Occupational Therapy Personal Statement

Ever since I was a child, people always asked me what I would like to be when I grew up. At first, I would always say that I wanted to become an engineer because of my love for hands-on learning and my exceptional problem-solving skills. However, when I grew older I found that similar spark of fascination in the medical field. I wanted to go into a profession where I could help others and use my love for problem solving and hands-on interest. This is when I became interested in occupational therapy and fell in love with the profession. Occupational therapy has several elements I find passion in such as, the ability to be hands on and help change other people’s lives in a positive manner. My goal in life is to become an occupational therapist and help others live independent lives again. As I work to obtain this goal, I am doing many things such as strengthening my writing skills because this major involves many various aspects of writing. To succeed in this field, one needs to be able to write strong research-based papers and cite all sources correctly. I am striving to master these skills in hopes that I can succeed in and accomplish my academic goals.

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.

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

With my past work experiences as a case manager, I 've had various meetings about what services my clients were going to need and what my involvement was going to be in meeting their needs. This has helped me strengthen my communication skills and I have learned to talk to a variety of different individuals. I especially find myself to have confidence which has also helped me sound relaxed and approachable when meeting someone for the first time. With this in mind I felt positive I was going to do well on my interview reflection assignment for my Introduction to Occupational Therapy class.

When asked what I want to do with my life, my answer is simply to help others. Although this answer is one would expect to hear from just about anyone, I have always been encouraged by mentors and parents to do what I love. In my case, helping others brings me a great deal of satisfaction. The human body and how it is able to adapt has always been a fascination of mine, and from a young age I identified the health care field as an ideal fit for my interests in medicine, as well as my passion for helping others. With these two drives in mind, I found myself at the age of sixteen with a career goal in mind: Occupational Therapy.

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.

This experience only reassured me of my decision to pursue occupational therapy. My journey to finding my passion for occupational therapy was not a straightforward road. I had always known I wanted to pursue a healthcare occupation because of the joy I receive when aiding others in times of great adversity. I became intrigued by the

I believe that everybody deserves to have a happy and comfortable life and that being able to complete every task effectively plays a major part in achieving this. I think as humans we tend to take everyday tasks for granted as it we complete these subconsciously without ever considering the impact it would have on our lives if we were unable to complete them. I want to be an Occupational Therapist as I believe that adjusting a person’s environment and teaching them necessary skills makes a huge positive impact to their life. I am also passionate about seeing people grow in strength to achieve their full potential no matter what challenges they face.

I have always been interested in a career in the care industry and, after meeting with an experienced occupational therapist, I was sure that occupational therapy is a career suited to my personality and abilities. I am excited by the diverse nature of the work and the effect that meaningful activity can have in helping individuals improve their quality of life and achieve personal goals. My interest was confirmed by my experience of the work that occupational therapists do. I was able to spend time shadowing individuals from a team of paediatric occupational therapists on several occasions.

OTCAS Personal Statement There is an anonymous quote I often encounter which states, "Find three hobbies you love: one to make you money, one to keep you in shape, and one to be creative. " I believe that people can have many hobbies and passions in life, but there are few things that constitute what our purpose is. I feel that when we can combine our passions into a career that also has a positive impact on humanity, we have found our purpose. I am not going to tell you that it has always been my dream to become an occupational therapist. For most of my school years, I did not know what profession I wanted to pursue.

I want to apply information learned from classroom settings in clinical settings. This semester, I learned how to complete an occupational profile and occupational activity analysis. I can apply this information in the summer when I shadow a school-based or hospital setting to understand approaches used in intervention to implement evidence-based and client centered practice. In addition, I plan to review course information I struggled with from the academic school year that includes pathologies and neurological disorders. I plan to practice transfers, goineometry, and manual muscle testing on friends to improve my rapport as a therapist.

Everybody deserves a fair chance to succeed in life. I was very blessed to have family and friends that supported in me and gave me that chance, but not everybody is that fortunate. I witnessed several things through my childhood that have brought me down this career path. When I was a teenager, there was a boy diagnosed with Asperger’s at my church.

I enrolled in college at this point in my life to get ahead before going to a bigger school to pursue my ultimate career goal, occupational therapy. As a high school senior I have already obtained nearly thirty hours in college credit hours, which means I’m one third of the way through my associates degree in science. With this I can move on with one hundred percent confidence that I will get into Georgia College and State University, but that is only the first part of what I need to do. After being accepted to the college I then need to get into the occupational therapy program. After graduating from the occupational therapy program I intend to have a masters degree, my own practice, an occupational therapy license and a rather lovely starting salary.

Here is where I caught my first glimpse of an occupational therapist in action. On that day I began to expand my knowledge about Occupational Therapy and the responsibilities of a therapist. After doing research about Occupational Therapy and reading testimonies from different therapists I became intrigued and craved to learn more. In my second year of college, I began to volunteer at different rehabilitation clinics working with both the pediatric and geriatric populations. I enjoyed my time volunteering with both, but I knew that my calling in life would involve

Occupational therapy is focused on developing creative ways to resolve problems in order to maximize independence, making these skills essential for the job. I am also goal oriented, self-motivated, and have a strong drive for academic excellence. Through volunteering in a variety of health settings, I have developed a great level of patience, as well as strong communication skills. I have experience in designing adaptive equipment through computer aided drafting and engineering courses. Through focusing my projects for these classes on adaptive equipment, I have gained spatial and visual skills, as well as an understanding of the importance of technology in occupational therapy. In addition, I have a very compassionate attitude and desire to help others. I believe that these traits, skills, and experiences, will contribute to my success as an occupational