Prior to my junior year of high school, Occupational Therapy was foreign to me. I was on a field trip that year when I was first exposed to an Occupational Therapy session, and I was not sure what was taking place. However, I was certain that I was beyond intrigued and immediately wanted to learn more. After extensively searching for information and continuously exposing myself to opportunities of learning, I knew that pursuing a career in Occupational Therapy was my desire, and I would do whatever it took to be successful in fulfilling it.
The field trip mentioned above was to a local organization known as First Step Incorporated in Hot Springs, Arkansas. First Step offers developmental treatment and therapeutic services for children and adults. The session I saw during this trip was unlike anything I had ever seen before. It looked enjoyable, interactive, and rewarding for not only the patient but for the therapist, too! This is a moment I will never forget because it was the moment I discovered that Occupational Therapy does not change who a
…show more content…
Malorie is the one person who has guided me throughout this journey, revealed the structure and reality of an Occupational Therapy program, and has fully supported me in pursuing this career. In 2018, she began her journey into becoming an Occupational Therapist, and her transparency regarding Occupational Therapy school has intensified the desire to pursue my schooling. I have become fully aware of the time, energy, and amount of work that goes into participating in a doctoral program. I intend on establishing connections, using my resources, pursuing this journey alongside other motivated individuals and continually reminding myself of why I chose this profession. I feel my tenacity for learning and dedication to success makes me a perfect candidate for the doctoral
Occupational Therapy is a therapy that blankets everything people do in their lives. Such a broad field can be very difficult to define. Unlike Physical Therapy who people instantly identify as a field that get people walking. In the past the vision of the field was broader. “In 2004 The Scenario were developed” a structure created with the Occupational Therapy framework.
She did not only want her profession to be different from her families, she wanted to make a difference in her community. One way she saw she could do this was in physical therapy. She knew she could impact the lives of many with physical therapy. It was calm, Monday evening as we sat down at her kitchen table
and intrigued by the mind-body connection as well as the importance of human activity and occupation in maintaining mental and physical well-being. At the same time, my desire to work directly with people and be able to make a positive and lasting change to their lives by empowering them and helping discover their strengths and confidence in themselves to achieve their goals, led me to a realization that a career in occupational therapy would be a perfect fit for me. To me occupational therapy is a dynamic, rewarding, challenging, and inspiring field where I can fully realize my skills and knowledge. Having always been a firm believer in the patient-centric approach, I am passionate about providing excellent service to patients by improving their performance, preventing illness and disability and promoting adaptation to life
Seeing these massive gains in her everyday function through occupational therapy sparked my interest in pursuing a degree in this field. While completing my Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science curriculum, I was given the opportunity to
The goal of this profession is to provide service to those in need of it. Responsibilities I may be granted include demonstrating and proposing specific equipment to the patients, observing, evaluating, educating patients and their kin, elaborating on treatment plans, and aiding those with various disabilities. A typical day in this career will likely involve traveling to numerous homes and discovering ways to help people lie their lives more comfortably. Occupational therapists usually work on their feet and might work night and weekend
Since eighth grade I have had this burning desire in my heart to become a pediatric occupational therapist. As a thirteen year-old I spend hours watching videos and reading about “what it takes to be an occupational therapist”. Passion was overwhelmingly the most popular answer. I knew the second I read the word “passion,” I had what it took to be a pediatric occupational therapist. I know that God has shown me that the path for me is to become a pediatric occupational therapist over and over again.
He lives in Alabama and did not get diagnosed until very late or receive proper services to help with his development. Growing up and visiting him showed me the importance of receiving services. Seeing this firsthand will aid me in one of my long-term professional goals of working with children who have these developmental delays. Another professional goal would be to work with those in the military or veterans. Both my parents are veterans and stressed the importance that serving in the military has on them as well as the experiences that you gain.
Occupational therapy saved my family. Growing up with a sister with severe spastic cerebral palsy to include both cognitive and functional deficits, life existed on a day to day, hour by hour basis, as we were unsure of challenges each moment would bring. This all changed the moment occupational therapy brought quality of life back to me and my family. My very personal experience defined my purpose to become an occupational therapist, to pay the gift given my family forward.
According to Aas & Bonsaksen (2022), while occupational therapists are built on valuing and focusing on the occupation-based practice approach, they seem to spend less time on it and more time on impairment-based practices due to several barriers to the occupation-based approach. Occupational therapists' roles are to encourage and promote health and well-being through occupation-based practices for everyday occupations that are meaningful to the client and to provide the occupational therapist with an understanding and perspectives that will help contribute to the participation of the persons, the groups, and the populations for occupational engagement (Boop et al., 2022). According to Aas & Bonsaksen (2022), this study was cross-sectional on occupational therapists. The participants were occupational therapists, and the questionnaire was based on what was meant by occupations and occupation based through open-based questions. The study found that occupational therapists self-reported high levels of occupation-based practice daily.
I have always had the intense desire to care and look after people from a very young age. I firmly believe that everyone deserves the best quality of life possible and this is what had drawn me to occupational therapy as a career path in the first place. It is so easy to take for granted all the everyday tasks we can do and we seldom consider the effect of not being able to complete them. As an occupational therapist I would be able to make a positive impact on someone’s life and make it possible for them to enjoy their life. I want the opportunity to provide support to people, help them gain independence and watch them grow more confident in their own ability.
Here I worked with individuals of all ages, treating physical, mental and emotional disabilities, including autism, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, muscular dystrophy, post-traumatic brain injury, and cognitive disorders. These volunteer experiences showed me how diverse the field of occupational therapy is, and this is where I fell in love with the
It was inspiring to see how appreciative the patient was in the thoughtfulness and creativity of the therapist in choosing an activity that she enjoyed. I also saw several patients who were uncooperative and slightly combative in their sessions, which is expected in a geriatric center. I think it is important for a prospective Occupational Therapist to realize the challenges that may accompany a healthcare practitioner duties and see how problematic situations are handled. I saw the therapists take into account the emotional state of the client by patiently asking questions as to how they can assist them with their dilemma. It was a valuable example of how an Occupational Therapist treats the whole person, including their psychological, emotional and even social needs.
I thought I knew what career path I wanted for my future, with that in mind, I sought a degree in Fitness and Human Performance to continue with a career in Occupational Therapy. In this career choice, the way I got to help patients was through therapy. While taking classes, I realized Occupational Therapy is not what I truly was passionate about. I decided to take my mother’s advice and choose what I truly love to do, which is to help people all around and I believe the nursing program would be the best fit. I am currently completing my certified nurse program to proceed with a job as a patient care technician.
When I first started my fieldwork at Creative Gifts I was unsure of what to do as an occupational therapy assistant student (OTAS). Though I have worked with this population, adults with developmental disabilities and am very comfortable in this setting, I am there in another capacity, as an occupational therapy (OT) practitioner. Once I started to see the clients from a perspective of an OT practitioner I was able to incorporate teachings that I learned from the classroom to help me provide services and create interventions for the clients on my caseload. I have had several situations at Creative Gifts, where I have encountered situations in which I felt that I was a true occupational therapy assistant (OTA) and felt confident in my skills.
I experienced how OT influenced far-ranging benefits in many areas of my life. Hence, I want to be of service to other people and inspire them. Having sustained such a trauma allows me to bring a unique perspective to OT because I will have gone through many of the same experiences as my potential patients. One of the interesting facets of OT is that it takes a comprehensive, holistic approach to helping patients.