Occupational Therapist Research Papers

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

I didn’t know what I wanted to be at the time, but the medical field sparked my interest. I went up there, and I met a woman by the name of Pam who worked as an occupational therapist at a nursing home. She showed me around and introduced me to her patients. I love everything about her work. She would show simple tasks, such as cooking an egg, to her patients and helped them try to master it. Pam even showed them how to sit in the toilet seat by themselves. I observed and even helped her sometimes, and I loved the feeling of helping them get a step closer to living independently. Recently, I talked to the occupational therapist in the school at De Queen, and she told me that she has 32 kids that have Down syndrome or have some sort of disability problem. Her name is Kim, and she sees them twice a week for 30 minutes. She helps them recover or develop fine motor skills, visual and social participation skills, and problem solving skills. According to Kim, she states that occupational therapy and OTA is a career in which you help a person try to become independent in doing daily normal tasks, and she loves her job because she gets to see the progress every child makes. I knew that this was the career I wanted, and I was glad that UA Cossatot offered it. An occupational therapy assistant not only help patients recover daily skills, but they help them live

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.

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

“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 occupational therapist, I interviewed was Lorena Ortiz, MS, OTR/L. She is from Columbia, South America and currently lives in Greenville, South Carolina, where she has been a resident for sixteen years. She has three sisters, one brother and a son that is two years old. She attended Brea High School her junior and senior year and later graduate from Mauldin High School. Her favorite subject in School was anatomy because she enjoyed learning about the human body and the way it functions. In her opinion of what an occupational therapist is, she stated, “Helping people become as independent with daily activities as they wish after injury or disease.” The facilities where she works are, Greenville Health System, PRN acute care/In-patient rehab and Greer Memorial Hospital, out-patient rehab fulltime. Other areas she has worked are, subacute, long term acute care orthopedics. She worked as an occupational therapist assistance at St. Francis Hospital for seven years. While she worked at St. Francis Hospital, she later went back to school, for her master’s degree,

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."

Occupational Therapy has played a role in helping those with Mental and physical disabilities in the United States since 1917. Before that time, Occupational Therapy was used solely in mental institutions to help people that were "more normal" and able to function in a social status. These patients enjoyed things like arts and crafts. It seemed that those who engaged in such activities where perceived as "more healthy". These findings lead Drs. to encourage patients to engage is such activity to improve there overall health. (http://quoccupationaltherapy.weebly.com/history-of-occupational-therapy.htmlhistory-of-occupational-therapy.html)

My great passion toward occupational therapy will not stop here , I feel that this is a career that will give me an opportunity to have an enormous influence on the my

People who are required to only obtain a high school diploma will not have the same knowledge as those who go to school for multiple years to study and focus on occupational therapy. For example, if someone studied in Sierra Leone where they only have to receive a diploma, they likely do not have as much knowledge of the profession as someone who studied in the United States for at least three years and acquired a license to study (Bguin). In Canada, people are using leadership and mentorship to expand the knowledge of the profession and are “propelling change and enabling the development of an individual’s or collective’s full potential” (Lapointe). This focus on occupational therapy has proven to provide many advantages throughout the country. In “Developing the Occupational Therapy Profession Through Leadership and Mentorship: Energizing Energy”, it states that occupational therapists “have a role to pioneer” and that they, as individuals, need to help other people learn about the importance of the profession of occupational therapy.

Imagine Morgan, the eight-year-old with cerebral palsy, has learned to care for herself more independently, and Edward, the elderly man who recently had a stroke, has regained his ability to sign his name. What helped these people? Occupational therapy helped them. Although Morgan and Edward are just imaginary examples, occupational therapy really does help people of all ages who have disabilities do the everyday things that they need or want to do. The Encyclopædia Britannica defines occupational therapy like this, “Occupational therapy, use of self-care and work and play activities to promote and maintain health, prevent disability, increase independent function, and enhance development” (Law).

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

My name is James Xue and I am writing to you as your constituent and as an occupational therapist Assistant Student. occupational therapists and occupational therapy assistants help people across the lifespan participate in the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of everyday activities (occupations). Common occupational therapy interventions include helping children with disabilities to participate fully in school and social situations, helping people recovering from injury to regain skills, and providing supports for older adults experiencing physical and cognitive changes. For nearly a century, occupational therapy practitioners who are regulated health care professionals have been supporting health, well-being and

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.