Occupational Therapist: A Case Study

Therapy can help many aspects of a persons life. There are different injuries or birth defects that need to be treated to perform everyday activities. A variety of different therapy methods and treatments, depending on the personal weakness, can help improve someone’s everyday life.

The field of Occupational therapy is one of few careers in which individuals get an opportunity to assist patients interpersonally, and help them return to their daily activities. I believe that there is nothing more fulfilling than to see an individual achieving the greatest possible independence. This realization came to me after I observed an occupational therapist working with my mother after her accident. She was able to help my mother regain the full use of her arm. Throughout this experience, I began to recognize my passion for Occupational Therapy.

Occupational therapy has been in the process of continued development since the 1900’s. With several contributors helping to build the groundwork for creating the awareness needed to bring occupational therapy into the field of health care. Continued research is contributing to the ongoing significance of how occupational therapy is a vital aspect in promoting increased independences in all aspects of healthcare. (Willard, Schell, 2014) With the incorporation of “Occupational Therapy Practice Framework Domain and Process (3rd ed.)” helps creates the foundation for occupational therapy clinicians as well as other health care providers in facilitating the core believe of occupational and the relationship of health and occupation. (AOTA 2014) Therefore, providing a uniform outline of the various aspects of each individual and how they are interconnected to create the foundation of each individual. With a greater understanding of the foundations of that induvial, the clinician can then facilitate the best therapeutic treatment plan for that individual to achieve their personal goals with unified foundations of care.

A known prerequisite that has been observed in order for collaboration to occur is the recognition of the importance of other professionals for patient care as argued by (Curran, Kabene and Orchards, 2005; Cohen, Henneman and Lee, 1995). Upon further realisation an Occupational Therapy Assistant states that there is no single field that can successfully meet all of a patient’s needs and which then requires that there be collaborative efforts. Another recognition that the Occupational Therapy Assistant expressed was the importance of expertise that the patients bring to the health care process. It became an underlying theme at the participating sites that recognising the vital importance of acknowledging and respecting the expertise of all professionals

Through experience, I learned how to interact with patients and family members as an occupational therapist in sub acute setting, espeicailly how to deliver message to family member professionally. I Also, I witness the necessity of cooperation in PT/OT/SLP and other health professionals to make optimal outcome of patients. I have learnd how restorative FOR, biomechanical FOR, rehabilitative FOR, PNF are being utilized into therapy sessions to patients with orthopedic, neurological conditions.

Occupational therapists work with clients to restore independence that has been lost or disrupted due to illness, injury, or disease. Occupational therapy practice involves assessing and determining an appropriate treatment approach based on the client’s disability and individual needs. There are various occupation-based models, each client-centered and grounded in theory, that guide the clinical treatment process. In addition, the Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process (3rd ed.; AOTA, 2014) denotes various frames of reference to guide therapists when choosing specific intervention strategies based on the client’s needs (Cole & Tufano, 2018). This paper focuses on the application of the Occupation Adaption model,

Fourth, there are lists of Donald’s problems and strengths. Fifth there are two long term therapy goals and four short term goals that outline the progress goals that the therapist would like to accomplish while Donald is under the care of occupational therapy. Sixth, is an outline of a 60 minute therapy session that was implemented to help the therapist fulfill their goals. The paper concludes with a SOAP note which is a documentation of the therapy session to be used as communication between therapy team members.

What intrigues me most in the field of Occupational Therapy is that I could make a positive impact in the lives of others. An occupational therapist can help a patient revitalize their physical, cognitive, or emotional disabilities, and develop or restore its functionality through continuous practice and effort. There is nothing more fulfilling for me than to see an individual achieving the greatest possible independence. This train of thought arose when I observed an occupational therapist working with my mother to return her arm to feeling normal again after her accident.

A clinical situation that has taken place that has enabled me to incorporate the “Occupational Therapy Practice Framework Domain and Process (3rd Ed.)” (AOTA, 2014) into my approach was when an individual that has had a car accident during an ice storm. We will refer to this individual as Jane. She was a 55 year old housewife that was the primary caretaker of her husband who had suffered a stroke a few years ago. Jane took care of all the home management as well as transportation and health care needs for her husband. Jane was very active in her community as well as her family that lived several hours away.

As occupational therapy services diversified, serving a variety of clients in many different settings and with societal influences, the field began to evolve. During the 1990s occupational therapists began to shift away from reductionist medical model toward a more holistic client-centered approach. Services focused on enhancing individuals’ quality of life across the lifespan meaning before, during, and after therapeutic intervention. The profession began to better acknowledge the value of client education, injury and illness prevention, health screening, and health maintenance (Cole & Tufano, 2008). The field created more preventative initiatives, and focused services on improving quality of life and optimizing the independence of

The occupational therapy field is frequently being left behind in the health care field because most of the public is uneducated or unaware of the Occupational Therapy practice and the research that is involved. The public also has a few concerns of OT which include the time commitment to the program, the availability of services, the impact of the therapy on other family members, and the cost involved in continued care. While there are drawbacks to Occupational Therapy, the benefits of the practice outweigh them. The value and purpose of occupational therapy is to support the health and participation of clients by engaging them in their desired occupations. Occupations are activities that reflect cultural values, provide structure to living and meaning to individuals. These activities meet human needs for self-care, enjoyment, and participation in society. There are many different types of therapy used for people with disabilities such as autism, people with limitations from strokes, sicknesses such as cancer, and they can even help prevent childhood obesity. The different types of therapy can range from interventions all the way to dolphin assisted therapy, whatever the therapist finds appropriate. The similarity is that the Occupational Therapist will research and pick the most beneficial type of therapy to proceed with for that certain type of disability or problem that person is having. I believe

Occupational Therapy is a health, wellness, and rehabilitation profession devoted to the development of performance and function across their lifetime so that individuals can live their life to the fullest. The holistic approach taken by occupational therapy practitioners is particularly effective in the areas of wellness, health promotion, and prevention. The practice of occupational therapy can take place in health care and education settings, and in community based agencies and organizations. The timing is excellent for occupational therapy in the area of wellness and prevention. Occupational Therapy practitioners administer habilitation and rehabilitation services, which are among the fundamentals health benefits of the

Occupational Therapist enables people to engage and participate in everyday activities trough occupation. The latter role is not only applicable for individuals but also groups or populations. Eventually, with the increase of the aging population, expensive health care services, occupational therapists will have to incorporate health promotion practices into their actual roles.To cope with this phenomenon and to better meet older adult’s needs, the occupational therapist 's role would benefit from being enlarged.Expanding their knowledge and their practices in promoting health will facilitate their work in other domains.This will help them to shift from an individual to a population approach. To achieve that transition, therapists should be more involved in decisions taken by politicians regarding health and to develop services and programs that promote well-being, health, and quality of life. Also, collaboration with other fields such as schools, workplaces, industries, deputies and organizations will help them spread strategies that promote awareness and enable the population to control and maintain an independent healthy lifestyle. Also, therapists understand that the environment can be a crucial factor on health population. Therefore ,they can put pressure on the government to make public places more accessible to disabled people such as providing the subway of a wheelchair ramp and adapt crosswalks to the blind by adding pedestrian signals that include speakers at

Growing up, I have been an individual who has pushed myself beyond the minimum requirements in order to succeed. In high school I excelled in both academics and athletics. I graduated in the top 10% of my class and lettered in hockey and tennis my sophomore, junior, and senior year. I worked hard and put in extra time in order to set myself apart from others. Succeeding in both school and athletics made me a responsible, reliable, and an organized individual. These experiences made me a versatile individual and have given me a work ethic that has benefited me with my academics in college and with my work and volunteer experiences.

My level 1 fieldwork II was assigned at Charleston Area Medical Center – Medication Rehabilitation Inpatient Services in Charleston, West Virginia. It was an Inpatient Rehabilitation which provides Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech Therapy services. My supervisor is a Certified Occupational Therapy Assistant for more than 3 years. My fieldwork started around 7:45am and ends at 4pm. My supervisor provides me with occupational profile of the patient, diagnosis and the treatment before interacting with the patients. They usually see 3 patients in a day for 90 mins therapy sessions.