Occupational Therapy Career Essay

Skills Required  Excellent communication skills: must be able to listen very attentively to service users and explain to them what to do.  Writing skills: the occupational therapist must be able to write and explain clearly the treatment plan for service users and any progress to members of the medical team  Excellent team working skills  Excellent interpersonal skills  Patience  Interest to work as part of a team  Organisational skills  Experience in using information technology  Experience to use various occupational therapy tools Training, Qualifications and Experience  A 3-4 years Degree in Occupational Therapy or its equivalent  Must be registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC)  Work as an Occupational

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.

A health care profession that I am interested in pursuing would be in occupational therapy, specifically the assistant. Although many people do not know what someone in this profession does, it is a growing occupation and is becoming more known. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015), “occupational therapy assistants and aides help patients develop, recover, and improve the skills needed for daily living and working” (“Occupational Therapy Assistants and Aides”, para. 1). There are a few different schooling options, job settings, and salaries for this health care profession. Occupational therapy assistants need to have an associate’s degree from an accredited OTA program, college, or technical school.

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.

A myriad of challenging experiences have molded my life serving as a catalyst to become an Occupational Therapist. At age eighteen, I was diagnosed with a progressive form of bilateral hearing loss. Due to the sudden and severe nature of my hearing loss, I was able to participate in a rehabilitation program. Overcoming adversity provided a sense of purpose and vocational direction. The last 20 years, I have guided others confronting equally daunting hardships.

My interest in becoming an Occupational Therapy Assistant comes from my desire to change lives. I want to help people do activities they never thought they would be able to do again. I want to be there for others and teach individuals to live a “Normal life.” I want to make a difference by being helpful and compassionate to others through a difficult

When I came to SLU, I had trouble finding where I fit in. I tried club volleyball and Greek life, but I never felt that those places were where I belonged. Finally, I joined Alpha Phi Omega (APO), a service fraternity on campus, but I still was not as involved as I wanted to be. While APO taught me about the importance of leadership, friendship, and service, I knew I wanted to be involved in an organization that would support me professionally in my future career. Thus, when I started my junior year, I realized that the occupational therapy community at SLU was where I belonged, and Pi Theta Epsilon could provide me an opportunity to merge the two together.

"The doctor said I would never be able to use my legs again. Now here I am, able to get out of bed and on the road to becoming more independent. " This was spoken by a gentleman at a nursing home where I was observing. The progress he was able to make with the guidance of his therapists was truly inspiring. To hear his life story and how much it meant to him to take care of himself and not be reliant on others was heartwarming.

A person who is looking into becoming an occupational therapist must have a specific education and set of skills to successfully navigate the job. To start, one must first attain a bachelor's degree in order to apply to an occupational therapy master's degree program. There is no specific bachelor's degree that is mandatory to enter into a graduate program, but there is mandatory coursework that one must complete, such as physiology, biology, and psychology (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). These coursework requirements vary depending on each school's preference. Schools that offer an occupational therapy graduate program, in the state of Florida, include: Adventist University of Health Sciences, Barry University, University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences, and Nova Southeastern University. To prepare for admittance into a program one must complete the required coursework, the minimum number observational hours, acquire recommendations from occupational therapists and professor, and complete the GRE exam (The American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.). Along with the educational requirements, one must have or develop certain skills that will assist in the everyday duties of being an occupational therapist. Communication is an important skill because an occupational therapist is constantly interacting with their patients to either talk about how they are doing or teach them how to do a specific task.

I don’t think I have every been the person that chooses to do something without having a passion or strong interest in what I am doing. I don’t pick organizations to be a part of without giving allotted time to them and being one hundred percent present when I am there. With this said, I am not choosing to pursue occupational Therapy school lacking a passion and interest in this field because I never am the person that does something with out fully understanding of where I want to be. I first started to look in to Occupational Therapy after I was able to work at a summer camp for children and adults with special needs one summer in high school. I had the opportunity to be with one child for the whole week where I was able to be her hands

1.Yes, I will be an occupational therapist. Occupational therapy is one of the important health care professions, in this profession we help patients with mental or physical disabilities to go through life Whether they have a long or short-term illnesses or limitations by teaching them how to deal with their new condition so they can live with it or recovers. 2. Occupational Therapist is not a doctor, OT can work in hospitals and the main goal of this healthcare specialty is to provide medical support to those who’s health prevents them doing the daily life activities, like work, dress, eat, sleep...etc. In this field therapist help patients with different diagnosis adapting the living or working environment and make sure to facilitate their

Occupational Therapy I picked occupational therapy as a career for many reasons. I get to work with all types of ages, including infants, kids, teens, middle-aged, and senior citizens. I get to help people when they are in need. Occupational therapy is like physical therapy but it works on smaller joints. Let’s say someone broke their hand in a terrible accident.

One of the most valuable aspects in life is living healthy and independently. From a young age, I had always aspired to be a part of the healthcare field; however, I was unaware of the wide variety of options it had to offer. I can remember as a young girl having dreams of working in a hospital and developing relationships with diverse populations, and I am proud to say I still have the same dream till this day. As a Spanish major, I am always questioned with what I plan to do with my degree in Spanish.

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.

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