Essay On Occupational Therapy

The career path I have chosen to enter upon the completion of my college major is in Occupational Therapy Assistance. Occupational Therapy is the medical treatment for people who are limited by mental health problems, the aging process, physical injury or illness, and learning or developmental disabilities. An Occupational Therapist Assistant, or OTA, is the assistant to the Occupational Therapists, or OT, and assists him or her in providing Occupational Therapy treatments and procedures. An Occupational Therapist Assistant may also assist in the development of treatment plans, direct activity programs, carry out routine functions, and document the progress of patients’ treatments. OTs and OTAs work together with their patients, and their goal is have their patients regain the highest ability of functionality in their daily lives.

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

I want to become an Occupational Therapist Assistant because I have always dreamed of helping people young and old, and occupational therapy is perfect for that. I want to help people gain their independence and confidence back whether they are recovering from things like a stroke or an illness / disease. Each person’s situation is unique: some may live with someone who is able to help the patient out or they may not have anyone to help them so you have to adjust your plans to fit each individual. Doing that may be difficult at times but I have been through numerous situations that required hard work and I was able to complete them. Independence and confidence are important aspects of life, especially when it comes to day-to-day living. There will be people who can make a full recovery and will be able to live

From that experience I went on to shadow OTA’s at Plant City Rehabilitation Center and at Hillsborough County Public Schools to further explore my interest. While shadowing I was also allowed to participate in working with the patients and discuss the role of an OTA in detail with the staff. Through these experiences and observations my interest has led to a desire to become an OTA.

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.

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

My long-term goal is to learn the techniques that are used by patients to help them progress. In addition, I want to explore the different work environments, which the occupational therapists work in such as in hospitals, clinics, or schools.

The Occupational Therapy Assistant lab at University of Charleston is unavailable after normal business hours to complete tasks hands on and to work on homework effectively; with no computer lab available for additional knowledge on the subjects, OTA students of University of Charleston is at a hindrance, resulting in tasks being completed off campus. The OTA program is at an educational disadvantage because the main resources are limited to a Monday through Friday schedule, which entitles students to rely on unscholarly articles and websites for information.

The future of occupational therapy is consistently changing and requires new legislation to oversee the needs of the professional and their clients. The idea of a government, eliminating funding sources to OTs in hope of decreasing federal spending is not an unspoken idea. As more and more individuals in our society are crossed-trained and expected to do-more and produce-more, the efforts of Willimarth is critical.

On my search for a full-time job, I came across this ad. This ad led me to a career option, that I had not be aware of. I had never heard of an occupational therapy assistant. The picture demonstrated what they did, and it moved me. In fact, I wish I had known about them when my mom was ill. We were looking for a physical therapist, and they had said that it would not be a good fit for her. She was ill, but she wanted that independence. Perhaps, an occupational therapist would have been able to help her with that.

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

An occupational therapist is a trained and licensed health care professional who can make a complete evaluation of the impact of disease on the activities of the patient at home and in work situations. Hobbies and recreational activities are considered when an assessment is made. The most generally accepted definition of occupational therapy is that it is an activity, physical or mental, that aids in a patient’s recovery from disease or injury.