CHCS - Perspectives - Summer/Fall 2014

PERSPECTIVES • SUMMER–FALL 2014 31 OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY Fort Lauderdale Second-year students Anne Marie Popgoshev and Alexandra Aguelles recently accompanied Dr. Adrienne Lauer to Ireland on fieldwork experience related to their Professionalism and Lead- ership course. Dr. Lauer and the students visited ChildVision— the National Education Center for Blind Children in Ireland where Dr. Lauer worked previously. This is the third year students have traveled to Ireland for fieldwork related to this course. This year’s successful trip offered excellent opportunities for interprofessional collaboration between the optometry and oc- cupational therapy programs. The College of Optometry’s chief of low vision and geriatrics, Nicole Patterson, O.D., assis- tant professor of optometry, and her resident in low vision, Kel- lie Bassion, O.D., also traveled with Dr. Lauer and her students to the school. The NSU team was involved in a two-way ex- change of information regarding services for the blind and vi- sually impaired in a session with the director of ChildVision, Brian Allen. Drs. Patterson and Bassion evaluated several pre- school-aged children, providing valuable information for both parents and teachers. While visiting the country, the students and doctors examined the similarities and differences in health care delivery within their respective fields in Ireland versus the United States. Dr. Lauer and the MOT students also met with Jamie Regan, director of Hand On Heart Enterprises—a social entrepreneurship entity whose focus is providing work for persons with disabilities. They were also able to meet with software engineer Brain O’Carroll of Grapevine Assistive Technology, which is an Irish company offering computer access solutions for people with disabilities. By Adrienne Lauer, ed.D., OTR/L, Assistant Professor of Occupational Therapy MOT Students Serve in Ireland