It’s been awhile OT 4 Lyfe fam. But rather than let it get longer and longer before putting out another episode, I’m showing up imperfectly to give you a little update about what has been going on behind the scenes of OT 4 Lyfe. If you’re new here or just want to hear OT content, feel free to skip this episode and listen to any of the other 100+ episodes I have released so far. But if you’re curious what’s been going on in my lyfe and also want to hear what’s in store for OT 4 Lyfe in 2022, then stay on the line. I’ve got some deep reflections and some fun news to share with you.

Want to know what I wished I would have known as an occupational therapy student? As I have just hit my twelfth year as an occupational therapist, I’ve been doing some reflecting recently and recognized just how much I have learned since I was a student. If only I could go back in time and tell myself all that I know now, but the next best thing is to tell current and future students in hopes that it might help them on their journey. The other week I was honored to get the opportunity to present for the student occupational therapy association (SOTA) group at Winston-Salem State University. This episode is the audio from that presentation sharing the 12 lessons I have learned from 12 years in the field as an occupational therapist. I reference slides that were used during the presentation which are linked in the show notes.

Imagine being 32 weeks pregnant, waking up in intense pain and not knowing what it was? Well that's exactly what happened to me. What started as pain eventually turned into requiring emergency surgery. In today’s episode I share a little more about this experience and my perspective since it happened. I also answer some questions that I received about being pregnant as an occupational therapist.

There’s been a lot going on in my neck of the woods the past few months. And today I wanted to jump on here and give a brief update on what’s been happening. If you’re new here, today’s episode will be very different than usual so feel free to give it a listen but then definitely check out another episode too. And if you’ve been listening to me for a bit, today you’ll hear just what’s been going on behind the scenes. And of course it will have an occupational lens cause that’s what I do. As always, you can check out the show notes or any additional resources at my website at ot4lyfe.com.

Pregnancy is a beautiful journey, one that is full of wonder and also a lot of changes. When I announced that I was pregnant earlier this year, I had a bunch of people reach out to me wanting to hear about my experience. So of course I had to do an episode about it. But when I found out that one of my OT besties and fellow podcasters was also pregnant, I knew that we needed to have a chat together about our journeys so far. So joining me in this episode is the one and only Miranda Donnelly from OT Uncorked and we share about the shift in our identities and some of the occupational transitions we have gone through during our pregnancies so far. We also dive into some of the things that we don’t hear people talk about much when discussing pregnancy and share in some of the fun things we have experienced, brain fog and all. Miranda and I are not pregnancy experts, but rather we wanted to have a candid conversation of our experiences coming from a personal and occupational lens. Please note that talking about pregnancy can be an emotional topic, so make sure you are mindful of your own mental health and feel free to skip this episode if it is at all triggering for you. Also, just so you know this episode was recorded about one and a half weeks before I gave birth so fortunately we recorded it when we did. Miranda and I had a great time recording this and hope you find some valuable insight in our discussion about the occupation of being pregnant.

It’s April and that means something absolutely huge to the occupational therapy community. It’s OT month (in the states) and honestly one of my favorite times of the year. So to celebrate OT month this year, I teamed up with Jayson Davies from OT Schoolhouse to bring you this extra special episode. Both Jayson and I are huge proponents of OT associations and we wanted to have a chat about what types of OT associations are out there, what they do for us as OT practitioners and students, and why we think they are important to support. We had an absolute blast chatting about this and hope you enjoy our conversation. If you have any questions, let us know. And if you’re not familiar with Jayson, be sure to listen to his podcast and check out his amazing school-based OT resources.

Having a savvy financial mindset is so important for every OT practitioner and student. But it’s one of those things that I feel like people might not prioritize or think it should be left up to the professionals. And because of that, last month’s Question of the Month was: "What questions do you have about money?” In order to help answer these questions, I brought on Mindy Jensen from the Bigger Pockets Money podcast. In the episode, she answers questions from the OT community and shares her insight into why we as OT practitioners and students need to pay more attention to our money. And stay tuned to the end of the episode to find out this month’s new question of the month.

This past year has taught all of us a lot. Our lives changed. Our professional responsibilities changed. Our stress went through the roof. Emotions ran high. And honestly, some of this is still existing as we speak. OT practitioners and students alike faced some of the most difficult times in their lives. In my last interview episode, Allison Klowan and Allie Watkins shared their experiences going through level 2 fieldwork during a pandemic. And this conversation really got me thinking. So today I’m sharing some of my thoughts about how we can embrace every experience as a learning opportunity, regardless if it goes according to plan.

Level 2 fieldworks are a challenging but fun time in a student’s journey to becoming an OT practitioner. But when a worldwide pandemic gets thrown into the mix, it makes for an even more difficult experience. Today, I am bringing on 2 OTD students, Allison Klowan and Allie Watkins, who both recently finished their level 2 fieldwork placements. We dive into how their experiences went, the challenges they faced because of the pandemic, and what they learned throughout the process. If you’re a current student that is on fieldwork or preparing to go on fieldwork, you won’t want to miss this episode. And if you’re a practitioner or fieldwork educator, take a listen to gain some insight into the student’s perspective of being on fieldwork during a worldwide pandemic.

Curious to know more about my entrepreneurial journey? Like how and why I started a private practice, what things I learned along the way and what I think the most important thing every OT entrepreneur needs to have? Well today I’m diving deep into my own journey in hopes that my story may inspire or assist you if you yourself are considering taking the leap into entrepreneurship or already have, but are not sure if you can do it. I’m excited to peel back the curtain on my own journey into OT entrepreneurship.