The image was taken in Kyoto, Japan, in August 2018 by Yun Chung
My life has been changed since I decided to study Occupational Therapy.
My grandfather collapsed at work during my elementary school and had been told that he had a stroke. During that period of time, my grandmother was his full-time caregiver, a wife, and a mother of five children. All of our family struggled because they did not know how to take care of him after his diagnosis. The term “stroke” came to my mind personally. I asked myself, “Can he do any better? Can we make him something better?”
I was born in Korea, flew to the US to study, lived in Seattle, Gainesville (go Gators!) worked in the bay area, and came back to Seattle.
I started my life journey by studying business during my undergraduate and started a job related to accounting. During my work, I volunteered at a rehab hospital in Seattle and met people who had a stroke and realized, “This is it!” Then I fell in love with the concept of Occupational Therapy and started my education all over again.
The acute rehab setting is the best fit for me because, in this type of setting, I would be working with individuals who suffer from different types of diagnoses, especially clients with stroke. Moreover, the rehabilitation acute care setting provides me the most needs for people who are severe and able to provide help from them and understand the client’s functional independence during episodes of illness. Because of my background and my interests, I can communicate with the client and provide optimal interventions.
The following information explains why my goals are so important to me.
Goal 1
- Demonstrate how advanced knowledge of cultural diversity impacts clinical outcomes in stroke rehabilitation (Sunrise).
In my own hospital, I work with clients from diverse backgrounds. I think that these experiences have shifted my approach to treatment and that this will impact my patients’ outcomes. During my international experience, I learned to adapt to various environments. Again, these real-life experiences turned out to be very important in changing my ability to provide interdisciplinary, culturally sensitive care.
My goal was realized by my diverse cultural experiences with my knowledge of stroke rehabilitation. And did this by taking a research course in stroke rehabilitation. To become knowledgeable about different types of settings for stroke rehabilitation, I took several CEU courses such as a research course in stroke rehabilitation and ICU stroke liberation course where I learned more about stroke rehabilitation as an occupational therapist.
Goal 2
- To apply occupational therapy theory and scientific evidence to clinical practice in stroke rehabilitation. (Midday)
The focus of this goal is to build my knowledge of the evidence in our field. I was interested in selecting evaluations based on the evidence and in developing treatment plans also based on evidence. I educated other therapists, Occupational Therapy students, and volunteers by providing discussing evidence-based practice. I presented in-services to my colleagues on the use of assistive technology in stroke rehabilitation and wheelchair mobility, where I provided detailed information about evidence-based assessments. I developed a table and selected the commonly used assessments for stroke survivors in an acute care hospital setting based on my clinical experience. This will help my colleagues use this knowledge to perform evaluations and to develop evidence-based interventions for clinical practice.
Goal 3
- Demonstrate advanced clinical competence in stroke rehab through the development of education and training materials for stroke survivors and their families. (Sunset)
Over the years, I have worked with many stroke survivors and I have found that caregiver and family education is very important for patient care upon discharge. The artifacts that I created are materials that can be used for caregiver and family education and training. and provide to caregivers and family members include I developed these safety handouts, infographics, and quizzes for family and caregivers of stroke survivors to can apply my clinical knowledge by educating others. I focused on being occupation and function based on these materials and I was responsive to the needs of the readers in terms of the level of information to share, readability, and design.
This e-Portfolio demonstrates my advanced competence as an Occupational Therapist working with clients with stroke. During the past years in the OTD program, I have had the opportunity to learn more about individuals with stroke, collaborate with other disciplines when working with clients, and teach OT students. I have strengthened my skills as a strengths-based therapist and have shared this experience with colleagues, students, and families.
About Metaphor; Sunrise, Midday, and Sunset
My e-Portfolio follows the process of one day, Sunrise, Midday, and Sunset. I began to start at the beginning of the day, begin to reach professional growth in the field of OT. It seemed a natural metaphor for my journey to see a career of OT as a whole day. The parallels between my path to OTD and the day are clear, as both require a beginning, middle, and end-stage of accomplishment. The headers of each page show portions of the description that I have completed.
The Sunrise relates to the first goal, to demonstrate how advanced knowledge of cultural diversity impacts clinical outcomes in stroke rehabilitation. The goal is a beginning phase of the program where I wanted to gain my knowledge on cultural diversity in stroke rehabilitation.
The Midday relates to the second goal, I look forward to becoming a leader in the field of occupational therapy, continuing to broaden my exposure to other aspects of the profession, contributing to growing knowledge in the field, and enriching the lives of my future students and clients. apply occupational therapy theory and scientific evidence to clinical practice in stroke rehabilitation. Based on what I’ve learned from the first goal, I wanted to have a middle stage where I can apply my knowledge to clinical practice.
The Sunset relates to the third goal, to demonstrate advanced clinical competence in stroke rehab through the development of education and training materials for stroke survivors and their families. After learning the first and second stages of work, I wanted to provide my knowledge based on educating others. This will be the end stage of my journey, where it relates to my metaphor.
How my goals relate to my e-Portfolio (Systematic Review and Competence Project)
During a phase of goal 2, to apply occupational therapy theory and scientific evidence to clinical practice in stroke rehabilitation, I decided to research more in detail about clinical practice in stroke rehabilitation. I chose the topic of the relationship between dynamic standing balance and Virtual Reality intervention through a class. I was able to find multiple findings based on the scientific evidence, learned how to imply my knowledge into a Systematic Review. After the findings and needs of the study, I decided to create a guideline for caregivers in an acute care rehabilitation setting. This relates to goal 3, to demonstrate advanced clinical competence in stroke rehab through the development of education and training materials for stroke survivors and their families. I found studies where family and caregiver training are necessary upon discharge from the hospital setting and wished to create a product based on the research. Both of my works tie in well with my goals, and an opportunity to become a knowledgeable OT.
I look forward to becoming a leader in the field of occupational therapy, continuing to broaden my exposure to other aspects of the profession, contributing to growing knowledge in the field, and enriching the lives of my future students and clients.