Second-Year Occupational Therapy Student: Madison DeLong

Hi, my name is Madison DeLong and I am a second-year Occupational Therapy (OT) student at Salus University! I earned my undergraduate degree from West Chester University in Exercise Science with a concentration in Pre-Occupational Therapy and a minor in Psychology.

I knew for the longest time I wanted to be in a career within healthcare where I would be able to change the lives of my patients for the better and allow them the opportunity to be able to complete the occupations that our most vital to them. That is when I knew OT was the right career for me. The OT profession is very holistic as it is individualized to every patient and requires you to think outside the box and be creative with intervention ideas.

I chose to pursue my graduate education and receive my Master of Science in Occupational Therapy here at Salus University. Salus provided me with amazing resources and the support needed for me to be a successful student and an even more successful clinician in the near future. Each facility member within the OT department teaches the didactic course that is related to their practice area, making lectures more realistic as they can provide real-life examples. Salus University is an amazing university filled with numerous opportunities for fieldwork placements and future work in the surrounding greater Philadelphia region. At Salus, I am a member of the Student Occupational Therapy Association (SOTA), Coalition of Occupational Therapy Advocates for Diversity (COTAD), and a work study student in the Hafter Center.

Currently, I am almost halfway through my first level 2 fieldwork. I am currently at a senior living community (SLC) in Malvern, Pennsylvania where I am working alongside an OTR/L with the LSVT certification to provide the utmost care to our patients. Some typical diagnoses we see within the SLC include Parkinson’s disease, Cancer, Pulmonary fibrosis, dementia, falls, generalized weakness, cerebral vascular accidents, traumatic brain injury, and many more.

This is what a typical day looks like:

6:30 a.m.: I wake up, and get ready by getting dressed and packing my book bag, gym bag, and lunch bag. I then head to my kitchen to make some breakfast.

7:45 a.m.: I head out the door and make my 45-minute commute to my fieldwork site (stopping for coffee on the way if I didn’t make any)

8:30/8:45 a.m.: I arrive at my fieldwork site, get my scheduler ready to see what patients we have, look to see if there is anyone with a change in medical status, any new additions to caseload, and get supplies ready (PPE, Ix activities, etc.)

9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.: See patients, write orders for new patients, eat lunch, and begin to complete documentation

3:30 to 4:00 p.m.: Leave my fieldwork site and head to the gym

4:00 to 5:30 p.m.: Workout and take a much-needed mental break

5:30 to 6:00 p.m.: Finally return home to shower, eat dinner, and finish any documentation that I didn’t finish during the day and prep for the next day

7:30 p.m.: At this time I put all my work down and do something relaxing for myself whether that is a read a book or watch a show/movie.

10:00 p.m.: Bedtime!