Frances Gee, MS, OTR/L: OT in Teaching Mental Health
In this post, we will learn from Frances Gee, MS, OTR/L (she/her/hers). Frances is a Registered Occupational Therapist who specializes in teaching mental health. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Master of Science degree in Occupational Therapy from San Jose State University. Frances has 36 years of clinical experience as an occupational therapist and her areas of expertise include mental health, long-term acute care, psychiatric and physical disabilities home health, and academia. Frances has been a faculty member in the Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) Program at Stanbridge University, Irvine, and Alhambra, California campuses, since July 2013 and has transitioned to serving as an adjunct faculty member as of August 2023.
Q & A with Frances:
Please tell us a little about yourself and some of your favorite occupations.
I am an occupational therapist with nearly 30 years of experience working in mental health and acute long-term care. I have also worked in skilled nursing and short-term acute care. I left clinical practice in January 2015 and made the shift to academics; I am a full-time faculty member in the OTA Program at Stanbridge University. Outside of work, I am an avid music lover; I attend many concerts, including jazz festivals. I am an occasional wine aficionado and I enjoy cooking, and a bit of traveling as well.
What motivated you to contribute to this podcast series?
Patricia, it is your inspiring vision to devote this podcast series to uncommon areas, and less common areas as well, of clinical OT practice. I admire the experiences that many of your podcast guests have had, which brought them to the practices that they have now.
Please describe the UncommonOT work that you do and the setting in which you work, the population you serve, and the needs that you address.
I am an academician; I teach full-time in the OTA Program at Stanbridge University. My home base is the original Irvine campus, but I have also taught extensively at Stanbridge's Alhambra campus. I serve OTA students of various adult ages, ranging from straight out of their high school years to middle-aged adults. I have to say that I am pleased to be working with more male OTA students, as there were very few male students attending OT school back in the years that I was in OT/graduate school. I also served as a clinical Level I [virtual] fieldwork instructor for Stanbridge's MSOT Program, as the program administration was short of faculty who had extensive experience working in mental health. In addition to my OTA Faculty duties, I have the honor of mentoring a group of four MSOT students as their Thesis Advisor for their Master's Thesis.
What inspired you or drew you to this type of OT work?
Throughout my career as an OT in clinical practice, various colleagues from a few disciplines encouraged me to pursue a career in teaching, as they were very impressed with how well I communicated with my patients in providing skilled OT interventions for them, and in maintaining supportive therapeutic relationships with them. Many years ago I had applied and interviewed for an adjunct faculty position at a different OTA program, but the low enrollment at that time prohibited the OTA Program Director from doing any hiring, so the time ultimately was not the right time for me to teach. I eventually had my opportunity to teach in the summer of 2013 when I signed on with Stanbridge as an adjunct instructor in the OTA Program. The vacancy for my full-time position opened up at the time I had lost my father to prostate cancer. This was a signal to me that the time was right to make that major shift out of clinical practice into the University classroom, on a full-time basis!
How did you get there? Can you describe your path?
I went ahead and described my path in the previous question! Before my father's health took that turn for the worst, he had been encouraging me to consider getting out of clinical practice, as the wear and tear of physical disabilities and long-term acute care was wearing me down physically; I was ready for a change. When Dad passed, I knew that the time had come to focus on working with individuals who would go on to careers that would support themselves, and their families, and be very fulfilling. It was something of a professional transformation for me.
Please describe a typical day or OT session in your uncommon setting. What OT skills do you utilize?
Our communities are operating on variable COVID-19 health and safety protocols, so for this academician/OTR, there is no such thing as typical! As of next week, I am teaching an online course, Mental Health Basics with the new cohort from the Alhambra campus, in addition to a Documentation course twice a week, on the Irvine campus with another cohort. Then comes the more involved duties as a thesis advisor, as the MSOT students are developing the proposal presentations and they are submitting their IRB applications for their respective research projects. I do a lot of assignment grading, quiz and exam proctoring, e-mailing, and occasional tutoring. I use many OT skills on a daily basis: Time management, problem-solving, decision-making, mindfulness, assertiveness training, and I utilize many more mental health OT skills on a daily basis, particularly during the past two-plus years of this pandemic.
Can you talk about some recent highs (successes) and lows (challenges) of your current role?
In general terms, the highs are seeing our OTA students make those connections between theory and practice; it is amazing to witness over a few short years their professional growth. For the first time in about three years, we will be having the traditional graduation ceremony for our Class of 2019-2022 graduates at the Bren Center on the UC Irvine campus; this is always an honor, to be a part of their growth and success in completing a rigorous academic program en route to becoming licensed occupational therapy assistants. Lows or challenges? There are stretches of the year where I have a wickedly heavy courseload of classes and said Fieldwork project, so there is little time left over for me to do the supportive things like complete assignment grading and finalize course grades. The deadline to complete the latter task is very, very tight. This is why time management is a very important skill. Either manage the time well or work most evenings and weekends to get things done.
How do you continue to learn in order to stay on top of things within your role?
Conference sessions for sure. With current events including the ongoing pandemic, not to mention numerous crises happening [inter]nationally, there's the material that we instructors could draw on to illustrate how we need to apply coping skills.
Can you share a little bit about salary and compensation in this setting? How do OT or the services you provide get funded?
As a full-time employee of a university, I am salaried. In all of my years as an OT, this is the first position I have worked for which I am paid on a salaried basis.
Any career advice for our followers and listeners on how to get started on this path?
Do some investigating about adjunctive vs. full-time teaching positions in local OTA programs. Ask yourself if you are passionate enough about teaching full-time, to give up your present full-time position. A few of my colleagues have been energetic enough to keep a per-diem job as a clinician as a side job, to stay fresh with their clinical skills. Others were passionate enough about teaching to give up working in clinical practice. One could also ask questions of anyone they know who is teaching, to learn about the advantages vs. the disadvantages of being an academician.
What’s a common myth or misconception about your job/role you’d like to call out or demystify?
“Knowing it all” is impossible, however, it is helpful to have years of experience in the courses that you will be teaching. Mental health OT is my first love of practice, and I tell everyone in the OT field that no matter what practice area you serve in, you will always be making good use of your acquired mental health OT skills. As I gained my years of experience working in long-term acute care, this was so true for me. I was addressing plenty of mental health issues with my medically ill and compromised patients.
How do we find you, follow you, be in touch with you and promote your unique work?
Feel free to e-mail me at fgee@stanbridge.edu anytime!
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/frances-gee-71235b35/
Stanbridge University https://www.stanbridge.edu/program/msot
As always, I welcome any feedback & ideas from all of you or if you are interested in being a guest on future episodes, please do not hesitate to contact Patricia Motus at transitionsot@gmail.com or DM via Instagram @transitionsot
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