The AAOP conference was a great experience. There was so many things for us to learn, observe, and ask questions about. We met some great people in the field and benefited from the experience.
Thank you to each clinic and individual who helped to make this trip possible for us.

Photos from San Francisco

Alcatraz

The view from the Marriott Hotel (where the conference was)

Lisa checking out the fresh crabs at Fisherman's Wharf

The famous bush man of San Francisco. He hides behind the branches and then pops out and scares people as they walk by. Ask Lisa about this . . .

Coit Tower, seen from Lombard Street.

March Madness

Well, the last few weeks have been extremely busy. Just over a week before our spring break, we finally raised enough money for our trip to the American Academy of Orthotists and Prosthetists’ annual meeting in San Francisco. (Thank you sooo much to all of you who supported us!!) We then had a quick rush to book flights, hostel accommodation, and conference tickets. The time was tight (especially since we had midterm exams to deal with at the same time), but we got it done. Yippeee! We’re going to San Francisco!!

The first two days of our spring break were spent helping out with the CAPO Exam Preparation Course that took place at BCIT. Interns from all over Canada came here to spend 3 days to get advice on how to handle their Certification Exams. Most of us students played the role of Mock Examiner for the CBCPO Mock Oral Examination. We were each given a list of questions on various topics to ask the interns. Even though this course was meant to help out the interns, it was also an awesome learning experience for us. It gave us a preview of what is coming down the road for us in future years. So now we have a better idea of the type of questions that will be asked during the oral exams and can already start to focus on how to answer them.

After the mock exams, most of us separated to our home cities to have a couple days to see family and friends before we would gather together again in San Francisco.

Victoria Shananigans

So this is my first post - hopefully it will work properly. We're now 9 weeks into the second semester, and next week is our week-long spring break. It's definately a welcome change from all the exams and assignments we've had due during the last couple weeks. It's also a time when the profs seem to like to pile upcoming assingments on. Anyways, over the last two weeks, a bunch of us (Me, Petra, Kevin, Jody, Duane, and Peter) ventured out of our familiar BCIT classroom and boarded a ferry to take us to unknown far off lands. Ok, actually it was only Queen Alexandra's Children's hospital over in Victora. We were fortunate to assess, cast, and fit a couple patients each (not to mention eat some good cookies, cinnamon buns, and coffee cake). The fittings went good for the most part, we got to experience some crazy driving in a cramped 2001 Dodge Caravan thanks to James, 2 early morning, and 2 early evening ferry rides (at $11 each...I'm still a little bitter), crashing video game systems, crazy old guys with huge glasses trying to pick up much younger woman, a guy who had a HUGE luggage case that resulted in much speculation as to its contents (it was a kayak...told you Petra), and way too many episodes of age-unappropriate cartoons. All in all, it was a good time.

Hot Legs On Saturday Night

As promised, here are those Gorgeous Brown Slingbacks worn by one of the 9 Males in the Class.
Thanks again to our Volunteer that will remain Unnamed.
He did it in the name of Science and Biomechanics.

Midterm Madness...cont?

For those of you who aren’t like me and don’t spend the last two weekends of March glued to the TV, March madness is the NCAA men’s basketball tournament where 64 teams compete for world supremacy or at the very least a national championship. What makes this tournament so great is that it’s full of surprises, heartache, excitement, agony, and disbelief and that’s just within the first game. Anyway your probably asking yourself what does this have to do with midterms? Well I can tell you from past experience with tests and this last week of midterms that we as a class have experienced all of these emotions and more and there is still with one more test to go…the national championship you might say.


I believe that following this week of exams we are all going to breath a collective sigh of relief and hope and pray that everything went according to plan. But if our efforts end in vain we need to realize that success does not come to those that do not try or a William Shakespeare writes

“Our doubts are traitors, and make us lose the good we oft might win, by fearing to attempt”


Michael

Mid-Term Maddness

Wow! Where has the time gone? We're already smack dab in the middle of mid-terms. Another week and a half to go with our noses in the books. Not to mention all the assignments we have on the go. We are all looking forward to Spring Break which is only 3 weeks away, followed by our class trip to San-Fran for the American Academy Conference. We're still in the middle of fundraising for the trip, and we would like to thank everyone who have generously donated. But we still need some more funds so....Ring Those Phones!!!.....Ring Those Phones !!! Our AFO fittings have been going great, and we will be starting foot orthotics after spring break. Some of us will be sticking around BCIT for the first weekend of spring break to help out with the review course, which will be a great experience seeing the participants sweat it out getting ready for their exams. Sorry I can't write any more, I have an anatomy book calling my name........alright already, I'm coming.....geez!!! There it is again, got to go.