September 3, 2024 • 13 mins
In this episode, we kick off our back-to-school series by talking with Kim Meaney, a seasoned Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant (COTA) and current master's student in occupational therapy. Kim shares her unique journey from being a COTA to returning to school for her Master's degree in OT. She provides valuable insights into balancing work, family, and education, and reflects on her summer fieldwork experience at a OT clinic incorporating hippotherapy. We discuss the challenges and rewards of working in a non-traditional fieldwork setting, the importance of asking questions, and the benefits of immersing oneself in new experiences. Kim’s advice is a must-listen for any OT student preparing for their fieldwork placements.
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Microphone (3- Logitech USB (00:14):
Hi, welcome to animals and aquatics
I'm Gina, your host.
And we're starting our back toschool series with the field
work diaries from our summerfieldwork students.
This is for all our OT and OTAstudents out there who might be
interested in a career in anontraditional placement, like
hippotherapy, aquatic therapy ornature-based therapy.
This is to give you some insightinto what our field work
(00:35):
students' experiences were andto share with you some of their
advice.
Now let's get started.
gina (00:42):
All right, guys, we are going to have a wonderful talk
here for our student month,where we are talking to some
students who had a level onefieldwork placement over the
summer.
And we're starting this off withKim Meaney.
And she was a level onefieldwork student and Kim, we're
(01:03):
so happy to have you on tonight.
We'd like to know a little bitand let's just get started with
where you're currently attendingschool and like where you're at
in the education process.
Kim (01:12):
Sure.
As Gina said, my name is Kim.
So thank you for having metonight.
I'm currently.
A master's occupational therapystudent at Grand Valley State
University, which is in GrandRapids, Michigan.
I am entering my last didacticsemester which is exciting and I
will be doing level two startingin January.
gina (01:35):
Excellent.
And one of the things that'sreally unique about Kim is she's
already a CODA.
And so she comes with a wealthof experience.
And Kim, do you want to talk alittle bit either about like the
bridge?
component or just yourexperience of being a CODA for a
really long time and then goingback to school?
Kim (01:52):
Sure.
So, being a CODA for a reallylong time and going back to
school was very hard.
I graduated, I'm going to reallydate myself.
I graduated from the first CODAschool in Connecticut and
graduated back in 1998.
So since then, I have obtained abachelor's degree, and then I
decided to go back and get mymaster's in OT.
(02:14):
School based and PEDS is reallymy wheelhouse and my love, and
as crazy as it sounds, I reallylike doing evaluations like the
Peabody and things like that.
So as a COTA you can assist withsome of that.
You can definitely dostandardized assessments.
You can help with parts of anevaluation, but I really like
looking at the data and thenbeing able to see Where your
(02:38):
client is, where they're goingand how to get them there.
So I decided to go back and getmy master's, which at the time
sounded great.
It's been, it's been rough.
I'm not going to lie, workingfull time, you know, being an
older student having a familyand then full time school is,
(02:58):
it's rough.
It's hard to juggle, but.
I've managed it and I'm almostdone.
gina (03:02):
I was just going to say, you're almost there.
So you can like see the light atthe end of the tunnel now.
It's
Kim (03:08):
super bright.
gina (03:11):
Like a moth to a flame.
Yes.
So this summer you had afieldwork placement with Epona
Therapy Services.
And what was your most impactfulfield work experience during
that?
Kim (03:26):
So as I stated, PEDS and school based sensory clinic is
pretty much my wheelhouse.
I've never experiencedhippotherapy.
I've never participated withhippotherapy.
I know about hippotherapybecause of you but never really
was able to submerge myself.
So being able to understand howhippotherapy works and actually
(03:48):
see the clients and how itaffects them mentally,
physically, emotionally.
sensory was actually really coolto see that happen.
Especially with a couple of theclients that we had really see
them come in and be totally overthe top, overstimulated, didn't
want to participate.
And then once they got on thehorse and they had that
(04:11):
movement, whether it was thehorse movement or we were
playing, rhythmic sounds, towatch them really kind of, Go
from so hyper to melting intothe horse and like really being
attentive and being able to,whether it's one or two word,
stop, go really being able toparticipate was really amazing
(04:34):
to see and really try to hone inon how that really affects their
system.
And then getting off the horseand being able to do a simple
table game and having themattend.
Was amazing as well.
So it was a really coolexperience.
gina (04:50):
Yeah, I think it's a great example of like dynamic systems
theory because you really, youcan see it in action.
We have different systems.
We have the horses system, theteam, because it's never, just
the therapist and the client.
And then you can see the clientsystems.
change as well.
Now coming into this, did youhave a particular expectation or
(05:11):
anything that made you nervousprior to actually showing up the
first day?
Kim (05:15):
How did you know?
Um, I've never been aroundhorses.
Never worked with any animals intherapy.
So like no animal assistedtherapy or anything like that.
So coming into hippotherapy andnot knowing where to stand with
the horse or what to do or whatnot to do.
Kind of had me a little bitnervous but after being there, a
couple times, it was, it wasbetter and then it was better.
(05:38):
It's nice to be able to interactwith the horse and like actually
pet them and not have to worryabout getting stomped or spit
at.
So it was, it was nice.
gina (05:47):
Yeah, I think most students if they didn't choose
this placement because it's anarea of interest for them, then
they do have some things thatthey're concerned about and
whether it's, The outdoorclimate and being in a, a non
climate controlled environment,or bugs, or the horses
themselves, right?
I think every student that hascome through that, this wasn't
(06:10):
like a choice placement that,that has been part of that
experience.
So that's one of the reasons whyI always ask, because it's
interesting to hear Prior tocoming, what some of those
concerns were.
And then, like you said, as yougot to the end, like feeling
like, Oh, I can go up and petthe horses.
Like I feel comfortable doingthat.
So what advice would you give toother students who would be
(06:33):
going into a non traditionalfield work placement or want to
work in a niche area of practicebased on your experience?
Kim (06:40):
I definitely would have them do a lot of.
Research on the setting is solike, for example, hippotherapy,
like, what exactly are youdoing?
How does it benefit yourclients?
How would you?
Be better able to assist yourclients in what their goals are,
talking to the parents, talking,if you're able to talk to the
(07:02):
clients, if they're able toverbalize.
Being able to really look atthat holistically, as we are as
OTs, being able to look at itholistically and how does that
one session then affect thethem, their occupations, their
environment, their socialinteractions.
And then just kind of immerseyourself.
I mean, it is a level one, it'snot a level two, immerse
(07:25):
yourself, ask questions.
And really, if you make amistake, you make a mistake and
you learn from that mistake andyou grow, but definitely ask
questions.
And what I liked was I was notthe only student there.
So I was able to reallycollaborate with the other
students that were there askquestions and then kind of
bounce ideas back and forth offof each other.
(07:46):
Um, we actually had a groupchat, so we were able to, talk
like, hey, we have so and sothis week, or hey, what are you
thinking about?
So it was nice to be able tohave that collaboration between
all of the students.
And I think it made it morecomfortable for all of us
knowing that.
We all kind of had the samequestion.
So no question was a stupidquestion kind of thing.
(08:07):
So,
gina (08:08):
yeah, I think you brought up a really good point about
understanding how what you seein the treatment session is then
going to impact.
the occupation, the occupationalperformance, or, their social
participation in other settings,because I think it's one of the
challenges of hippotherapy inparticular, is that it's very
(08:29):
theoretical.
You're, looking at like, okay,they're able to function better
during this kind of window thatwe've created from the movement
and the sensory input.
And then what, right?
And we do our functionalactivities, but still there is
that gap of okay, but I'm notactually home with them.
And that was one of the things Ireally loved about early
(08:50):
intervention.
It's your child has trouble.
Bathing?
Let's go to the tub.
They're having trouble witheating?
Let's, I'll be there duringbreakfast.
And it was so occupation basedbecause you could be right there
in the home, right there in themoment.
And when you're in a more nontraditional setting, even if
that's, nature based or aquaticsor incorporating the horses,
(09:10):
you're putting together thepieces and the skills.
But often we're, we're not goingto get to see how they're going
to perform that morning routine,that morning routine that we've
been working on.
Kim (09:23):
Right.
gina (09:24):
And so, as a student, was that a challenging aspect to it?
Or.
Was it kind of interesting?
Kim (09:36):
To me, it was interesting because it made you think okay,
so like mom is here or dad ishere and they're watching.
Now, what are they doing at hometo carry this over?
Or if the client left and theywere, mellow, how then do they
bring them home and keep that?
Like, what are they doing athome to carry that over?
(10:00):
So it was interesting,especially when we did the
occupational profile tounderstand how that clients,
what they're doing at home andthen what their goals were.
With us and how that reallytranslated from the therapy
session over to home and how itaffected their occupations and
their emotional stability andtheir mental challenges
(10:22):
emotional regulation.
So it was interesting to, tokind of tie that together.
gina (10:28):
Yeah, and a lot of times.
You know, like you said, we seesometimes they're coming in
really, really high and they'renot really having that
regulation piece in place.
Other times they're coming inand they, they look pretty good.
They're happy to be there.
They're happy to engage.
And so sometimes we're notseeing some of the challenges
the parent is seeing.
And then it's like, okay, howcan we still give mom or dad
(10:50):
those tools that they're goingto need?
When they get at home and Ithink for me as a business
owner, that's a really niceopportunity for having students
because you guys get thatopportunity sometimes to create
handouts or home programs,things like that, that the
families can then take home anduse because we do need to fill
that gap from what happens inthe session where no one is
(11:13):
going home with a horse.
They're not going home with thattool in their back pocket.
And so bringing in a lot of theother OT tools that we use in
the clinic in other settings andhelping that family then
translate them.
back to home or back to schooland back into the community is
really where it's important fora lot of those clients that
(11:35):
we're working with.
So as we wrap up this episode,is there anything else that you
would like to share either aboutyour experience or as kind of a
word to students, since you havea lot of experience in that
area?
Kim (11:48):
So I would say don't be afraid, even if it's an area
that you're not familiar with.
Like I said, do your researchand then just immerse yourself,
just kind of throw yourself inand, see what happens.
I think that what happens ispeople get nervous and then they
kind of put that wall up andthen they're not learning or
(12:08):
they're not giving themselvesthat opportunity to learn.
Just go in and just do it.
And don't be fearful.
I mean, you have good clinicalsupervisors, they'll guide you
and ask questions.
No question is ever stupid.
If you don't ask it, then it'sstupid.
gina (12:26):
Yeah, yeah, I would definitely rather the question
be asked than that opportunitymissed and whether that's
something that could eventually,especially in the niche areas,
like could cause a safety issue.
Because the person just didn'tknow and they were afraid to ask
about something that the horsemight do or, horses have a lot
of weird quirks about things andit's like, if you haven't been
(12:46):
around horses, you have no idea.
And so it's always better tohave people ask.
And then the clinical questions,that they come up as well,
because it's always a different.
Experience, the clients arecoming in at a different place
each week.
And so there's a lot of movingparts.
And I think that point of goingahead and asking questions is a
really good advice to studentswho are going out on clinicals,
(13:09):
whether it's a level 1 or level2 placement, that they're ready
to jump in, have a fullexperience, ask those questions
because they're going to have abetter learning experience that
way.
Kim (13:20):
I agree.
gina (13:22):
So Kim, it was wonderful having you as a Fieldwork
student, and I thank you so muchfor joining us on the podcast
and sharing a little bit aboutyour experience and giving some
advice to future Fieldworkstudents.
Thanks.
Thanks for having me.
Bye.
Hi, welcome to animals and aquatics
I'm Gina, your host.
And we're starting our back toschool series with the field
work diaries from our summerfieldwork students.
This is for all our OT and OTAstudents out there who might be
interested in a career in anontraditional placement, like
hippotherapy, aquatic therapy ornature-based therapy.
This is to give you some insightinto what our field work
(00:35):
students' experiences were andto share with you some of their
advice.
Now let's get started.
gina (00:42):
All right, guys, we are going to have a wonderful talk
here for our student month,where we are talking to some
students who had a level onefieldwork placement over the
summer.
And we're starting this off withKim Meaney.
And she was a level onefieldwork student and Kim, we're
(01:03):
so happy to have you on tonight.
We'd like to know a little bitand let's just get started with
where you're currently attendingschool and like where you're at
in the education process.
Kim (01:12):
Sure.
As Gina said, my name is Kim.
So thank you for having metonight.
I'm currently.
A master's occupational therapystudent at Grand Valley State
University, which is in GrandRapids, Michigan.
I am entering my last didacticsemester which is exciting and I
will be doing level two startingin January.
gina (01:35):
Excellent.
And one of the things that'sreally unique about Kim is she's
already a CODA.
And so she comes with a wealthof experience.
And Kim, do you want to talk alittle bit either about like the
bridge?
component or just yourexperience of being a CODA for a
really long time and then goingback to school?
Kim (01:52):
Sure.
So, being a CODA for a reallylong time and going back to
school was very hard.
I graduated, I'm going to reallydate myself.
I graduated from the first CODAschool in Connecticut and
graduated back in 1998.
So since then, I have obtained abachelor's degree, and then I
decided to go back and get mymaster's in OT.
(02:14):
School based and PEDS is reallymy wheelhouse and my love, and
as crazy as it sounds, I reallylike doing evaluations like the
Peabody and things like that.
So as a COTA you can assist withsome of that.
You can definitely dostandardized assessments.
You can help with parts of anevaluation, but I really like
looking at the data and thenbeing able to see Where your
(02:38):
client is, where they're goingand how to get them there.
So I decided to go back and getmy master's, which at the time
sounded great.
It's been, it's been rough.
I'm not going to lie, workingfull time, you know, being an
older student having a familyand then full time school is,
(02:58):
it's rough.
It's hard to juggle, but.
I've managed it and I'm almostdone.
gina (03:02):
I was just going to say, you're almost there.
So you can like see the light atthe end of the tunnel now.
It's
Kim (03:08):
super bright.
gina (03:11):
Like a moth to a flame.
Yes.
So this summer you had afieldwork placement with Epona
Therapy Services.
And what was your most impactfulfield work experience during
that?
Kim (03:26):
So as I stated, PEDS and school based sensory clinic is
pretty much my wheelhouse.
I've never experiencedhippotherapy.
I've never participated withhippotherapy.
I know about hippotherapybecause of you but never really
was able to submerge myself.
So being able to understand howhippotherapy works and actually
(03:48):
see the clients and how itaffects them mentally,
physically, emotionally.
sensory was actually really coolto see that happen.
Especially with a couple of theclients that we had really see
them come in and be totally overthe top, overstimulated, didn't
want to participate.
And then once they got on thehorse and they had that
(04:11):
movement, whether it was thehorse movement or we were
playing, rhythmic sounds, towatch them really kind of, Go
from so hyper to melting intothe horse and like really being
attentive and being able to,whether it's one or two word,
stop, go really being able toparticipate was really amazing
(04:34):
to see and really try to hone inon how that really affects their
system.
And then getting off the horseand being able to do a simple
table game and having themattend.
Was amazing as well.
So it was a really coolexperience.
gina (04:50):
Yeah, I think it's a great example of like dynamic systems
theory because you really, youcan see it in action.
We have different systems.
We have the horses system, theteam, because it's never, just
the therapist and the client.
And then you can see the clientsystems.
change as well.
Now coming into this, did youhave a particular expectation or
(05:11):
anything that made you nervousprior to actually showing up the
first day?
Kim (05:15):
How did you know?
Um, I've never been aroundhorses.
Never worked with any animals intherapy.
So like no animal assistedtherapy or anything like that.
So coming into hippotherapy andnot knowing where to stand with
the horse or what to do or whatnot to do.
Kind of had me a little bitnervous but after being there, a
couple times, it was, it wasbetter and then it was better.
(05:38):
It's nice to be able to interactwith the horse and like actually
pet them and not have to worryabout getting stomped or spit
at.
So it was, it was nice.
gina (05:47):
Yeah, I think most students if they didn't choose
this placement because it's anarea of interest for them, then
they do have some things thatthey're concerned about and
whether it's, The outdoorclimate and being in a, a non
climate controlled environment,or bugs, or the horses
themselves, right?
I think every student that hascome through that, this wasn't
(06:10):
like a choice placement that,that has been part of that
experience.
So that's one of the reasons whyI always ask, because it's
interesting to hear Prior tocoming, what some of those
concerns were.
And then, like you said, as yougot to the end, like feeling
like, Oh, I can go up and petthe horses.
Like I feel comfortable doingthat.
So what advice would you give toother students who would be
(06:33):
going into a non traditionalfield work placement or want to
work in a niche area of practicebased on your experience?
Kim (06:40):
I definitely would have them do a lot of.
Research on the setting is solike, for example, hippotherapy,
like, what exactly are youdoing?
How does it benefit yourclients?
How would you?
Be better able to assist yourclients in what their goals are,
talking to the parents, talking,if you're able to talk to the
(07:02):
clients, if they're able toverbalize.
Being able to really look atthat holistically, as we are as
OTs, being able to look at itholistically and how does that
one session then affect thethem, their occupations, their
environment, their socialinteractions.
And then just kind of immerseyourself.
I mean, it is a level one, it'snot a level two, immerse
(07:25):
yourself, ask questions.
And really, if you make amistake, you make a mistake and
you learn from that mistake andyou grow, but definitely ask
questions.
And what I liked was I was notthe only student there.
So I was able to reallycollaborate with the other
students that were there askquestions and then kind of
bounce ideas back and forth offof each other.
(07:46):
Um, we actually had a groupchat, so we were able to, talk
like, hey, we have so and sothis week, or hey, what are you
thinking about?
So it was nice to be able tohave that collaboration between
all of the students.
And I think it made it morecomfortable for all of us
knowing that.
We all kind of had the samequestion.
So no question was a stupidquestion kind of thing.
(08:07):
So,
gina (08:08):
yeah, I think you brought up a really good point about
understanding how what you seein the treatment session is then
going to impact.
the occupation, the occupationalperformance, or, their social
participation in other settings,because I think it's one of the
challenges of hippotherapy inparticular, is that it's very
(08:29):
theoretical.
You're, looking at like, okay,they're able to function better
during this kind of window thatwe've created from the movement
and the sensory input.
And then what, right?
And we do our functionalactivities, but still there is
that gap of okay, but I'm notactually home with them.
And that was one of the things Ireally loved about early
(08:50):
intervention.
It's your child has trouble.
Bathing?
Let's go to the tub.
They're having trouble witheating?
Let's, I'll be there duringbreakfast.
And it was so occupation basedbecause you could be right there
in the home, right there in themoment.
And when you're in a more nontraditional setting, even if
that's, nature based or aquaticsor incorporating the horses,
(09:10):
you're putting together thepieces and the skills.
But often we're, we're not goingto get to see how they're going
to perform that morning routine,that morning routine that we've
been working on.
Kim (09:23):
Right.
gina (09:24):
And so, as a student, was that a challenging aspect to it?
Or.
Was it kind of interesting?
Kim (09:36):
To me, it was interesting because it made you think okay,
so like mom is here or dad ishere and they're watching.
Now, what are they doing at hometo carry this over?
Or if the client left and theywere, mellow, how then do they
bring them home and keep that?
Like, what are they doing athome to carry that over?
(10:00):
So it was interesting,especially when we did the
occupational profile tounderstand how that clients,
what they're doing at home andthen what their goals were.
With us and how that reallytranslated from the therapy
session over to home and how itaffected their occupations and
their emotional stability andtheir mental challenges
(10:22):
emotional regulation.
So it was interesting to, tokind of tie that together.
gina (10:28):
Yeah, and a lot of times.
You know, like you said, we seesometimes they're coming in
really, really high and they'renot really having that
regulation piece in place.
Other times they're coming inand they, they look pretty good.
They're happy to be there.
They're happy to engage.
And so sometimes we're notseeing some of the challenges
the parent is seeing.
And then it's like, okay, howcan we still give mom or dad
(10:50):
those tools that they're goingto need?
When they get at home and Ithink for me as a business
owner, that's a really niceopportunity for having students
because you guys get thatopportunity sometimes to create
handouts or home programs,things like that, that the
families can then take home anduse because we do need to fill
that gap from what happens inthe session where no one is
(11:13):
going home with a horse.
They're not going home with thattool in their back pocket.
And so bringing in a lot of theother OT tools that we use in
the clinic in other settings andhelping that family then
translate them.
back to home or back to schooland back into the community is
really where it's important fora lot of those clients that
(11:35):
we're working with.
So as we wrap up this episode,is there anything else that you
would like to share either aboutyour experience or as kind of a
word to students, since you havea lot of experience in that
area?
Kim (11:48):
So I would say don't be afraid, even if it's an area
that you're not familiar with.
Like I said, do your researchand then just immerse yourself,
just kind of throw yourself inand, see what happens.
I think that what happens ispeople get nervous and then they
kind of put that wall up andthen they're not learning or
(12:08):
they're not giving themselvesthat opportunity to learn.
Just go in and just do it.
And don't be fearful.
I mean, you have good clinicalsupervisors, they'll guide you
and ask questions.
No question is ever stupid.
If you don't ask it, then it'sstupid.
gina (12:26):
Yeah, yeah, I would definitely rather the question
be asked than that opportunitymissed and whether that's
something that could eventually,especially in the niche areas,
like could cause a safety issue.
Because the person just didn'tknow and they were afraid to ask
about something that the horsemight do or, horses have a lot
of weird quirks about things andit's like, if you haven't been
(12:46):
around horses, you have no idea.
And so it's always better tohave people ask.
And then the clinical questions,that they come up as well,
because it's always a different.
Experience, the clients arecoming in at a different place
each week.
And so there's a lot of movingparts.
And I think that point of goingahead and asking questions is a
really good advice to studentswho are going out on clinicals,
(13:09):
whether it's a level 1 or level2 placement, that they're ready
to jump in, have a fullexperience, ask those questions
because they're going to have abetter learning experience that
way.
Kim (13:20):
I agree.
gina (13:22):
So Kim, it was wonderful having you as a Fieldwork
student, and I thank you so muchfor joining us on the podcast
and sharing a little bit aboutyour experience and giving some
advice to future Fieldworkstudents.
Thanks.
Thanks for having me.
Bye.
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