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Occupational therapy career options
Field of occupational therapy
Field of occupational therapy
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I was raised to do my best to help others whenever I saw the opportunity, such as from acting like a personal chiropractor for my friends and family or raising $5,000 for charity. I found something that I really enjoyed; I was doing things for others that benefited them and not me. I knew what I enjoyed; the issue was finding a career that I could provide a service to others and enjoy. Considering many careers, from joining the military to becoming a psychiatrist, I decided to pursue Occupational Therapy. Currently, I am an employee at Community Mental Health Authority. The reason I applied for this job was because it was a great start for me. It has given me experience dealing with partially disabled individuals, whether it be mentally or cognitively. Knowing how to communicate with people who have some sort of disability is a very important skill for an occupational therapist; when it comes to therapy many patients will have a disability …show more content…
I realized that Occupational Therapy is perfect for me, and that there are many directions I can go with Occupational Therapy. I will be able to provide a service for others that makes their lives better. I found out that there are many different branches of Occupational Therapy. I can specialize in working with people who have vision damage, people who live in hospice care, people with brain and spinal damage, and more. While reading this publication I read varied job descriptions and they seemed very interesting because it is very hands on type of work. For example, if a person sustains damage to their vision, an Occupational Therapist would assess the individual and their life patterns and see what aspects of their life this injury would affect. After this is determined, they then come up with a plan and a system that will help the individual live with the injury (Ellexson,
Becoming an Occupational Therapy Assistant has been an ambition of mine for several years now. After researching, job shadowing, and talking to professionals, I have decided to make Occupation Therapy my career. My passion is to help patients by participating and assisting them in their recovery from injuries and disabilities. My compassionate and caring attitude will be vital assets in pursuing this career. After training in Occupational Therapy, it is motivating for me to know that I will be a part of assisting patients to gain back their independence. Helping others is something that I am passionate about in my career and in my spare time. I have been on several mission trips to Haiti and other places which I have provided care for others in a medical setting.
Reasons for working with children is to help prevent developmental delays. Children with disabilities need help with their cognitive skills, motor skills, and sensory skills. Working in the area of health and wellness means working with a patient who may have arthritis. This is one of many different issues a patient may have. OTA’s are trying to help these patients control pain, teach how to manage inflammation, and even improve self-esteem. The area of mental health is working with patients who have down syndrome and need help with everyday tasks. They need to gain independence through self-care activities such as, eating, drinking, bathing, or brushing their teeth. (What Does an Occupational Therapy Assistant Do,
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...
Occupation is defined as “activites of everyday life, names, organized and given meaning by individuals and a culture” (Association, 2006). This article also discusses the historical aspects of occupational therapy. Occupational therapy was founded by many different professionals with different backgrounds, that came together to share the same idea about how occupational therapy should be and the importance of activites for a person. This article also talks about different types of services that occupational therapy offers. Occupational therapists and assistances can work in many different settings. With the variety of settings a therapist and assistance can work in, the services that are offered there are different. Some different services that can be offered at these settings can include community mobility skills, stress management, alternative routines and habits, and more. It is important for therapists and assistances to know what settings offer what type of services when they are referencing their client to a new setting. The last topic this article discussed
Townsend, E.A. & Polatajko, H. J. (2007) Enabling Occupation II: Advancing an Occupational Therapy Vision for Health, Well-being & Justice through Occupation. Ottawa, ON: CAOT Publications ACE.
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.
Occupational therapy was not one of the services our team was able to provide with myself being the only one in the profession, however I seen many people I felt could benefit from occupational therapy. I feel by furthering my degree and becoming an occupational therapist that I would have the ability to expand my services in this setting through evaluation and providing them the tools and education to positively influence their
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
Occupational therapy is a career focused on helping people who have or are at risk for developing an illness, injury, disease, disorder, condition, impairment, disability, activity limitation, or participation restriction. An OT’s scope of practice may involve addressing “the physical, cognitive, psychosocial, sensory, and other aspects of performance to support engagement in everyday life activities that affect health, well-being, and quality of life” (Definition of Occupational Therapy Practice for the AOTA Model Practice Act, 2017). I don’t feel like occupational therapy is the right career for me because I feel like I lack certain characteristics that someone in this profession should have.
A career in occupational therapy is challenging, yet rewarding. Someone who is a people person would enjoy the constant interaction with clients and families. After studying this career, it is extremely apparent that all occupational therapists have one thing in common; a love for people and healing.
I wanted to be in a healthcare profession where I know I could spend quality time with my patients, and be able to help them to improve their quality of life in all aspects. Occupational therapy was the perfect fit. I have found that occupational therapy, amongst others, is one of the most holistic health care professions and I am very proud to have chosen this as the career path to take. It is a profession that requires understanding, compassion, and sensitivity; all of the characteristics that I tremendously value . Occupational therapy is a career where there will certainly be much contribution to society and also bring enormous self-fulfillment.
Occupational therapy was a career choice I fell into. When I first arrived to Keiser University back in 2009 I was going to apply for the physical therapy assistant program. Physical and speech therapy where the only therapeutic disciplines I had any knowledge of at that time. When I met with the admissions counselor she informed me the waiting list for the PTA program was about two years, I was floored I wasn’t going to wait that long I needed to start school ASAP. The counselor then asked me “ what is your goal?” and my response was “to work with children in the medical field without being too medically involved”. She then handed me an occupational therapy pamphlet and I just signed the paper work to start that month. I honestly
We are all born to live, not to simply exist. Experiences in life have taught me there is a purpose behind each individual’s existence. Discovering this purpose, has been challenging. My educational and professional background have helped shape my immediate and long term professional goals. Becoming an Occupational Therapist has become both my immediate and long-term goals in life.
As a kid, I recall my parents and many relatives frequently asking, "What do you want to be when you grow up?", and without hesitation, I would think of the coolest occupations. My answers would usually comprise of being a cop, nurse, astronaut or the President of the Untied States. It was difficult to pick one, as there were numerous jobs that held my interest. For some individuals, dream occupations turn into a reality. Often times, the professions we loved growing up becomes a fun memory in the past. Throughout my childhood, my parents valued the significance and importance of regarding and helping other people. Before attending college, I was uncertain of my career plan, however; was one thing I was sure of was: the longing to help, to teach, and/or to positively affect others.
For me, it didn’t click that I can turn these characteristics and skills into a career that I would enjoy until I started meeting regularly with my High School Counselor, Mrs. Corbin. I met with Mrs. Corbin once a day for about an hour in order to receive my community service hours that were required for graduation. Much like me, she has a passion for helping others and she carried me through my entire senior year. She would show my how to fill out college applications, help determine which college was the best fit for me, we spoke a lot about what major I should consider, and give me advice or just listen to what was going on in my life. She really inspired me to be on this path that I am today because I want to give others the help, love, and support she gave me. She recognized my desire to help others and “people person” skills and would always say “You’ll miss your calling in life if you don’t become some sort of counsellor”. That phrase always