A Look On My Future

In order to become an Occupational Therapists Assistant, one must earn an Associate’s Degree, obtain a certification and/or license for OTA, and have 1-2 years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. As I complete my major, I will also be gaining work experience during my Externship. Through this experience, I will have the opportunity to participate actively in my field of work interest alongside my mentors who are OTs and OTAS and gain the hands-on training I will need in order to begin my career as an OTA.

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

Occupational therapy assistant is my dream career. They help people live a normal life again without any assistance of other people. The help people enhance, improve, develop, and recover the skills use for working or doing daily average tasks. OTA’s usually work under the direction of occupational therapists, and they still get involved with providing therapy for patients. According to the Occupational Outlook Handbook, occupational therapy assistants help patients do therapeutic activities. For example, they help patients to stretch or do other exercises. OTA’s also help children who have developmental disabilities to play activities that helps stimulate coordination and learn to socialize. They teach disable people to use special equipment,

As an Occupational Therapy Assistant, I will work alongside an Occupational Therapist and work directly with patients. The difference between an OT and an OTA is that OT’s set up treatment plans and perform medical assessments while OTA’s carry out the treatment plans with the patients. In volunteering at rehab clinics, I’ve learned that Occupational Therapists often spend much of their time dealing with paperwork while OTA’s are performing more hands on work with people. Their day includes helping patients in performing rehabilitative exercises within a treatment plan. Occupational Therapy Assistants help people to regain their ability to perform activities of daily living, or ADL’s. These are the core aspects which

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

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Occupational therapy assistants and aides help patients develop, recover, and improve the skills needed for daily living and working.” OT Career Path.com also states that, “occupational therapy assistants assist with the rehabilitation and care of patients with mental, developmental, physical, social, and emotional disabilities” Occupational therapist may provide many different forms of service from setting up materials, moving a patient, explaining exercises, preparing reports and implementing treatment plan as prescribed by the Occupational Therapist. An OTA’s duties vary greatly an example of their duties include helping patients acquire fine

An Occupational Therapist Assistant, otherwise referred to as an Occupational Therapy Assistant (www.bls.gov), is responsible for different tasks that are clerical or kinesthetic. An OTA may be responsible for leading patients in exercises or stretches, helping children complete activities to strengthen their coordination or socialization, or recording the progress of patients (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2014, What They Do section, para. 2). If a person was hired in this field with a

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.

“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

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

The name of the society changed in 1923, due to hospitals wanting a national directory of qualified occupational therapists. There now was a minimal standard of training that had to be met before an individual was put in the directory (AOTA, 2009). The name was changed to the American Occupational Therapy Association. The American Medical Association worked with the American Occupational Therapy Association starting in 1933 on getting improved education programs for occupational therapists (AOTA, 2009).

What is occupational therapy? How does one define the profession and validate its worth in the medical field? Since its conception as an established health care profession, occupational therapy’s philosophy has been defined, redefined, and refined. In their writings esteemed Occupational Therapists Mary Reilly and Susan Peloquin offer their own critical and revisionary ideas of occupational therapy’s worth, the basic need it fulfills, and its service to the healthcare profession. Both women ask their peers to refine what is

Physical therapists develop specific programs for each patient's needs. They may apply therapeutic exercise, ultrasound, massage, and applications of heat and cold to alleviate pain and restore normal function to the body. The physical therapist is able to evaluate a patient's joint motion, muscle strength, endurance, functional abflity, muscle tone, reflexes, and stability of walking. The physical therapist also assesses the need and use of braces and artificial limbs, function of the heart and lungs, integrity of sensation and perception, and performance of activities required in daily living. ("A Future" 18). Another important part of the job of a physical therapist is to maintain careful documentation. The documentation is mainly used to keep a record of rehab used, to reflect back on improvement, and to provide legal records.

     The Occupational therapist takes a history from the patient by conducting a thorough interview. Questions are asked about hygiene, eating, dressing, getting in and out of bed, driving, cleaning, working and the patients sex life. A physical examination is conducted

Every since I was a young girl I have been always asked by, what do you wanna be when you grow up? I know some people that change their minds every week of what their future hold for them and how they are gonna live through it. The future is changing every second of our lives, everything single thing that we do affects what our future hold for us. All my life I have been determined on one thing in my life. I have always wanted to become a doctor no matter what. I know that there is nothing that is gonna change my mind about that. Technology has helped many people with what they do at their job, however it has also harmed their jobs also.