A pilot program between the Pueblo Community College Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) program and the Widefield School District 3 Transition Link Services program already is paying dividends for students in both groups.
Widefield is in El Paso County, about 40 miles north of Pueblo, and is part of the greater Colorado Springs metro area. For several weeks during the spring 2024 semester, a group of Widefield students made weekly trips to PCC’s Teaching and Learning Center at St. Mary-Corwin Hospital. Students in the transition program are between the ages of 18 and 21 and are preparing for independent living.
The collaboration began with a suggestion from Megan Paben, an occupational therapist with the Widefield district. Paben is a member of PCC’s OTA advisory board.
Janie Poole, coordinator of the transition program, was looking for ways to help students learn about activities of daily living such as doing laundry, making a bed, cooking and managing money.
As the American Occupational Therapy Association explains, occupational therapists and OTAs help people of all ages and abilities “do the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of daily activities (occupations).” Thanks to expanded space at the TLC, which opened in 2023, OTA Department Chair Tricia Vigil had everything required to fulfill Poole’s need.
“We want to utilize our building and all the great stuff we have,” said Vigil, “and this gave our students a great opportunity to work with their students.”
Jennifer Vette, OTA academic fieldwork coordinator, noted the significance of the school district’s commitment to the idea despite the added wrinkle of out-of-town travel.
“For them to be willing to transport their students down here because they saw the value in it was huge,” Vette said.
Most of the planning for the new exercise was managed by familiar face: Spencer Claussen, a 2016 PCC OTA graduate, came back to the program to do fieldwork for his master’s degree in occupational therapy. He attends Belmont University in Nashville.
“It was very cool to see an occupational therapist student supervise the OTA students,” said Vette.
Because this was a pilot program, the PCC first-year students who participated – Sammie Digby, Erica Ruiz Murillo and Emily Shafer – were volunteers. Their work with the Widefield group was done on their own time outside of class.
“The (Widefield) students were very participatory and that allowed me to give our students a lot more autonomy,” said Claussen. “There was supervision but it wasn’t super structured.”
Poole was impressed with the level of connection between her students and the PCC group.
“They took the time to get to know them, ask questions, asked us questions, and planned icebreaker games to help the students feel at ease,” said Poole.
Students focused on a different area each week. To teach money management, the OTA students helped them plan a menu and grocery shop online while staying within a budget. The highlight of the final week was a pancake-making contest that utilized multiple skills – meal planning, budgeting, cooking and cleaning.
By that point, the young adults from Widefield were comfortable interacting and addressing the future OTAs by name. PCC students got to put their classroom instruction into practice and make valuable personal connections.
“It felt like a partnership or friendship instead of a teacher-student relationship,” said Claussen. “I expected it to go well, but it exceeded expectations. The amount of growth from the first week to the last was incredible.”
Due to the initial success, planning is underway to continue the program this fall and make it a Level I fieldwork experience that provides a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on experience for OTA students.
“The activities the PCC students planned were relevant to the needs of our students, age appropriate, and well executed,” said Poole. “I am really looking forward to a collaboration next school year.”
