Internship year

April--the start of my year as an intern. Who would've thought that the experience would be like this? Everyday you trudge the road, hoping against hope that you'll be one step closer to that much coveted gold--graduation. And this, speaking from my experience of less than a month! How much more when I've covered the road halfway?! I wonder what I'll have to say by then.. Still, it seems a long way off from 2009--the year I graduate. I hope by then I've gained enough knowledge and skills to last me throughout my career as an occupational therapist, if God wills.

Having said that, let me describe briefly what I do during my rotation at the University of Santo Tomas Hospital-Community Center. In the morning, we go to the CC bringing our bags and file folders full of the day's activity needs. All the activities' expenses come from our own pockets so we really have to be creative and resourceful in this, not only in thinking about the activity itself but also in terms of the materials we could use. Since it's my last week here (thank God), I'm almost out of ideas for activities. Mind you, there should be 3 proposals each week for every activity in crafts, cooking, communication skills and recreation. We have group activities from 9:30am-11:30am for the patients. After the activity, we go to the OT room all sweaty and drained, just as if we'd run a hundred mile marathon. In the afternoon, we go back again to administer our individual treatment sessions. Thankfully, my patient G.P. was very cooperative and is a good-natured boy. Treatment with him feels rewarding, making all my hardwork worthwhile.

The CC experience, as I call it, is a tiring yet rewarding one. There are times when we would just sit down and enjoy laughs and chats with the patients. There are those times when you feel you've really made a difference, especially if your patient was discharged during your rotation like mine was. Even more so, was the fact that he was also admitted not long after I started my rotation there. Therefore, I felt the satisfaction of having a part in his recovery even more. Before the end of our second week, Sheena and I were seriously considering working in a psychiatric setting after graduation. I'm still not sure where God will lead me after grad, but we'll see.. =)