My first experience with traumatic brain injury was in high school when a close friend's dad was in a horrible motorcycle accident. He was in a coma for months while we all tried to remain positive that he would survive. He miraculously came out of the coma, although he had a long road ahead of him. After an extensive rehabilitation period, he was able to return home. This was an important experience for me as I saw first hand not only how a TBI affects the person, but how it affects the family and the importance of support from community and health care professionals.
Today in class, we talked about cultural competence, what it is, and why it’s important. What I took away from the lecture the most was how to gain cultural competence. I grew up in a small town in East Tennessee, and moving across the state to Memphis is even a huge change for me. I think it’s important in my journey through OT school and future career to have cultural competence, because I will be in contact with a wide variety of people. Some key things we discussed in class include self-reflection, exposure, and interdisciplinary or inter-professional relationships. Self-reflection is huge in revealing to yourself what you know and think about different cultures and molding those thoughts if necessary. Like I said earlier, I grew up in a small town, and although traveling some, I haven’t had many opportunities to expose myself to other cultures. Contact with other students and professors in the OT program and other programs is a good step as well in gaining ...
Hi Whitney, Thank you for sharing that story. I had a similar experience in high school with a friend's mother; I worked as a candy striper at the hospital in my hometown and will never forget watching his mom (a teacher at my school) go through the recovery process with her family by her side. It is just that type of experience that helps to shape who we become as OT practitioners.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I love the design of your blog!