UNE occupational therapy students learn new perspectives in 摩洛哥

A group of students and faculty from the University of New England’s Master of 科学 in Occupational 的rapy (M.S.O.T.)项目 在那里呆了10天 University’s campus in 丹吉尔、摩洛哥, 1月, as they completed clinical activities and attended the sixth annual Occupational 的rapy Association of 摩洛哥 Conference (OTAM).

三年级二年级.S.O.T. students attended the trip, as did program director Kris Winston, Ph.D.， i / o, i / o, i / o. 这是 Occupational 的rapy (OT)项目’s fourth such trip to 摩洛哥 to participate in the OTAM conference, which this year was held in the city of Kenitra.

的 annual trip offers students and faculty an opportunity to meet OT practitioners from around the globe, while also having the opportunity to connect with OT practitioners in 摩洛哥, where OT is a new profession compared to the U.S., where the profession is over 100 years old. 

学生 also have the opportunity to explore a variety of daily occupations through a new cultural lens and expand their perspectives on engagement in daily occupations. 在会议上, UNE students participated in a panel with Moroccan OT students to discuss methods for handling stress, both as students and while on clinical placements from the two cultural perspectives. 

在丹吉尔, the group spent time at the Fraternity Association for 人 with Disabilities, a local school for children with developmental delays, 俗称“兄弟会”.” 的re, the students provided activities and 花时间和孩子们玩. Winston noted that play is the primary occupation of children.

米歇尔·特奥多罗(M.S.O.T., ’24) said visiting 的 Brotherhood was one of her favorite parts of the trip.

“We had the opportunity to work with individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities,特奥多罗说. “We danced together and worked on fine motor skills through crafting, one of the crafts we did together was one of the crafts we did during our first semester at UNE in our Occupational Analysis class. It was an awesome full circle moment.”

Winston remarked that such community immersions are important in forming well-rounded occupational therapy practitioners.

“作为未来的职业技术人员, it is vitally important to understand the context and environment in which people from various backgrounds and cultures engage in occupation,温斯顿说. In order to immerse in the daily occupations experienced in 摩洛哥, the group explored local cultural sites with historical guides.”

Highlights of this immersion for the students included exploring the Medina, the cultural city center of Tangier, the city of Asilah; learning to barter; eating traditional Moroccan foods; and practicing speaking in Arabic to communicate in restaurants and shops. 的 students also took a class to learn how to cook with a tagine and to make bread cooked in a communal oven.