Amanda Blom: Finding connection in an ever-evolving field

Amanda Blom at her OT graduation ceremony in 2015. 

Alumna Amanda Blom’s path to occupational therapy (OT) was a natural continuation of the care she was already providing. With an undergraduate degree in rehabilitation psychology and a job in which she facilitated play therapy for children, pursuing OT wasn’t a far stretch.  

“I loved our class. We were like a little family. The connections we made were one of the best parts of the experience and it's been rewarding to see some of my classmates become colleagues over the years,” Blom said. “I also really appreciated the program itself— our professors were experts in their field and they continuously challenged us to think critically and approach problems from different perspectives.”

During her second year of the program, she completed two field work rotations. The first was in an inpatient behavioral health unit— though she was interested in mental health work, she learned she didn’t enjoy inpatient settings. Her second rotation was in a transitional care unit in a nursing home, where she accepted a job working with medically complex patients after graduating from the program in 2015. Later, she decided to pursue a lymphedema certification and began working in home care. 

“[Lymphedema care is] more specialized, but you can still put an OT twist on it because you have to help patients problem solve how to manage their swelling at home and how to set up their environment to work for them,” Blom said. “I worked home care during the [COVID-19] pandemic, so… we were kind of the lifelines between some patients, their doctors and their family members.”

After working in home care from 2019 to the spring of 2022, Blom accepted a job in Mayo Clinic’s outpatient lymphedema and cancer rehabilitation clinic. One of her passions is helping manage patients’ cancer fatigue, while also being able to work with lymphedema patients. In addition to developing a more standardized practice for working with breast, head and neck cancer patients, her unit facilitates cancer fatigue sessions that focus on helping patients manage their time, engage in hobbies and meaningful occupations, and examine their life beyond medical treatment.

“That really stems from [what] we learned in school about putting the person first and not letting their situation define them— it's just another hat they're wearing,” Blom said. “Everyone always told me, before and after the program, how my ability to make connections with people, ask those questions and find what's meaningful to them [is important], it is my super power.”

A large part of her job is deducing how to use her skills as an OT to help patients find avenues for movement and exercise beyond repetitive stretching or weight lifting, such as gardening, laundry and childcare. Blom was diagnosed with Cushing Syndrome last year, a background which she believes offers her a helpful perspective while working with people with cancer, in particular those with long term fatigue, and knowing the countless medical appointments, surgeries and side effects they need to navigate in order to feel like themselves again.

“When you make those connections and share those stories, it helps patients cope with what they're going through, know they’re not alone and use it as a tool to try not to let their cancer or diagnosis define them,” Blom said.

Blom has been an occupational therapist for 11 years now, but she’s been a lifetime Wisconsin Badgers fan. Despite that, she says she’ll also “forever be a Gopher because I wouldn’t be where I am without the program.” She’s excited to see how the program and the field of OT continue to develop. 

“Healthcare is always changing and sometimes that’s a hard skill to learn, but I think the program did a great job for teaching us to expect the unexpected,” Blom said. “I think that's the beauty of the profession itself; it changes as society changes, it's always evolving…and that's how I like to think of myself as a clinician, too. To constantly be growing and changing and doing what's best for myself, but also for patients.”