The Occupational Therapy students spent their Spring Break continuing their learning. During that week, approximately 40 out of 73 Occupational Therapy graduate students attended the American Occupational Therapy Association Annual Conference to present their research projects. “We are so proud of our students because they have the opportunity to present their research at a professional conference”, says Dr. Wynn Schultz- Krohn, chair, department of occupational therapy. “This is a peer-reviewed professional conference and we have over half of the graduates accepted to present their research. We also have seven faculty members presenting their research at this conference. Although that means no Spring Break for the faculty members, the conference held in New Orleans was a very fun place to learn,” says Dr. Wynn Schultz-Krohn.
The SJSU Occupational Therapy Student Honor Society, Pi Theta Epsilon (PTE) along with members of the SJSU Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA) joined forces to raise money to support occupational therapy research. The combined efforts of POTE and SOTA raised the largest amount ever recorded for this annual student fund raising event! Students from large, private R1 institutions, such as Columbia, typically raise the largest amount to support research. This student fund raising effort reflects the “pay-it-forward” mindset of the occupational therapy graduate students to support research efforts in the profession of occupational therapy.
Some of the topics presented at the conference by faculty and students included:
Political Advocacy of occupational therapy students
Mothers’ co-occupations after NICU discharge
Social problem solving and simulations
Financial literacy with homeless teens
Sensory processing
Fostering decision making skills with homeless children
Fall Prevention
School based practice
Relationship between sleep and interactive technology
Parents’ perceptions of risk with children’s everyday occupations
Evidence based dysphagia
The experience of homeless mothers participating in an occupational therapy leisure group
