Occupational Therapy Self Reflection

Occupational Therapy and occupational science both incorporate the use of human occupation and are responsive to social movements (Pierce, 2003, p. 7)” Differences, however, derive in regards to the way the two fields operate, as either a basic or applied science. On the one hand, occupational science is an academic discipline that generates “knowledge about the form, function, and meaning of human occupations (Pierce, 2003, p. 6).” Occupational Therapy, on the other hand, uses the basic knowledge derived from occupational science to implement the occupations and activities in client-centered therapeutic treatments.

The AOTA’s societal statement (2013) on health disparities asserts that OT practitioners have a duty to “intervene with individuals and communities to limit the effects of inequities that result in health disparities.” These disparities can be a result of many factors including social discrimination, access, and quality of health care as well as socioeconomic status (2013). The statement concludes by saying that OT practitioners have necessary skills and knowledge available to help these populations and that efforts to lessen or eliminate health disparities are supported by the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics, 2010 (2013). This statement reaffirms the idea that even though it is not traditional OT, this is an area that OTs can and should be involved

I have personally witnessed the established, unprecedented and warmhearted culture, of Winston Salem State Universities Occupational Therapy program. I visited this program over the summer and experienced the mission state of the university and the occupational therapy program firsthand. I am genuinely a good fit for this program because my reason for becoming an occupational therapist is to offer patients to maintain and retrieve their quality of life. It is of supreme importance to me that every patient, no matter his or her race, background, or gender receives personal, professional, and effective treatment. The patient rehabilitation process reminds me of the universities history and foundation. Starting out as a one-room structure, the

For my career exploration assignment I have chosen the field of occupational therapy. Not only am I a certified occupational therapists assistant, but I also have a passion for this field. Occupational therapy wasn’t something that I have always wanted to pursue, but once I got into college and observed an occupational therapist I fell in love with the occupation. Occupational therapy is the unique focus on occupation and daily life activities and the application of an intervention process that facilitates engagement in occupation to support participation in everyday life (American Occupational Therapy Association [AOTA], 1994). As therapists we are here to help our patients return to the highest level of independent physical function. Patients come to us in their lowest time, and it is our job to help build them up, and teach them how to be more independent, and to live their life to the fullest. Occupational therapists assistants do everything from increasing a patient’s standing/sitting tolerance and balance, safety with transfer training, dressing, bathing, grooming, and bed mobility. A lot of people always ask, “Physical therapy and occupational therapy are the same thing right?” That is not true. Physical therapy helps with the bigger movements, such as walking and lower extremity muscles, where as occupational therapy focuses on smaller, more fine motor movements, such as clothing manipulation, and grooming tasks. Occupational therapy helps to regain independence

The summer before my junior year I shadowed an OT and had my first glimpse of the profession. The week after shadowing I left to work as a camp counselor at Victory Junction, a camp for children with chronic and terminal illnesses. That summer provided opportunities that have truly changed my life. I worked in a cabin each week with children from a different disease group, including diabetes, cancer, spina bifida, and cerebral palsy. Since we became their primary caretakers for the week we were responsible for all aspects of their care. This included monitoring blood sugar during diabetes week, setting up feeding tubes for children with gastrointestinal disorders, and monitoring temperatures closely during sickle cell week. I also acquired

In addition to this, it is agreed upon that Occupational Therapists depart from a client-centered frame of reference when working from community based settings clients are not seen as objects which can be made to conform to and comply with treatment, but rather seen as distinctive persons who’s humanness authorizes them to make autonomous decisions (Finlay,

The World Federation of Occupational Therapists (2010) has defined occupational therapy as a “client-centered health profession concerned with promoting health and well being through occupation” (p.1). I have defined occupational therapy as a process in which a therapist and a client form a therapeutic relationship in order to increase participation in meaningful and functional occupations. An occupation is any action that increases quality of life, supports self-maintenance, and supplements work and leisure activities. The World Federation of Occupational Therapists (2012) states that the focus of practice is maintaining a balance of person, occupation, and their environment in order to facilitate occupational performance. I have reached a similar conclusion that the focus of occupational therapy is to facilitate synergy between the client and their environment. The result of this synergy will be occupational performance. Occupational therapists are keen to the needs of the client as they relate to completing occupations within a given environment utilizing the client’s capabilities.

Occupational therapy has a long-standing history of being a client-centered profession that aims to understand each person individually to best meet occupational performance needs in their day to day life. Occupational therapists utilize a multitude of resources to best create a plan of care for each client. Resources that are used often include: standardized assessments, evaluations, client-centered interventions and theoretical frame of reference. A theoretical frame of reference is defined as "a set of interrelated internally consistent concepts, definitions, postulates and principles that provide a systematic description of and prescription for a practitioner 's interaction within his domain of concern" (Creighton, 1985). This paper

Occupational therapy is an interesting discipline which has its roots in just about every other form of therapy and medicine. Many aspects of occupational therapy are seen in everyday life, yet go unnoticed because of how commonplace they are in our society. When I thought of occupational therapy, before doing research, I thought of specialized equipment such as a modified spoon to help a person who had suffered a stroke can feed themselves once again. This happens to be only one of many skills that occupational therapists employ to assist patients. They also work closely with other medical professionals to give the best care possible to their patients. Throughout this paper I will discuss more in depth what occupational therapists do

AOTA. (2014) Occupational Therapy Practice Framework: Domain and Process (3RD ed.). AOTA Press. www.aota.org (Links to an external site.)Links to an external

Most people do not know what Occupational Therapy (OT) is and thus the importance of OT is hugely undervalued. This essay will discuss not only my personal motivation for choosing OT as my field of study, but also the events in the history of OT which I find to be the most important, and the core and purpose of OT. When I gaze around my classroom, I feel pity and sadness towards my classmates. Many of my classmates, if not most of them, were either forced by their parents to study OT or chose to study OT simply because they were rejected for their first choice. Unlike my classmates, I chose OT because it is exactly what I want to do.

To ensure that a client and occupational-therapist gain the maximum benefit from the therapist’s skills and knowledge occupational-therapists follow a process which focuses on engagement in occupation. This processes is based on theory and clinical reasoning. It plays a vital role in successful therapy. It supports a client centered process, it encourages therapeutic use of self which build a good rapport with clients, it identifys a number of the client’s requirements, necessary skills and possible meaning of occupations, it aids in correct execution of evaluation, assessment and intervention as well as correct choice of model of reference (Reed & Sanderson 1999). Reed and Sanderson’s Concepts of Occupational Therapy (1999) sets out stages

Originally, I first learned about OT through a class at the group home agency I had worked for as a direct support professional. The occupational therapist explained the benefits of sensory interventions, and the importance of leisure and social participation when working with individuals with intellectual disabilities. Since this experience had caused me to switch from special education to occupational therapy, a part of me will always be invested in supporting people with ID.

The use of therapeutic use of self is engrained throughout the philosophies of occupational therapy. It becomes an integral part of the therapist. Semour (2012) explains it as planned and deliberate interactions with a client. It is a multifaceted approach involving the building of rapport to establish the relationship with the client, being sensitive to a clients personal experiences and ensuring the therapist practices remain client centred (Semour, 2012). The therapist needs to understand the clients story and show personal sensitivity, respect and trust of the clients own experiences. (Taylor, 2008)

Focus Reflection Assignment The first assessment was Career Planning Readiness. The scores ranged from 1 to 5, 5 being very prepared and 1 being not prepared. The first assessment was self and I scored a 5. This is one of the most important test because it identifies occupations that are compatible with your personal attributes.