Thomas Wilson - Student Blog 2/12/25

Hello everyone!

We started this semester off with an exciting week of celebrations. First we received our white coats! This was an important milestone in our preparation to care for future patients. After our white coat ceremony we were able to participate in the famous Gasparilla parade. Many of us lived up to our mascot by dressing and acting like pirates for the day. This prized pirate parade is a trademark of the Tampa Bay area and the people we will serve in the future as students at IIOP. We have also enjoyed getting to know the Spring 2025 cohort, bakers dozen. Our SGA kicked off the semester by gathering both cohorts for a fun night of bowling.

Our first class, Orthotic Management of the Upper Limb has allowed us to spend the majority of our time in the lab building devices. Our first project of the semester was a Wrist Hand Orthosis. With some hard work we were able to produce some awesome results. This project was a great starting point as we gained more independence during the process of creating orthotics. After a couple projects under our belts we are feeling inspired to dive into our next class with spinal orthotics!