Presentation, Essay, SMG Trainer Recert

I'm done with my paperwork for the fiscal year, I did my Russian studies presentation, I finished my Social Psych paper, and I recertified as a Safe Management Instructor. It's been a whirlwind of a few days. Now I've just got a paper next week, and a test the week after and I'm done with the semester.

Last Sunday I had a full day of direct support work, then I had to get my paperwork into the Extend-a-Family dropbox because it was due by Monday. I couldn't bring it in earlier, because I needed two signatures from the people I worked with on Sunday. So I finish work at 9:00 PM and need to bus over to the office. Usually I just need one bus to get home, but it takes two to get to the office, and two to get home from there. So my one bus turns to four, and it's Sunday, so they only come every 45 minutes.

I get home at 11:30 and still need to finish my powerpoint so I can present by 1:00 the next day. I stay up all night and the next day I feel like my brain is bleeding.

I'm last in the day to present, so I have the whole class to compare my presentation to my peers and convince myself I don't stack up. Nerves are mounting. I didn't even get the chance to do a trial run beforehand and make sure my time is sufficient.

My subject is the psychological impact of being a doctor in Russia during the transition of Slavophlism (traditional Russian medical practices) to Westernism (adopting other European techniques) and comparing two characters from pieces of literature by Ivan Turgenev that we'd studied in class, one of them being a Slavophile and the other a Westernist.

We were supposed to present the topic that we will write our essay on. We'd already written an abstract for the essay, so I didn't have a choice on what to present.

My abstract had been done quickly. It had been due the same day I had to do that abstract art presentation and my field trip report. So I'd been exhausted that day as well. I leafed through the course content, pieced a few related bits together, and had written my abstract on that.

Despite continually encouraging us to use content covered within the course, all the presenters before me had found unique sources, so I was feeling fairly unoriginal. The instructor was giving feedback too, some more positive than others, so I felt like if I didn't really sell my topic, I'd get exposed.

Somehow, I managed to swing it. I was told I had a "very interesting interpretation" of the topic and she "looks forward to reading my essay" without any constructive feedback.

I went back home, decided I would finish my essay right away after I took a nap. Woke up at 4:00 AM the next day.

So now it's Tuesday and my SMG recert is on Wednesday. My cofacilitator is driving me to the office in Oakville where the training is being done. She lives in Guelph so we've arranged to leave from there, so I need to be in Guelph Wednesday morning, which means I have to travel on Tuesday. My essay is due Tuesday at midnight (submitted online), so I'm writing my essay as I travel.

Manage to get the essay done. Wake up at 6 the next day and leave at 7:15 AM.

If you'll remember, I've been to Oakville before, when they sent me there when I was supposed to be in London Ontario. It was the correct location this time. Felt weirdly nostalgic even though I'd only been there one night and one morning.

I was pretty nervous. Each trainer was randomly selected a segment of the course and we had to present it to the other recertifying trainers, as well as a Safe Management official in charge of evaluating us. I got "Limits and Interpersonal Boundaries". Basically talking about written and unritten rules, the importance of consistency in a staff team, and deciding what is and is not appropriate to share about our personal lives and the people we serve. I did fine. I "took it from a number of interesting angles and engaged the audience well". It was honestly kind of a love fest though. I don't think anyone got any real constructive feedback, we just spoke to each others strengths.

Then we had a written test, which was more difficult for some but I got through fine. Then we each had to instruct three or four physical techniques. I lucked out hardcore. I got Safety Position Basics, Safety Position A, Safety Position B, and The Worm.The Safety Positions are the first part of the physical component and basically shows in what way you should be standing depending on the level of aggression that you're dealing with. Basics as just a general rule, Position A for a lightly escalating situation, and Position B for a more imminent one. Simple stuff, and all pretty similar.

The Worm is a bit more intricate. That's the technique for assisting someone in escaping from a hair pull.

I got through it. In my initial training, I stumbled over one of the techniques but this time I was successful on each on the first try. I also did better on the written component this time around. The presentation too, come to think of it. I guess you do get better the more you do it.