By Beth Todd, MHSA, OTR/L

Happy New Year! I hope the holidays were restful and relaxing for all.  Just a note to let all know, I will be going to AOTA for a Leadership Development Conference on January 11-12. The following topics are on the agenda:

Taking the Leadership Challenge

Effective Team Communication

Understanding, Motivating, and Rewarding Volunteers

Planning for the Future--Finding and Mentoring New Leaders

Change Happens--What's Next and How Can You Be Ready?

Brand Image vs Brand Identity

Mission and Vision: Who are you and where are you going?

Persuasion: Sharing Ideas with the State Association

Personal Leadership Development.

I am excited about all these topics and honored to be representing the state for this conference. This Conference comes at a critical time in the life of SCOTA. We are in need of help in keeping SCOTA focused and viable. The information gathered here will no doubt be of benefit to us at this time.  As you focus on New Year's Resolutions, keep OT in mind. What can you do for your profession at a local, state and national level?  May 2008 be a happy and prosperous year for you and your family.

Home Health Services

I came across this little story about teamwork not too long ago. I’m not sure who the author is, but I thought it had a very fitting message for all of us since, as providers of occupational therapy and having a state association to support, we truly are all in this together.

A Mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. "What food might this contain?" He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. "There is a mousetrap in the house; there is a mousetrap in the house!" The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it." The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house". The pig sympathized but said, "I am so very sorry Mr. Mouse, but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers." The mouse turned to the cow. She said, "Wow, Mr. Mouse. I'm sorry for you. But it's no skin off my nose." So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig.  The farmer's wife did not get well. She died; and so many people came for her funeral.  The farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them. So next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it doesn't concern you, remember that when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk.  Nobody makes the journey alone................ We are all in this together!

On April 19, 2008 the SCOTA Lowcountry District, Trident Technical College OTA program and the MUSC OT program are sponsoring a Fieldwork Educator workshop at the College Center at TTC, in North Charleston. The hours are 8:30am to 2:00pm.  CEUs will be offered. More details will follow.

Lesly S. Wilson, PhD, OTR/L

Dear Fellow SSSIS Members,

I am pleased to be organizing an exciting school based course for January. This will be my last conference as Nadine Hanner will be taking over my role later in the year. Jan Martin has agreed to co-chair the position and we will vote on that at the conference. If anyone else has a desire to run for that position you will have an opportunity prior to the vote but let one of us know. Barbara Chandler is known to many of you as our AOTA school system chair and through her frequent articles in Advance magazine. She will have very current information on new initiatives and will be addressing the Practice Framework. We will have a CD of the Framework for each of you to take home.  The cost to you continues to be very low because of a grant from the SCDOE and for that I am grateful. The grant is for training of OT and OTAs working with school aged children. We will also accept students as space permits. We will not be sending out a confirmation, but will let you know if the class was full when you applied if you did not get in. Remember, there is no on site registration. If you need a confirmation, include a self-addressed stamped envelope and Jerry will send it back to you.  We will have a boxed lunch for Friday, but will end the conference at 1 on Saturday so you can go out with a friend or whatever you choose. We will have a light breakfast both days. I am not sure about the temperature in the room, so dress comfortably in layers.  Let me remind you that to receive SCOTA CEU’s, we must comply with the rules, which state that participants that are more than 30 minutes late, or leave more than 30 minutes early, will not be granted CEU credit. Please keep that in mind when making your travel plans. We have allowed an hour for registration and breakfast each day, so hopefully you should not have any difficulty making the 9 o’clock start time each day.

Have a great holiday season. Hope to see you in January.

Sincerely,

Patricia Schaefer, MHS,OTR/L

School System Co-Chair

Richardo Holmes, OTR/L, Vice Chairperson and

Lesly S. Wilson, PhD, OTR/L, Chairperson

Stress? Lets find out if you have stress. What are the different physical, emotional & mental symptoms of stress?

DO I HAVE STRESS?

1. I compete a lot and feel I should always win.

2. I always feel behind in my work and projects.

3. I never get to the end of the lists I make.

4. I often do several things at the same time, e.g. eating and talking on the phone.

5. I often finish other people’s sentences.

6. I do everything quickly.

7. I often feel my value is unrecognized.

8. I set extremely high goals for myself.

9. I think that jobs are better done if I do them myself rather than delegating when appropriate.

10. I often become irritated and impatient.

11. When I get angry, it takes me quite a while to get over it.

12. I speak quickly.

13. I often feel breathless.

14. When I make a mistake or fail at something, I think about this for a long time.

15. I dread growing older.

16. I rarely have the sense of achieving something and feeling good about that.

17. I feel angry a good bit of the time.

Scoring: Give yourself 1 point for each check mark except for Questions 11 and 17 which count

as 2 points. If your score is 10 or higher, you may be creating for yourself a great deal of stress.

SYMPTOMS OF STRESS

1. PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS

Increased heart rate

Elevated blood pressure

Tightness of chest

Difficulty breathing

Sweaty palms

Trembling, tics or twitching

Tightness of neck and back muscles

Headaches

Urinary frequency

Diarrhea

Nausea and/or vomiting

Sleep disturbance

Loss of appetite

Constant state of fatigue

Accident-prone

Susceptibility to minor illnesses

Slumped posture

Over-eating

2. EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS

Irritability

Angry outbursts

Depression

Jealousy

Anxious

Lack of interest

Critical of self and others

Cry easily

Tendency to blame others

Restlessness

Feeling worthless

3. MENTAL SYMTOMS

Forgetful

Increased mathematical and grammatical errors

Reduced memory

Lack of attention to details

Past-orientated rather than present – or future-orientated

Delayed response to people or environment

Lack of concentration

Reduced creativity

Reduced work efficiency, productivity

SUGGESTED METHOD OF DEALING WITH STRESS

1. Build resistance to stress by regular sleep and exercise.

2. As much as possible, separate your work life and personal life.

3. Engage in physical activity as tension reliever, such as bowling, swimming, racquetball, jogging, tennis (especially if your job is non-physical).

4. Talk problems through with peers on the job and your family at home. Have an open relationship with your peers and family. Group members can be helpful and supportive.

5. Know thyself! What stresses you? Be in tune with your own feelings. Trust them and share them. What level is best for you?

7. Be adaptive – flexible.

8. Engage in pleasurable experiences outside the job: recreation and hobbies (Safety valve activity).

9. Establish realistic goals for daily and weekly activities. Know your limits.

10. Approach tasks in collaboration with others, which increases a feeling of belonging.

11. Unwind after work. Sit by a lake, take a hot bath. Jogging for one-half hour.

12. Share your feelings, problems and concerns with a trusting friend.

13. Try to find solutions to your problems or at least try to take pieces of the problem and find solutions.

14. Decide what you usually like to do for relaxation and do it!

15. Break the chain of frustration. Deal with yours. Don’t pass them on!

16. Create a balance between work and relaxation in your life.