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Occupational therapy career options
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My grandmother was always a very optimistic woman whose determined can-do attitude is one I try to embody myself. Towards the end of her life she struggled with Parkinson’s, causing her to start having trouble taking care of herself. As a result, she started to receive in-home occupational therapy. Around this time I was entering college and trying to decide on a career path. I was not sure what occupational therapy entailed until I was able to watch the therapist work with my grandmother. After that the therapist explained that occupational therapy is about working with patients who have difficulty performing activities of daily life or ADLs and figuring out ways to make things easier and more efficient for them. Although I did not realize it at the time, this sparked my interest in a career that I am now so passionate about pursuing. Since then my career choice has been reinforced by everything from reading articles on the profession to talking to those who have personally benefited from occupational therapy. Over the summer I was a mother’s helper for an amazing family whose son had …show more content…
I have taken a recent interest in this side of the field after learning more about it when researching potential topics for my application essay. At Kean University I would love to use the research component of the program to further explore occupational therapy in relation to anxiety and other mental illnesses. The scholarly research already conducted by the department really interests me, especially Dr. Knis-Matthews who has done a great deal of research and presentations on mental illnesses. I believe I could benefit greatly from studying under her as well as working with Ms. Petrocelli, the academic fieldwork coordinator, to broaden my knowledge of the mental health side of occupational therapy through academic
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.
Occupational therapy is also known as the dynamic and developing healthcare profession that deals with people in ways of regaining their skills required for the every days of life. For a very long time I have always had the desire to achieve my dreams in becoming an occupational therapist. I am very well equipped with creativity, flexibility and the ability to aid people in solving their every day’s life challenges they get involved in. Occupational therapy is quite involving and needs good strategies and skills for one to be successful in the program.
When searching for a career, many people want a job that will be rewarding. One job that fulfills this need is an occupational therapy assistant. An occupational therapy assistant, also known as an “OTA,” is someone who makes it possible for people to achieve everyday tasks which they normally could not do. These tasks include eating, getting dressed, bathing, and many more “typical” tasks. It is not easy to become an OTA. There is a long process that needs to be completed. This includes, difficult college classes, applying to an OTA program, licensing, training, and certifications. Many other factors come into play when deciding if being an occupational therapy assistant is the right career such as, salary, job outlook, job opportunities,
Even though the salary is livable and path of college is straightforward, this career is worthwhile simply because I would be helping people overcome obstacles and improve their quality of life. I aspire to make a difference in someone’s life, and recreational therapy allows me to do that every day for a living. This research project has opened my eyes and lead me to a career that I didn’t know about before, but now seems like a perfect fit for me. It is reassuring to know that I can make a good choice on such a big decision making time of my life. Throughout the rest of my high school journey and as I transition into college, I hope that I continue to take the steps needed pursue a career as Recreational
Occupational therapist and occupational therapy assistances work with a wide variety of populations throughout their career. Some of these different populations can include different types of backgrounds, genders, ages, economic statuses, ethnicities, and more. While working with these populations, occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistances have to be aware of different types of influences that can not only affect the client, but the client’s occupations as well. In this article, “Psychosocial Aspects of Occupational Therapy,” it discusses the different types of psychosocial aspects that are in the field of occupational therapy.
While growing up I had many ideas of what professional career I wanted to obtain, although until recent years, occupational therapy was not even a thought. It was not until my grandmother had a stroke that I even knew what occupational therapy was or entailed. I watched my grandmother participate in therapy leading her to learn how to tie her shoes again, and the things I thought were so simple as to dress herself again. It was during that time as high school graduation was approaching that I realized I wanted to be apart of that. I wanted to have a role helping others learn and exceed as she did because I seen how much joy it brought her. This experience opened my eye to the things we so often take for granted, that some people lose the ability of doing or lack the ability of doing. Throughout her journey of facing and overcoming these problems, it led me to a yearning to pursue this
My initial exposure to the field of Occupational Therapy was not until my Junior year of college. While sitting in an auditorium for an Intro to Health Professions course, listening to a licensed occupational therapist describe her daily work tasks, I began visualizing myself in her position to see if this career would be fitting for me. Because of my life long interest in science coupled with my natural empathy towards people, I had known for a long time that I wanted to be in the health field but struggled to settle with the career choices I had initially been presented. As I imagined myself being an occupational therapist, my mind began to flood with ideas and aspirations of what I could accomplish in this field using the strengths I had been developing over the past 22 years of my life
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.
Since mental health issues have directly influenced my life, I want to do the same and directly influence mental health issues by means of occupational therapy
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
When I was 15, my grandmother suffered from a severe stroke and was advised to go to a rehabilitation center. At that time I had not ever heard of the profession called occupational therapy. Upon visiting my grandmother, I had the opportunity to witness several health care professionals working together to help rehabilitate her. I have always wanted to engage in a career in which I could attribute to helping people, and at first I thought physical therapy would best compliment my natural abilities but then I encountered the occupational therapist. So as I watched her work with my grandmother diligently I realized that I had found exactly what I was looking for.
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
According to The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) “Occupational therapy allows people across the lifespan to do the activities they want and need to do” (www.aota.org). Occupational therapy’s goal is to