Study Overseas - An Australian Government Initiative

Study Overseas - An Australian Government Initiative

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Michelle Peters - China

Name: Michelle Peters

Country: Shanghai BoAi Childrens Rehabilitation Centre, Shanghai, China.
November 2005.

Enrolled Institution: Curtin University of Technology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Go Global program
2005 graduate BSc (Occupational Therapy)

Description of the experience:

The mere experience of travel alone is unique and eye-opening, especially coming from a Western country and visiting a place that not only looks and smells different, but where the people and customs are so far from our norm. Add the opportunity to meet and work with some of the most inspirational people with physical, financial and political barriers, and you’ve got a pretty exceptional experience. The children at BoAi were full of laughter, and sometimes tears. The greatest pleasure was being able to make them laugh, see them have fun and become excited. There was never a dull moment in the classroom, and even now when I think about some of the children, it brings a smile to my face. The Shanghai BoAi Rehabilitation Centre is small but full of happy people and lots of noise. It’s cosy and inviting, and all the staff really appreciated our presence alone. It’s like one big happy family and even though the staff are paid very little, they work hard and care for every child. We saw some interesting toileting and dining customs, but it’s all part of learning about China.

How many students can say they walked along the Great Wall of China whilst on a practicum for university? Without question, a spectacular attraction. It provides insight into the pride that the Chinese have for their country and culture, and rightfully so. I have since done a lot of travelling, to some of the most beautiful places in the world, and this is definitely one of the most unique tourist attractions. It’s different and unimaginable. The only other I can think of being comparable is the Colosseum in Rome.

We tasted some of the weirdest things liked drunken prawns (live) and ate food from the roadside, we communicated as best we could without any words at all, bargained in crowded markets like true Chinese and partied in bars with the best Chinese-American karaoke you can find. Where in Perth can you do that?

Benefits and insights:

Well obviously for me the number one benefit was travel. Going somewhere new and different and not knowing what to expect. Having the experience of working in a multicultural environment is highly regarded when looking for work in Perth, especially in Mental Health, which is an area I am very interested in. I also learnt skills which can be used in physical rehabilitation and hand therapy, including task analysis and sensory integration.

So for students unsure of which area they want to work in or even those sure that they don’t want to work in paediatrics, it is definitely a worthwhile learning opportunity. Since graduating I’ve had a couple of jobs where I’ve been thrown in the deep end and as I went without any experience in that particular area. My practicum in China greatly prepared me for this, as we has very little paediatric experience, and we problem solved as we went, trying anything and everything we could think of, using the resources available to us. We only had the assistance of our supervisor, Trevor Goddard, for the first ten days, so after he departed we were on our own for 3 weeks, with remote Curtin supervision and the BoAi staff and centre Director. However we learnt that we had the skills and adapted quite well. This is how it is in the working world of Occupational Therapy, you learn as you go. I had initially felt that we had not learned enough at university to enable us to work in different areas, but after this practicum I realised that we have learned the skills necessary to make clinical judgements and work with people with a variety of disabilities or illnesses. Something else I learnt, was that children all around the world, regardless of their status or culture, share the same need to learn, grow, laugh and play. And no matter how poor or how limited the resources, any child can play and enjoy themselves, and this is one of the most powerful therapeutic tools for working with children.

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Note: The Go Global: Curtin Health program is an international service learning initiative for students in the Faculty of Health Sciences. Long term relationships with four host sites across India, China, South Africa and Ukraine allow students to participate in a sustained work integrated learning experience that fuses cultural exposure, clinical experience and interdisciplinary learning while fulfilling the Curtin University mission of serving the wider region. The learning experience focuses on the common professional skills across the diversity of health sciences students while matching professional clinician skill sets with the needs of the host sits from a development perspective.

For further information on the Go Global Program please contact:

Trevor Goddard
Director of International Relations
School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work
Curtin University of Technology
GPO Box U1987
PERTH WA 6845
Ph +61 8 9266 3651
t.goddard@curtin.edu.au

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