In life, people are sometimes granted with unfortunate, troubling situations. In some of these circumstances, people lose the ability to complete daily tasks such as brushing their teeth, going to the restroom, getting dressed, doing the dishes, and so on (Choices360). When people get caught here, they need a great quantity of help, and not help from just anybody. Victims of these circumstances could use someone to help them learn skills either for a short period of time while they are gaining back strength from a surgery or an injury, or for a long period of time during which they may be physically and/or mentally disabled. Luckily, there are professionals out there to help people with these conditions; they are known as occupational therapists. …show more content…
One of these benefits is that I would have a substantial amount of time for my personal life, depending on my employer. There are many different atmospheres in which an occupational therapist could work. For example, one could work in a school with children, in the military with disabled veterans, in a visiting nurses’ association with patients who cannot leave their homes, in a mental health facility with mentally as well as physically disabled patients, and many more (Gannon University); the majority of these jobs consist of a forty-hour workweek. I know of an occupational therapist who works in multiple different schools, keeps up with her work while on the job, and has a relatively predictable schedule when it comes to what times she will be working each day. She thus has the opportunity to be the assistant coach of her daughter’s basketball team, go shopping, and have fun with her friends and family on a regular basis. In a different affair, in my interview with Kristi Say, who has worked in the military, done internships in a neurology unit and in a mental health setting, and currently works with Clarion-Forest’s Visiting Nurses’ Association, I learned that your amount of personal time truly depends on where you work and what you limit yourself too (Say). For example, Kristi had almost no time for her personal life when she was working in the army since she was constantly on work trips, lived with her coworkers, and had quite a bit of paperwork that she did not have time to finish while on the job; the job was also very demanding and wore her thin as time went on due to overworking and the mental health illnesses festering in the lives of the veterans (Say). With her new job at the Visiting Nurses’ Association, she makes her own schedule and does her charting in her car while sitting in her patients’ driveways within a few short minutes. This saves her time and allows her to work around her
According to the United States Department of Labor they explain that, “Occupational therapists treat patients with illnesses, Injuries, and disabilities through therapeutic use of everyday activities. Occupational therapist help patients recover, improve, and develop the skills
Though occupation usually refers to a job, a person’s occupation is initially determined by what their everyday life consists of. When a person becomes incapable of performing the tasks that they are expected to do in their everyday life due to developmental delays, physical injury, or psychological problems they are often referred to an occupational therapist. Occupational therapists, or OTs, usually have occupational therapy assistants, often called OTAs. The OT gives the OTA a set of objectives to help the patient achieve. Since people go through numerous occupations during the course of their lives, OT’s and OTA’s prov...
Sacket et al, cited in, Duncan, E,A,S, (2006) Foundtions for practice in Occupational Therapy, 4th edition, Elsevier Ltd.
Townsend & Polatajko (2007) state that “Occupational therapy is the art and science of enabling engagement in everyday living, through occupation; of enabling people to perform the occupations that foster health and well-being; and of enabling a just and inclusive society so that all people may participate to their potential in the daily occupations of life”.
Occupational therapy is projected to be one of the fastest growing jobs in the upcoming years. This job has the potential to be an exciting career for someone interested in a healthcare profession. One of the rewarding things about being an occupational therapist is the ability to help people reach their goals while earning a good salary and benefits. Occupational therapists help people across their lifespan by increasing their range of motion on their joints and helping people get back to their daily lives. Learning more about the origins of occupational therapy, what an occupational therapist does, how to become an occupational therapist, and what the job outlook is for this career may help someone make an informed decision about their potential career path.
My work experience helped me confirm my interest when I got to see the roles of Occupational Therapists first hand. I was able to spend time shadowing an individual from a special needs school, which moved onto being able to run sessions with minimal help in gross and fine motor skills with the children who have a wide range of disabilities. It was a great experience to observe how everyday objects could be used to help build up these skills and how much the children enjoyed the activities. I was also able to shadow an OT within the Early Intervention in Psychosis team, this
I find occupational therapy to pique my drive to teach people valuable life skills as well as learn from those people and their experiences. Being an occupational therapist would allow me to have one-on-one interactions with patients and establish meaningful relationships over the course of time. It would also give me the dutiful privilege and responsibility of instilling confidence in others and helping them realize their full potential in self-suffiency. All of my personal experiences, challenges, educational backgrounds, and professional interactions have guided me toward pursuing my goals of gaining experience working in all populations, enabling patients to thrive in their daily lifestyle, and spread public awareness of what OT has
People across the world participate in recovery programs every day. Dedicated people in professions, such as occupational therapy, work to help each person regain his or her ability to engage in everyday activities. One wishing to pursue a career in occupational therapy would first need to evaluate the career and the significant effects on themselves and the clients.
I have known from a young age that I wanted to help people, and since then I have searched for the opportunity and knowledge to be able to do just that. On that note, seeing the joy on my uncle’s face, after losing both of his legs and having to learn to walk again with prosthesis’s was so uplifting for me, to witness him so happy even though I wasn’t involved with his healing process. Consequently, I could only imagine how good it would feel to know that I helped him regain his independence and return a smile to his face. That was when I realized that I wanted to give back to people that are in need of assistance. These individuals may not be able to do anything about the position they are in, Hence when I become an Occupational therapist; I will
A., de Rijk, A., Van Hoof, E., & Donceel, P. 2011). The therapist has to assess the patient to see if they have a need for splints or supports which may benefit the patient and then step in to help design the specific assistive devices needed. It is the job of the occupational therapist to come up with plans to overcome the inconvenient limitations while still helping the patient to reduce strain and prevent further damage by teaching them techniques that will conserve their energy. There are a variety of different ways to make daily living much easier. The most crucial part of therapy is assessing the patient's environment. All the people, cultural conditions and physical objects that are around them, create their environment. The behavior and development of people is a direct result of the interaction between them and their surroundings. A patient's behavior is greatly affected when they are mismatched with their environment. A person's environment match is present when the person's level of competence matches the demands of the environment. Full participation by the patient is required to make it practicable. “The science and practice of occupational therapy are well suited to develop, refine, and test approaches to translate therapeutic gains into
Occupational therapy was based off of psychology; we evolved from treating mentally ill patients with isolation as an efficient treatment plan. We must never forget we are known to be “the art and science of helping people do the day-to-day activities that are important and meaningful to their health and well being through engagement in valued occupations” (Crepeau, Cohn, & Schell, 2008). To other professional disciplines this article explains the difference between each of us, yet can also express our relation to one another. The basic goal of all therapeutic disciplines is to better our clients life, through physical, speech or occupational therapy. Every discipline targets different goals, may it be body mechanics, reducing a stutter or buttoning a shirt, at the end of the day our clients well being may it be through science, art or both is all that matters. To the occupational therapy field this article means progress for what we do. Reading this article today in the year 2015 did not seem like old information to me, it is still relevant, I am proud that our field is not only evolving with contemporary time but it is also maintaining its
witnessed first-hand the impact occupational therapy can make in people’s lives, watching the delight of a
It is important for occupational therapists to get involved with individuals who are homeless because the primary focus is to identify the individual’s occupation and then to build their skill set to help them achieve their desired goal. The various models within the occupational therapy field strives to understand and implement ways to restore occupations and task for the individual and help maintain an healthy lifestyle, both physically and mentally. The drive to approach the cause with a holistic approach is one of the major reasons why occupational therapy is beneficial for individuals who are homeless.
Have you ever bent down to pick something up or sprinted after your dog because he got loose? Not many people in today’s society pay attention to their body movement. They often take their body’s ability to move normally for granted. A person’s biomechanics are essential to everyday life, without being able to move properly one cannot perform everyday tasks. Unfortunately, there are people who are not able to do so and face many hardships in their life and may be in a lot of pain. Therefore, these people seek professional assistance to help them regain their ability to function normally. Usually, they end up in the care of a physical therapist and his assistant. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, physical therapist assistants “help patients who are recovering from injuries, illnesses, and surgeries regain movement and manage pain.” There is a lot to being a physical therapist, the duties the job requires, the schooling needed to become one, and how much the job pays.
When it comes to healthcare careers, two careers people often seem confuse with one another are Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. Many people with little to no medical background assume that an Occupational therapist is Physical therapist. The culprit could be word "therapist" that they share in common. There's a similarity between the two, but each are different on their own. They may work side by side and address many of the same issues; however, they are completely different careers.