OTA senior pays it forward by creating educational podcast

KOKOMO, Ind. - Choosing a career path as an occupational therapy assistant was an overwhelming process for Reiley Hiser.

As she considered the many options available, the Indiana University Kokomo senior thought about how she could share all the viewpoints she had gathered with other students trying to decide the right workplace for them.

As her capstone project, she created a six-episode podcast, Discovering Your OT Path, featuring interviews with occupational therapy practitioners in hand therapy, driving rehabilitation, oncology rehabilitation and hospitals, schools, outpatient pediatrics, and skilled nursing. Each episode also includes a question like one that might be on the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy exam, to help students prepare for the board exam.

"I went into this program at the beginning not knowing where I was going," said Hiser, from Alexandria. "By the time we started our capstones we had to choose, but I had no idea what I wanted to go into. I interviewed people in six different settings, talking to them about what they do, what they love about it, and what traits people have to fit into those areas."

Through the interviews, she ruled out hand therapy and has applied for a school-based OTA position.

The School of Nursing and Allied Health Professions and the Indiana Occupational Therapy Association shared the podcast on their social media channels.

Hiser said there are many additional areas of practice she didn't cover, leaving the podcast as something another person could build on in the future.

"I feel like I'm leaving it as a legacy," she said.

In addition to her classes, Hiser played on the women's tennis team, worked in the campus library, served as class representative in her program, participated in the Student Sustainability Council and the OTA student organization, and was a Cougar athletics fan, attending many games, matches, and meets.

"There is so much IUK offers, and I want people to know there is so much to do," she said.

The opportunity to play tennis first brought Hiser to IU Kokomo, where she planned to prepare for a graduate program in physical therapy. However, while going on a KEY trip to the Midwest Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium, a faculty member suggested the new OTA program might be a good fit. She investigated it and found it was exactly what she wanted.

"In occupational therapy, you help people adapt their lives and make them as independent as they can be in activities of daily living," she said. "We may go to someone's house and teach them to use a toilet with risers that help them transferring themselves from a wheelchair. The next person may need to work on upper body range of motion. I love that we can help people in so many different ways."

She liked the hands-on aspects of the program, including performing assessments of the campus while using mobility equipment, and being required to make a trip on the Kokomo Trolley system while using a wheelchair.

"These are the kinds of things we may have to do if someone is transferring home after a hospital stay," she said, adding that she navigated the campus library, auditorium, elevators, and bathroom in a wheelchair, in addition to using the trolley system to get to the grocery store and back to campus.

"Our faculty encouraged us to experience what it's like to use the equipment, so we're not just telling them what to do, we understand what they are going through," she said, specifically commending Christina Douglas, clinical assistant professor and OTA program director; Christine Davis, clinical associate professor and OTA academic fieldwork coordinator; and Jennifer Negron, lecturer of occupational therapy.

"They do everything in their power to make sure we're following the standards and getting everything we need to succeed," she said. "When I went to my field work site, I knew a lot and I felt prepared to be hands-on."

Education is KEY at Indiana University Kokomo.