Pediatric Fieldwork Level I
In this course the students are assigned a facility that treats pediatric disabilities. Students will spend 30 hours observing in this facility under the supervision of an OT or OTA that works at that facility. Students will have to opportunity to see actual treatment sessions and the thought process that goes into them. Students will also be able to apply techniques learned in coursework and make connections between their coursework and future practice. The students will complete a data collection on five separate clients, a patient synthesis report, and service learning project that will benefit the facility they are at. Students will also do a five minute presentation reporting on their experiences at that facility.
Service Learning
Description
how lightweight the Styrofoam was so that the foot stools were light as well, but I didn’t like working with it as a main building material. If I ever make these again
I would try to find another material that is easier to work with.
Another thing I learned about was the importance of positioning. When kids’ feet are dangling it makes their trunk slide down. Having the footstools keep the
kiddos pelvis’ from slipping and being in the wrong position for working at the table.
- For my pediatric fieldwork service project I made three foot stools of different heights. This project cost a total of $50 and took 15 hours. I first talked with my instructor about the plans for about a half hour over the course of a few days. I then spent around 3 hours gathering all of the materials at various stores. Next I cut the Styrofoam into squares which surprisingly took quite a long time (around 4 hours) because the Styrofoam got everywhere and it was hard to cut straight lines in it. After cutting it all into squares I duct taped the desired amount together depending on the height I needed. After attaching them together with the duct tape, I applied stylized duct tape around the outside of the stool so it looked more put together (this part took around an hour). Next my dad helped me cut a thin board into squares to fit on the top and bottom of the stools (this took 1 hour). I then glued the boards to the Styrofoam pieces and sanded the edges. The last step was to add a small piece of Velcro to the bottom of each stool and I was finished.
- I asked my Fieldwork educator what she needed and she that they were in need of more foot stools. The COTA I was with goes to 11 different schools and she needs light foot stools so she can easily take them from school to school. For this reason she asked me to not make them out of wood and gave me the idea of making them out of Styrofoam installation like a previous student had done.
- The foot stools I made will be helpful for the therapy department for the school district because I made them easy to transport from place to place because they’re so late. It also helps that I did a 4 inch, 6 inch, and 8 inch stools so that children of different heights and tables/chairs of different heights could use them still. Foot stools help with correct positioning. Having a foot stool under the child’s feet helps them not to dangle over the ground and can help them focus on the therapy instead of swinging their legs everywhere.
- I learned a lot from this service learning project. First of all, I learned how to create something through just a description and problem solving. I had never seen a foot stool made out of Styrofoam before and had no clue what my fieldsite was looking for. I had to go off of what they told me and do my best to make the project to their specifications. In the end, it turned out really well and my fieldsite was very impressed.
how lightweight the Styrofoam was so that the foot stools were light as well, but I didn’t like working with it as a main building material. If I ever make these again
I would try to find another material that is easier to work with.
Another thing I learned about was the importance of positioning. When kids’ feet are dangling it makes their trunk slide down. Having the footstools keep the
kiddos pelvis’ from slipping and being in the wrong position for working at the table.
- After completing this project I feel really accomplished. It felt good to take on a project this big and have it turn out. I am really hoping that my fieldsite will be able to use these foot stools often like they said they would. It was fun to try to stylize these foot stools with bright colored and patterned duct tape and I’m hoping that this will make kids enjoy using them as well.
- This experience was meaningful to me because in the end I was able to see a lot of the children using the foot stools I created and they seemed to really enjoy them. One girl came in and the foot stools were the first things she saw and she thought they were really cool and she tried each of them out. I know that these foot stools will help the children to be able to sit properly in their chairs with their feet on a solid surface. I hope these foot stools will get some good use.
Contact Information:
Granite Elementary
9760 South 3100 East
Sandy, UT 84092
801-826-8575
9760 South 3100 East
Sandy, UT 84092
801-826-8575