little miscommunication we were scheduled to head out to the community at 12 but only got onto the buses way after 1 giving us a small time to actually achieve what we set out to on the first day. On our arrival we were welcomed into an empty clinic with no electricity. After being orientated around the clinic we were able to breathe due to the wonderful Occupational therapist placed at the venue who welcomed us and calmed our nerves by breaking each expectation down.

Going into this first week at community, my group and I were scheduled and had the week planned out thanks to the wonderful previous block that helped us plan and schedule our first week. We had to go introduce ourselves to all the schools and various project venues that were previously visited. Some took our presence with welcoming arms while others weren’t too thrilled that there was a “new group of students”. Mix feelings were running through my head at this point as in my head I kept thinking, why are people unhappy that we here? Why do some of them don’t want to work with us? But what I slowly began to realise is that trust is earned, rapport needs to be build and consistency is a factor that many worry about. For us students we come in with the hope of changing peoples’ lives and making the world a better place, but what we fail to realise is that we are temporary and for some who want the full long term care – we are just not good enough. For example we went looking for home clients, and boy let me tell you, this was a mission! You would think that there are a lot of people out there who could benefit from the services we render but honestly some people are stuck in their ways and have become accustomed to living their lives according to their satisfaction that they fear any change, even if it’s for the better. I can’t and don’t blame these people for having their beliefs because at the end of the day, we are not living with these people, only they understand their struggles and have to live with it. All we can hope to achieve is to bring about better quality of life and make them more happy and comfortable in their environments by assisting in any way possible.

From the handover we were provided, there were a number of projects that were simply not following through with the treatment that was provided, I won’t mention any names but when we went to follow up with one of the venues, it was evident that they were not following through with the schedules that were given to them for their own benefits, they needed to be motivated and the group required initiative to begin. This was something that was upsetting to see as the previous group had worked so hard and set up scheduled times for them to which they were not implementing, from this you can see sometime no matter how hard you try and make a change, some sort of external motivation and drive is required for them to follow through.

The first week of community was one filled with challenges and learning points, one that brought many experiences and moments that make you love occupational therapy and one that makes you question the ways of mankind. But overall it was a good first week experience which only motivated me to look further and try harder to bring about the positive change and influence that the community and people need.

Two quotes that keep me going and motivate me to work harder are the following

“Keep Going Your hardest times often lead to the greatest moments of your life. Keep going. Tough situations build strong people in the end.”  ― Roy T. Bennett, 

&

“When the going gets tough, put one foot in front of the other and just keep going. Don’t give up.”  ― Roy T. Bennett,

This Roy T. Bennett guy, wise man isn’t he? ;)

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The jar of life

Reading this philosophy regarding the jar of life, I couldn’t agree more. As Occupational therapists we often tend to forget what is really important in life and the importance of prioritizing.  As a student, you get engrossed with work and all things regarding university, you tend to neglect the important people around you, such as your grandparents and parents, personally speaking, I can’t remember the last time I just had a weekend free to just give time to my parents to take me out for a dinner. This affects them as they often feel I’m living in the same house but I’m more of a guest then a member of the house, as I’m never here nor there, Its either my bed or my study! Life gets that tough and busy, but in life all the golf balls which is your family, your friends, your health should be given priority, because one day when you lose it, the regret will be endless

As an occupational therapist student, the most important thing to do is allocate your time wisely, so in the whole chaos of wanting to succeed you still remember to live a little, because time is just a number yes, but once it’s gone it’s never coming back! We need to enjoy our youth and make memories to last a lifetime, and if we 24/7 neglecting those around us just to study we never going to make them. YES STUDYING IS IMPORTANT, VERY IMPORTANT, but my point is just prioritizing and time manage, so you have the liability to sit back, relax and as the prof said, ‘have a few beers’.

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Article Smarticle

Being placed at a drug rehab facility, I definitely had to do some research and further reading into how occupational therapy can contribute to helping the service users on their road to recovery. The first article I read up on was ‘Recovery with Purpose: Occupational Therapy and Drug and Alcohol Abuse ‘by Ashley Opp. The main line that captured my attention and defined what occupational therapy does in order to assist was ‘Occupational therapy is uniquely positioned to assist people who are struggling to recover from substance abuse, by helping them to re-establish the roles and identities most meaningful to them’. Before going into the drug rehab, I as a therapist did not know what to expect, however after reading this article, it helped to give me a picture as to what direction I could lead myself in and what therapy I could provide. At first this article helped me understand what abusing substances really mean, and how the users actually feel, giving me an inside perspective as to what their feelings are. “Increasingly we’re finding that people who have drug-related problems have lots of other problems that bring them to the attention of health care and social service workers.” This helps a therapist see the fuller picture and understand that a user is not solely suffering from one problem, however there could be a number of factors that contribute to the persons condition and therefore the therapist must provide treatment holistically taking into consideration the persons context, background, environment and lifestyle.

Therapists look critically at the users everyday routines and examine how their actions affect their state of health and ability to continue to carry out what is important to them. ‘Occupational therapy practitioners examine the habits and behaviours of clients that occur each day, throughout the week. They show clients how their behaviours and thoughts revolve around drugs or alcohol and how they lose their identity as they lose the roles most meaningful to them. Practitioners then construct or rebuild those occupational roles by determining what activities bring clients the most joy and sense of well-being—without drugs or alcohol.’ (Opp, 2016) this information has helped me to develop an aim and programme to approach clients and where to begin with treatment.

This article has helped me as it gave me insight into how to handle and address situations as well as what direction to go in, in terms of treatment.

The second article I read up on was Relapse Prevention; I wanted to research further on relapse, to understand the meaning of it and the different causes/stages. Relapse prevention refers to teaching clients self-management skills to identify setbacks before they happen and to work towards lifelong wellness.

The article gave me insight into how to identify the patterns of relapse; this gave me an idea of what to look at and what aspects to work towards in order to provide treatment sessions on specific skills dependent on what the client requires in order to educate him on how to prevent relapsing.

‘Relapse prevention skills require practice, patience and repetition. Patients who can master these skills come to learn that they are central to experiencing fuller lives.’ (Mathew, 2009) This article provided specific handling skills in order to treat the client and provided principles in which the therapist could use.

Mathew, R. (2009). Relapse Prevention. for occupational therapy practitioners .

Opp, A. (2016). Recovery With Purpose: Occupational Therapy and Drug and Alcohol Abuse - See more at: http://www.aota.org/about-occupational-therapy/professionals/mh/articles/recoverywithpurpose.aspx#sthash.zo7ktXII.dpuf. AOTA .

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Research – what inspired me?

Research, after having started this long two year process, being at research day and seeing the fourth years present it was like fast forwarding ours and seeing us at the end of the tunnel. Currently this research module seems like a hard impossible one to get through, but somehow after seeing each fourth year group present theirs, it was like we finally could see what the end product should look like.

Being at research day it was very useful and beneficial as we got to see how different groups approached different topics and how their worked to get their methods and results and how it all falls into place. The groups were all brilliant and the main thing I would personally be stressing about was the time limits placed on each. 20 minutes for 2 years of work! Doesn’t seem fair does it?

Each group fell within the time limit and answered their questions so beautifully, being at research we were given the honour of observing them and being able to see their success and mistakes in order to improve ourselves.

What truly inspired me was that each member knew their topic inside out and had the confidence to go before externals and present with such enthusiasm and stamina. It was inspiring to watch and made me look forward to the end of our research road next year, I hope my group and I can knock its socks off as well!!

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WHAT I LEARNT ON FIELDWORK AND ABOUT MYSELF?

This block no doubt has been a tough, stressful one! With all the strikes going on I can certainly say it has been a rocky road to the end. Don’t ask me where the time flew and how midterms were brought upon us so soon!

As this was the first time we were placed in an institution dealing with drug users, it was definitely a learning process that required a lot of reading up and researching. However it has been one that has allowed me to grow and see how to handle the different situations that are thrown my way.

Dealing with substance abusers was tricky, they tend to tell you exactly what you want, and be a bit inappropriate at time making sneaky comments. But this allowed me to address this type of behaviour head on and not just brush it off, this was something I had to learn and get used to as I would see myself as one who would avoid conflict and uncomfortable situations but I was forced to address the maladaptive behaviour otherwise treatment would get nowhere.

I learnt that when push comes to shove, I have some assertive qualities in me, however I still need to work on a lot of things to get to where I want to be, I need to learn how to handle situations better and get a bit more firm with the clients. I need to manage my stress and deal with my own anxiety before trying to help others with theirs.

This block is one I’ve been waiting for and one I looked forward to since being on physical. And after having midterms, I got the feedback I required to change and try and improve myself before finals. It has been the best experience, one that I’ve been enjoying thoroughly. Still got more learning to do, but hey. BRING IT ON!

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CASUAL DAY – UP YOUR GAME

“I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”― Maya Angelou

As an occupational student, what does casual day mean to me?

Everyone loves Casual Day; it is a campaign that invites all fun-loving South Africans to dress differently for a day to raise funds and create awareness for persons with disabilities it also raises awareness of opportunities for full inclusion of persons with disabilities into the community. As an occupational therapist it gives us an opportunity to take a day and give back to those who are often ignored on a daily basis.

Believe it or not, this year we were on the fence about whether we were going to take part in casual day or not, due to strikes that were going on. However thank God we were given the go ahead and casual day was still on for us, I was really looking forward to it. We were scheduled to spend one hour at our facility and then we had to join another facility and be a part of their casual day. However after much discussion it was decided that we spend the whole day at our facility due to the lost time we had experienced. However we still only had to plan casual day lasting for an hour at our facility.

We decided to do an amazing race. I absolutely loved this idea and was really looking forward to it. We separated the members into 3 groups of 5, one being a red team, one a blue and one a green.  We had 5 stations set up. Each with their different activities that needed to be done in order to get the next clue, the first station was the soccer field where the participants had to be involved in a sack race as well as ‘dizzy shooting’, the second station was the games room in which they had to do as many push ups as they can as well as play pool and get however many balls possible in within 15 shots, at the next stop they had to hold hands in a circle and pass a hula hoop all the way around them without letting go of each other, in the 4th station they had a donut eating competition without using their hands and the last station was a game of general knowledge in which they were required to answer as many questions as possible within 3 minutes.

During the race everyone seemed super keen and enthusiastic to be a part of this. They really enjoyed the day and thanked us for arranging this event. Each of them was given a prize and certificate at the end for participating along with a small party filled with snacks.

Personally I really enjoyed the day as it gave me an opportunity to view these people doing these fun activities that they were looking forward to. I think the concept of casual day is a great one and should be a legacy that lives on to continue creating awareness and allowing people with physical disabilities participate in events that bring them joy and that they enjoy.

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HOW DO I FEEL ABOUT BLOGGING?

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” Nelson Mandela This couldn’t relate more to me and what I feel about blogging, I’m someone who thought nah writing about my feelings and emotions is just not ME! And I could never do it, but through this task you could say I was somehow “forced” into writing about my feelings and experiences. So naturally at first this task was extremely hard and taxing on me. Not because I felt oh gosh this is just extra work on me but rather because I knew internally that writing and expressing my feelings is something I’m not familiar with. However after doing it twice a week, I became a bit more open and used to it, especially after receiving feedback on my blogs, now I can honestly say it’s something I look forward to and enjoy doing, never would I have thought I could express myself  but hey you keep learning new things about yourself every day!

One of the benefits of blogging and reflecting on my work is that I get to acknowledge my faults and mistakes and once I can accept them only then will I be able to move further and find solutions, blogging and speaking openly about these issues help me realise where I went wrong and what I could have done differently in that situation.

Blogging has definitely helped me with my writing! Writing improves with practice. Blogging did not force me to become a better writer, it just happens as you do it. And becoming a better writer holds important benefits especially in this field, as most of our time is taken into doing write ups and reports!

Blogging has allowed me to be more open minded and see things in a different light, it has given me more confidence to express myself and openly discuss what I’m feeling.  And by blogging if I can share my experiences and thoughts with others and they could take something from it and learn from it I couldn’t be happier!

This has definitely opened me up and given me a new and easier way to express my feelings! It’s a fun process and I really enjoy it!

http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_motivational.html

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Portrayal of mental illness in film…

The film that I have chosen to critique for this week’s blog is actually a Hindi movie, Aashiqui 2. Although the title may suggest it, it is not a sequel. The movie highlights a prominent theme of substance abuse, and since at Newlands Park substance abuse is one of the biggest issues that we have to deal with, it seems an appropriate movie. The movie is about Rahul, a singer, who loses his career due to his drinking habits. He meets Arohi in a bar in Goa, where she works to earn a living. Impressed by her singing, he promises her to take her to Mumbai and make her a star, where they fall in love with each other, however Rahul and his drinking issues is always a distraction for her. Aashiqui 2 is a musical love story of these lovers who goes through love and hate, fame and failure in their lives. Within the first few minutes of the movie we can already see an alcoholic RJ who is starting to lose a hold on his fame and his money as he is involved in a drunken fight and is unable to perform at a concert, leaving behind a massive crowd of disappointed fans. Due to his addiction he ends up at a bar where he meets and hears Arohi, a poor girl from a small village, singing for the first time. He immediately sees her potential and begins his mission of trying to make her into a star. He knows that his problem is ruining his career and he feels as though someone like her would appreciate everything that he takes for granted. The two fall in love and her career instantly blossoms turning her into an overnight star. Watching from the side-lines only reminds RJ of his loses and he starts to feel jealous of her fame, which only intensifies his addiction. Eventually he reaches a point where he actually steals from his girlfriend in order to satisfy his craving, something that almost every alcoholic can relate to. He gets into fights, becomes highly aggressive with everyone including hs girlfriend and then reaches a point where he feels a change is needed. His girlfriend offers to help him through this time and puts her career on hold. They opt for a different route as opposed to him going to rehab, they decide to take a holiday to a remote area where he sort of goes cold turkey on the situation. He can see that her career is hurting because of him and their holiday is cut short. The movie comes to a heart-breaking end (Spoiler alert!) as RJ, unable to control his addiction decides to take his own life as he knows that his girlfriend isn’t going to be able to move forward with her life if she’s going to have to always be taking care of him, a pattern that is common with severe addiction such as his. The movie did a good job of portraying substance abuse, however the one thing that didn’t make sense was the choice to not get professional help when he was at his lowest point. Money was not an issue and his girlfriend was willing to do whatever it took t help him, but taking that task upon herself was probably not what would have happened in reality. Putting him into a facility where he could get the help he needed might have actually lead to a change and improved the situation, and might have saved his life, but it is a movie after all and I guess they did need the dramatic twist at the end to provoke the emotions that they wanted. They did stay true to the patterns of a substance abuser though with the stealing to feed his addiction and the aggressive behaviour. Overall the movie is great and is set to a beautiful soundtrack which compliments the story perfectly. Definitely a recommended watch.

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Experience of week one

Firstly before I start ranting on about my feelings towards prac, I want to share a bit about myself with all you reading and following my blog, I know I keep jumping into my topics and forget to introduce it properly most of the time, the main reason for that is that I'm someone who doesn't do well with talking or expressing myself , but because this is a big part of my life and how I spend my time I'm going to try my best to give a clear view and more insight into my feelings and how I view things. 

“Strive not to be a success but rather to be of value”. - Albert Einstein

So the past week was the beginning of the first week into my new psych block, I was placed at Newlands park centre, and I couldn't be more thrilled with my placement as it was my first choice! , Newlands park is a centre that deals with substance abuse and this is a topic I am greatly interested and invested in. “You treat a disease: you win, you lose.  You treat a person; I guarantee you win-no matter what the outcome.”— Patch Adams

The following quote speaks volumes to me. It tells me that no matter what, we have the ability to change a person’s life and touch them bringing about some form of positive outcome.

My first day at this block went by so quickly, we were given a tour around the facility and introduced to the staff members, the program at the facility is an 8 week program which begins with 2 weeks in the detox section, going into the first day we were asked to facilitate a group session, I was co therapist on this group in which we played a game of one touch with each of the members in the detox phase, it was an introductory game to get to know each of them a bit better and meet our clients. After this we got a chance to speak to both of our clients and get some general information from them. On the first day we were privileged enough to sit in on a fourth year group session as well as a social worker group session to gain insight and see how groups are being done at the facility. The first day was very informative, getting to know the place and meeting our clients, after the first day we were asked to prepare sessions for each client as well as facilitate a group session. All the ADMIN seemed pretty taxing to be honest, each week two times individual write ups plus a group write up, not to forget blogging about the experiences, pretty tiring if you ask me.

On my second day, with my first client my activity that I planned was making an envelope, writing a note and making a bangle with him for his girlfriend to uplift his mood and give him something to feel proud about.  Unfortunately there had been an incident during the time we were not there and the client had left, I was unable to do the session, I was really disheartened as I took a liking to this guy and future sessions were already thought out.

In the previous meeting with my second client I didn’t have enough time to finish all my assessments so I needed to continue with assessments, and I planned to make an activity clock and discover how the client used to spend his time and what he could change. I managed to get all my forms completed with him however the activity clock needed to be downgraded, the client couldn’t comprehend the activity clock page and I needed to write down for him. However through getting info from his routine I was able to learn much more about him and get more insight into who he really is and where he comes from.

On Friday I had to run the group session, my activity planned for the warm up was to introduce the members and come up with a rule and boundary poster that each member has to abide by for every group session, my main activity was decorating a box with pictures or words that best describe you and what your personality traits are. This session went well and the two members enjoyed the activity as they got a chance to keep the boxes with them.

Overall the first week seemed like a rollercoaster, but it was one that I got through, each experience teaches me something new and all I can say is I can’t wait to continue learning.

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