A Career In Occupational Therapy

As a member of Phi Theta Epsilon, I will continue to pursue my occupational therapy degree in the presence of other highly motivated students that share the same values and the same desire to contribute to the continued growth and promotion of our profession. I will continue to seek the knowledge and experience necessary for me to become the best occupational therapist that I can be for my future clients with the support of Phi Theta Epsilon. I will demonstrate continued academic excellence and professionalism through my role in positively representing occupational therapy at Alvernia. I am excited for the opportunity to represent occupational therapy not only here at Alvernia, but also within the larger community as well.

I chose occupational therapy as a career for many reasons. I feel fulfilled when I help others. I want to enjoy my job and not work for money. Moreover, I want to help patients reach their goals because the outcomes make me feel proud. When my brother was little, he had a hard time grasping the pen to write. An Occupational Therapist used to come to our house a few times a week. I would see the therapist try to help my brother write. My mother recently told me that when I was younger, I said, "I want to be just like that therapist."

Lives are changed everyday by occupational therapy assistants. I have the dedication, compassion, and ability to celebrate every miniscule improvement needed to become a successful OTA. This a quickly growing field where I can use the talents I already possess to excel. I can easily recall the differences made in my papaw’s life through occupational therapy and the way every advancement in mobility or independence was as exciting as it would be with a new

I was surprised to see how competitive the field of occupational therapy was. The field is getting very popular so getting into the program is difficult. There is a chance that one must apply to several accredited schools numerous times to get accepted, not to mention that there are limited spots in a class (“Signs OT is Not Right For You, Johnson,” 2015). I was also surprised to learn that one participates in field work much like nursing students. I initially thought that field work is not necessary and all the training is done in the classroom. The limited number of accredited schools in California is also surprising! This revelation makes me feel a little concerned. I think there should be more schools that offer this program. Additional

Throughout this course, my mind was opened to several healthcare careers which I was unaware of before. For the careers that I did know about, this course still did a great job at informing me of the professions on a deeper level. After reviewing the lectures and careers, I feel strongly about pursuing a career in Occupational Therapy. More specifically, I want to become an Occupational Therapy Assistant. This was a career that I had in mind when I began the course and I have been interested in it for about two years now. Occupational Therapy Assistants need to be sociable, compassionate, flexible, and enjoy problem solving. I believe I will enjoy this profession because my personality matches with all of these things.

I have found immense satisfaction in seeing how my personal experiences have been an asset in serving others. My career ambition is to apply this knowledge and experience to Occupational Therapy. I am drawn to the field of Occupational Therapy due to the wide range of opportunities

I am thankful for having the opportunity of applying to the Occupational Therapy program at Abilene Christian University (ACU). My decision of becoming an occupational therapist arose my sophomore year in North Lake College. Ever since, I have worked toward taking the prerequisites and then transferred to the University of Texas at Arlington, where I obtained by bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science. So later, I could pursue obtaining my master’s in Occupational Therapy. I am applying to the occupational program at ACU because, it is a Christian school, its excellent degree plan, along with experienced faculty, and my eagerness about of becoming an occupational therapist would equip me with the tools I need to perform the occupation with quality and humanity. I am ready to commit and serve others by putting to use what I have learned from occupational therapy experiences and to take advantage of all the resources the program has to offer.

The occupational therapy profession shares many objectives across the communities, clients, and families they serve. Some of these aims include: “Developing the field of occupational therapy and enhance the professions capabilities to meet the needs of the entire population, providing evidence on the efficacy of occupational therapy. This includes working with organizations and local communities, incorporating education, research, and practices as a complete whole. In addition, developing a team of professionals that innovates and adapts to the developing health needs of the population” (AOTA, 2013). This includes advocacy efforts with policymakers to ensure continued funding to provide care to individuals (AOTA, 2013). Occupational therapy is a distinctive profession that helps

“What if there was a job that allowed someone to have endless flexibility and creativity; a profession that is respected and is in overwhelming demand... Most importantly, wouldn’t it be nice to find a job in which you could make an impact, big or small, on the lives of each individual person you worked with? I found this job and that is why I decided to pursue a degree in occupational therapy" (Springer, J., 2015). This testimonial comes from a practicing occupational therapist who has found value in his life's work. Occupational therapy is not a job where "one size fits all"; there are many different demographics of people who need occupational therapy in different environments. Although, all occupational therapists have the same skills

I have always been interested in a career in the care industry and, after meeting with an experienced occupational therapist, I was sure that occupational therapy is a career suited to my personality and abilities. I am excited by the diverse nature of the work and the effect that meaningful activity can have in helping individuals improve their quality of life and achieve personal goals. My interest was confirmed by my experience of the work that occupational therapists do. I was able to spend time shadowing individuals from a team of paediatric occupational therapists on several occasions.

Occupational therapy combines my two loves the medical field and working with special needs children. While being employed in the school system as an occupational therapist, I will be interacting and working with many different people on a daily basis. We will all be considered part of the support staff and will work together to help the children achieve their goals. I will also be keeping the parents updated on a weekly basis of their child’s progress, along with attending each child’s IEP (individual education plan) conference. Becoming an occupational therapist is a very long and hard journey. During the process I will be taking many difficult classes, learning about numerous disabilities, taking lots of tests, learning how to use adaptive

In accordance with Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF), “the efforts directed toward promoting occupational justice and empowering clients to seek and obtain resources to fully participate in their daily life occupations.” (Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, 3rd Ed., p. S41). I consider occupational therapy to be a compassionate career, practitioners try to grant their clients’ wants and needs to better suit the

Throughout their research study, Ward, Mitchell, and Price (2007) address a major area of concern within the field of OT, the emphasis of occupation based practice in individual treatment sessions. They researched data dating back to the sixties in order to discover when in history the profession has strayed away from its foundational views In order to keep up with the traditional medical model, the OT profession lost sight of its core values and lost its unique contribution to the field as a holistic field (Kielhofner, 2004). Since this time, there has been more of a concern with the holistic approach, and an increase in studies on the topic has occurred. (Jackson, 1998; Kielhofner, 2004). Ward, Mitchell, and Price (2007) directly address the importance of occupation-based practice and its relationship to social and occupational participation (American Occupational Therapy Association, 2014). Their research redirects the profession to it’s core values and puts an emphasis on the importance to keep OT client-centered and occupation-based moving forward in our profession to ensure clients are engaging in meaningful occupations. (World Federation of Occupational Therapists, 2010).

My personal experience with Occupational therapy is watching my grandpa go through it; he had fallen in a parking lot and had sustained a traumatic brain injury. He had surgery but then had a long road of recovery ahead of him. He had gone from not being able to get out of a chair to being able to hold a toothbrush and brushing his teeth again over a few months. I would go visit him and would watch the occupational therapists work with him so he could gain some of his independence back. They would help show him tools to make things like putting on his socks easier for him. Once he was home he still needed to do exercises like walking, so I would put the gait belt on him and walk with him so he would not get hurt again. He also developed Parkinson’s and dementia so there were times that he struggled with understanding what to do so I have also had experience working with the mental aspect. Working with him and watching him recover is such a great and rewarding feeling and I want to experience that with my career. I know becoming an Occupational Therapist Assistant is what I am meant to

I’ve always wanted to become an occupational therapist but I never had any the opportunity to shadow one or even interview one, until now. This essay prompted me to ask my family if they knew any occupational therapist whom I could conduct an interview with. Fortunately, my uncle, Justin Corpuz, went to school with a friend who became an occupational therapist in the Philippines. I was truly ecstatic to be able to finally interview an occupational therapist. The occupational therapist’s name is Ferdinand Salcedo. I conducted a very straight-to-the-point interview with Mr. Salcedo—the interview was conducted in our native language Tagalog that made the conversation more intimate and easy going. He works for Ultimate Skills Philippines, Inc. He gave me plenty of insight of what it is like to be an occupational therapist. Occupational therapists have to live very flexible lives where they need to settle into a friendly environment, treat different kinds of patients, and prepare for any medical case awaiting them.