Occupational Therapy: What Puts it Above the Rest Occupational Therapy is one among many other therapeutic ways in which to correct a physical or mental problem. The main goal of this type of therapy is “to enable people to participate in the activities of everyday life” (Definition of Occupational Therapy). Through Occupational Therapy, there is hope to regain majority to full use in the area that was damaged. There are many different situations in which this type of therapy could be required, it is just dependent on the diagnosis and extent of injury. Along with this branch of therapy, Physical and Speech therapy are also prominent in the rehabilitation of a patient. Physical Therapy is a widely known and effective way in which …show more content…
Exercises completed during sessions could include stretching on a padded mat to increase swiftness and ability to lift up and out of bed or sitting position, or the pulling apart of elastic bands to increase upper body duration. Other tools such as weights are used in different positions to increase strength and ability with everyday movements such as standing or lifting. However, in an outpatient clinic, patients are homebound and would potentially be capable of participating in a higher form of activity. “It often includes a variety of exercise equipment and machines to improve strength and balance” (The Difference Between Physical, Speech and Occupational Therapy). Machines that are seen in a normal gyms such as a treadmill or stationary bike would be tools used for increased resistance and range of motion on a patient. Lastly, within a home setting, Physical Therapy will be based from the reason their medical status would keep them homebound. The job of the PT would be to improve quality of life and accessibility at home. An example of what the home patient would do could include: walking up and down stairs, strength exercises from the side of the bed or counter, and getting into and out of a vehicle. Overall, however, Physical Therapy’s purpose is to reduce pain, increase movement and agility, and strengthen a weakened area from injury or surgery. The Second most common therapy known in today’s society is Speech therapy.
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
The name of the society changed in 1923, due to hospitals wanting a national directory of qualified occupational therapists. There now was a minimal standard of training that had to be met before an individual was put in the directory (AOTA, 2009). The name was changed to the American Occupational Therapy Association. The American Medical Association worked with the American Occupational Therapy Association starting in 1933 on getting improved education programs for occupational therapists (AOTA, 2009).
Patricia have been in the hospital since 2015, she asked to the occupational therapy to help to be discharge from the hospital to live in the community center. The OT starting to discuss about the discharge process with the therapist team. In result, the therapist orientated the client prepare for the discharge interview, and worked in researches possible places. The occupational therapist working two times a week to get Patricia independent, and giving the client information about how attain success in the interview process.
Each day clients engage in meaningful and purposive occupations that can be affected by a multitude of incidents that may either support or hinder a client’s ability to function. Traumatic injuries are just one example of incidents that may hinder a client’s occupational performance. Injury can often times lead clients to experience disruptions in their capacities to achieve full occupational performance. Clients who do experience diminished occupational performance can find support through an Occupational Therapist (OT). The OT will utilize a therapeutic decision making process to determine the most appropriate theory along with the client’s knowledge of his or her own needs and wishes to guide therapy. Employing and supporting the client as an advocate for their own needs can allow an OT to determine theories of practice that are best suited for the client’s return to wellbeing. An OT should first attempt to realize the needs and wishes of a client and once an understanding has evolved of what is meaningful to the client the therapist can assess performance skills and patterns that can be addressed by theories developed specifically for OT.
Due to their inability to adjust to American culture and traditions, European Immigrants crowded Psychiatric facilities. Mental illness was looked at from the medical perspective and was viewed as incurable, causing individuals to be directed to asylums. Revolutionizing ideas about the causes and treatments of mental illness and deinstitutionalization revived the role of Occupational Therapist in the role of treatment of mental illness. A century later, and though the assistance of occupational therapy in mental health and in the community remain available, still the prevalence in the 18-25-year-old group continues at double the rate of the general population (AOTA). The recovery model emphasizes independence and supports a person’s journey
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
As an international student from Taiwan, chances are I already carry different perspectives in terms of what role of an Occupational Therapist is in our daily life or what specialty an Occupational Therapist should possess, let alone the cultural difference. For example, there is a phenomenon, at least in Taiwan, where many people treat medical personnel like a babysitter and lack the ability to distinguish medical personnel’s specialty. As I pursue OT degree with such background, I believe I can enrich the program, and even the entire OT field, by unveiling the issues, taking Taiwan as the reflection, that other countries might undergo likewise or confront someday; the profession can be enhanced by exploring both common and new issues.
I am currently getting my bachelor’s degree in exercise science with an emphasis in physical education. Eventually, I want to go into occupational therapy (OT) as an occupational therapy assistant (OTA). OT involves helping people of all ages participate in everyday activities. The assistant is the one who works one on one with the patients instead of administrative work (“About Occupational Therapy, 2017). I felt that an exercise science major coincided with well with OT since it fulfilled a lot of the prerequisites. Kinesiology was one class that caught my eye. I did not really know what kinesiology was or what the class would entail. Throughout the course of the semester, I learned that what we learned and did in class closely relates to
Have you ever wondered what it would be like if you could not do all the little tasks we take for guaranteed every day. If you were physically impaired or mentally impaired, how would you go on to live a normal life? Some people will never know, but for those who have disabilities, an occupational therapist help in finding answers to these questions. According to “Occupational Therapist” in the Career Information Center it states, “Occupational therapists help people who have physical, mental, or emotional impairments improve their ability to perform routine tasks at both home and work. They help patients improve their basic motor functions and reasoning abilities or compensate for permanent loss of function.” In other words, occupational therapy can be defined as assisting people with their impairment in order to help them live a fully functional life. (“Occupational,” Careers).
Everyone is a novice at the beginning, the process to becoming an expert involves life long learning (Harris & Duncan, 2009). In relation to occupational therapy a new graduate is considered a novice. As a novice new graduates have skills in finding information they need and have a good grounding in current occupational therapy theories (Robertson, 2012). However a novice works with a high cognitive load which may challenge then working memory, resulting in errors (Ladyshewsky, 2009). Where a novice will be relying on procedural reasoning until experience is gained, an expert uses conditional reasoning which is a multidimensional process (Fleming, 1991; Robertson, 2012) To transition from novice to expert requires the new graduate to gain
Life is about moments. The moment I found the profession of occupational therapy I knew it was the profession for me. A couple months later, I started observing multiple different Occupational Therapists at McKenna Farms Therapy Services and instantly fell in love. The therapists were very open about their experiences being a therapist. They also taught me how their sessions were broken up and their most effective note taking method. Some of the therapists would even quiz me on what the purpose of specific task was, which helped me learn. Not only did McKenna Farms have occupational therapist, but they also had physical therapist, and speech therapist. This allowed me to witness how these different types of therapist could collaborate and work
What does an individual do if he injures his body or is ill and it does not get better over time? Go to rehabilitation, of course! That is, rehabilitation for the body! These rehabilitation specialists are physical therapists or, as they are sometimes called, “PTs”. A physical therapist is a person who helps the injured manage their pain and improve their movement. A physical therapist is an individual who goes through a certain amount and type of schooling to obtain a specific degree that makes him eligible to become a qualified physical therapist. The promising job outlook and good pay benefits, combined with possessing certain skills, makes this career in physical therapy a great choice.
In order to prepare the University of Central Arkansas students, the university requires that each student take a UCA Core class. As a result, students learn about Diversity, Communication, Critical Inquiry, and Responsible living. Although these skills are learned inside the classroom, students are able to apply these skills into the world while attaining a job in a particular field, such as, Occupational Therapy.
Around the world, there are nurses, doctors, and therapist. The medical field is very broad and there are specific types of fields you can go into to. One very important and usual job that people tend to practice is Occupational Therapy. This is a job that is practiced every day some place, whether it is a hospital, living facility, school etc. This type of work is what helps patients that have suffered a life changing event/ trauma that affects how they live daily life, be able to overcome these hardships. The definition of occupational therapy was written in 1922, by H.A. Pattison. Dr. Pattison defined occupational therapy as “any activity, mental or physical, definitely prescribed and guided for the distinct purpose of contributing to, and hastening recovery from disease or injury.” On OTA works under an OT supervision, only if state law permits it. The main reason I want to be an occupational therapist is because I enjoy helping people overcome adversity, and making people happy. Being caring and compassionate, if you don’t genuinely care about people, occupational therapy is not for you. People do not need a therapist who is harsh, short tempered, impatient, or unforgiving. They need someone who is warm, who understands, and who cares about their well-being. It would probably have to be the enjoyment of what I’m studying. And the thrill it gives to know I’m helping people do things they never thought they’d be able to do again.
Considering the health care field as a changeable environment, many changes have been throughout the entire health care to promote better quality of life of patient throughout the population. Those changes brought better perspectives and different ways to treat patients. Along with those changes, the occupation profession has considerable involved in the way to treat patient. One thing that drastically changed the service delivered by the occupational therapist was the used of conceptual practice models. Different conceptual practice models were identified as the most prominent in the field(Kielhofner,2005). One example of these models is the biomechanical model. The biomechanical model provides a specific way to treat patients which is describe in the review of the two articles that followed.