On Topic

THE OFFICIAL NEWSLETTER OF SJSU SOTA

NOVEMBER 2018

WORLD DIABETES
DAY- 1

STUDENTS
SPEAK - 2

SOTA EVENTS - 4
FAST FACTS - 5

by Sonja Kramer

The International Diabetes Federation marks November 14th every year as World Diabetes Day, a day
to raise awareness for the disease and promote disease management. This year's theme is The
Family and Diabetes, which covers how diabetes impacts the family and friends of those affected,
and how family plays a role in diabetes management, prevention, and education.
According to AOTA, OT practitioners can play a strong role in diabetes management because we are
experts at analyzing performance skills necessary for everyday occupations. We can assist clients
with developing specific, measurable, and achievable goals regarding the seven behaviors identified
by the American Association of Diabetes Educators:  (1) healthy eating, (2) being active, (3)
monitoring, (4) taking
medications, (5) problem solving, (6) healthy coping, and (7) reducing risks (AOTA fact sheet)
Please visit these sites for more information: 
- https://www.idf.org 
- https://www.aota.org/~/media/Corporate/Files/AboutOT/Professionals/WhatIsOT/HW/Facts/Diabete
s%20fact%20sheet.pdf
SOTA meetings will be held on the first Wednesday of each month. Next one is Nov 7th!
 STUDENTS SPEAK
OTAC Experiences
By Colleen Nunn and Elaine Lau
In this Special Edition of Students Speak, our OTAC Representatives, Colleen Nunn, Class of
2019, and Elaine Lau, Class of 2020, give us some insight into the goings-on of the 2018
OTAC Annual Conference in Pasadena, CA

Colleen Nunn Elaine Lau

Colleen.Nunn@sjsu.edu elaine.lau@sjsu.edu

As your liaisons to the Occupational Therapy Association of California (OTAC), we were proud to
represent SJSU’s SOTA members at the recent OTAC Conference. The theme of this year’s Conference
was Building OT Capacity, and both of us spent the weekend saying “YES!” to many capacity building
opportunities. It was great to see so many SJSU students at Conference! For those of you who were not
able to attend, we would like to take this opportunity to share with you some of the highlights. It would
be impossible to capture and share all of the valuable resources, the learning opportunities, the
collegial spirit, and the fun that was shared at Conference, so we will focus on information that is most
likely to be helpful for SOTA members at this stage of our education. Please contact either of us
whenever you have questions about OTAC or our experience at the OTAC Conference. 

Honors and Awards

We are so proud of the members of our SJSU community who were honored at the OTAC Conference.
Dr. Jerilyn (Gigi) Smith was the California Foundation for Occupational Therapy’s (CFOT) honored lecturer
and gave an electrifying address about the power of saying yes. She spoke of how saying yes can open
up new opportunities and help people reach their professional and personal capacity. Saying yes allowed
Dr. Gigi to participate in extraordinary and exciting new experiences, including teaching in the
Philippines and leading the Vietnam FLP, and has widened her perspective as an occupational therapist.
Second-year student Serina Murphy said, “Dr. Gigi’s lecture was so heartfelt it moved me to tears. I felt
like she was speaking directly to students telling us not to be afraid of saying yes when asked to try a
new leadership position, even if at first we are uncomfortable. You never know what new doors may
open to you!”
Jessica Roestenburg, who is currently completing her level II fieldwork, received OTAC’s Outstanding
Student Award for her contributions to OT scholarship and research. And our current second-year
students, Kimiko McNeill and Madeline Horn, were both awarded CFOT scholarships. What an inspiring
bunch of OTs and OT students! Kimiko McNeill says, “Being eligible for CFOT scholarships is another
Mindfulness yoga at the lake Whitewater rafting
great advantage of being a member of OTAC. I would encourage all students to apply!”  
NBCOT Preparation
It’s never too soon to start preparing for the NBCOT exam! Shaun Conway, NBCOT senior director,
encouraged all occupational therapy students to register for a MyNBCOT account. “You can never sign up
too early. Even if you are only in your first or second year of school, having an account helps NBCOT to
stay in touch with you,” said Conway.

Other Helpful NBCOT Resources:

The NBCOT Certification Exam Handbook, found on the NBCOT website, is
your go-to resource for answers to anything you may need to know about
the exam application process.
Consider taking the FREE NBCOT self-assessment now and again after your
level II fieldwork to measure your growth and identify areas where you
need to improve before taking the exam.
Get an overview of exam content by perusing the
recently updated NBCOT Content Outline, and learn about other exam prep tools. 

According to a recent NBCOT poll of students who passed

the exam, students spent an average of 4 hours per day, 5
days a week, for 6 weeks preparing for the NBCOT exam.

NBCOT Student Knowledge Bowl

Our SJSU team took 3rd place this year in the NBCOT Student Knowledge Bowl! Chelsea Holsonbake,
Sonja Kramer, Tamara Turner, and Colleen Nunn (Bailey Fator was alternate) answered seven rounds
of questions similar to those on the NBCOT exam. West Coast University took home the grand prize
for the third year in a row. We challenge our SJSU first-year students to start preparing your team
(maybe looking at an NBCOT exam prep book?) for next year! It was a really fun and educational
experience.
Upcoming OTAC and Region 3 Events
Keep an eye out for more information coming your way about these upcoming events in OTAC and
especially in our very own Region 3! Let Colleen or Elaine know if you have questions.

Mindfulness OT Retreat in Monterey - February 3rd, from 9am-5:30pm

OTAC PAC Hockey Night Fundraiser - March, date TBD
OTAC Spring Symposium - March 16-17 at the Crown Plaza in San Diego
Advocacy Day!! - May 8, 9am-4pm at the State Capital in Sacramento

Session
orating with COTAs
Collab
Photo booth with
Professor George

Photo booth with

OTAC President
Dr. Heather Kitching
1st ye
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d 2nd
know years
each gettin
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bette
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 SOTA Events

Pumpkin decorating at the October

SOTA Board Meeting!

Past Events
Oct 3 - SOTA Board Meeting, Backpack Awareness Day
Oct 17 - Breaking Barriers: The Power of Occupational Therapy
Oct 27 - DogFest Walk'N Roll with Canine Companions for Independence
Future Events
Nov 7 - SOTA Board Meeting
Nov 12 - NorCal OT Student Meetup
Nov 19 - SOTA and Pre-OT Club Trivia NIght
 Fast Facts: NBCOT

National organization that Has resources for

provides initial and accessing evidence-
renewal certification for based articles to back up
occupational therapy your practice or further
practitioners (both OTR your research.
and COTA) in the United
States

Certification is good for Online certification

three years, and renewal renewal requires
season is between completion of the renewal
January-March each year application, completion of
regardless of your initial 36 units of continuing
certification date. education, and $65.