Personal Narrative: My Career As A Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant

My fascination with technology sparked my interest in the health care field and ultimately in occupational therapy. As a computer technician I felt how gratifying it was to help people adapt to their environment to accomplish their daily tasks. Seeing injury and exhaustion set in on my coworkers as they sat in their grey cubicles for hours, moved me to craft ergonomic workspaces, such as replacing their seats with yoga balls to improve their posture and spinal alignment, while providing others with ergonomic keyboards and mice that alleviated the numbing pain caused by their carpal tunnel syndrome. The support that I provided left the people around me healthy and happier, and gave me a sense of accomplishment that was unique and fulfilling. Occupational therapy provides me this rewarding feeling daily, as I help my patients rebuild the skills necessary to participate in the activities they love and depend on.

I have a lot to offer as an occupational therapist, from my experiences in my

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 occupational therapy story begins about two years ago. I was 20 years old and beyond excited to be

On my search for a full-time job, I came across this ad. This ad led me to a career option, that I had not be aware of. I had never heard of an occupational therapy assistant. The picture demonstrated what they did, and it moved me. In fact, I wish I had known about them when my mom was ill. We were looking for a physical therapist, and they had said that it would not be a good fit for her. She was ill, but she wanted that independence. Perhaps, an occupational therapist would have been able to help her with that.

What intrigues me most in the field of Occupational Therapy is that I could make a positive impact in the lives of others. An occupational therapist can help a patient revitalize their physical, cognitive, or emotional disabilities, and develop or restore its functionality through continuous practice and effort. There is nothing more fulfilling for me than to see an individual achieving the greatest possible independence. This train of thought arose when I observed an occupational therapist working with my mother to return her arm to feeling normal again after her accident.

Once I get my degree in Physical Therapist Assistant, I would like to apply my new skills. My new knowlege and skills in; psychology, medicine, and biology. It would help me rehabilitate my patitents back to their orginal health state.

My name is Yazmin Velazco; I was born in Camaguey, Cuba. I immigrated to the USA in 1983. I lived in Atlanta Georgia for over 21 years; I now live in Miami Florida for the past 4 years. I am engaged to a wonderful man, I have three wonderful kids all boys. my oldest, my best friend Tomas is 19 years old, my middle one is 8 years old Orestes Bka Bebo, and my baby Santi his 11 months old, I must say he, and my best friend Elizabeth whom is an occupational therapist herself. They both inspired me to get into school at age 42. "The most important factor in my success, however, is my family, my own determination, my organizational skills, my communication skills, and my love and concern for others. After

Growing up, I always knew I wanted to have a fulfilling career that allowed me to help others. After much reflection, I figured I could never do both by sitting behind a desk in a quiet establishment. When I was in the eighth grade my first thought was becoming a physical therapist. I got the idea from my older sister as she started her college career preparing herself for physical therapy but soon gave up because of the hard classes she had to take, which then led her to get her degree in Recreational Therapy. I told myself I would not let the difficulty of class interfere with achieving my goals.

Today was tedious. I was assigned two patients to do a chart review of. I did not write down some key diagnosis because I thought it was not important. The most difficult part of this task for me was figuring out which information is important for the evaluation. We went to see our patients for the day. The highlight of my day was seeing a patient who already knew what occupational therapist does. She was the first patient who knew what occupational therapist does, and she gave a short and straight to the point definition. I was truly impressed. I wrote four evaluations today and I forgot some information that I could not remember or put into words. Goal writing is easier in this setting as oppose to in class. All of the goals were occupation

I was taught that if you wanted anything, plan, peruse, do your best, never quit, and only then will you achieve your goals. My parents have been that example because of where they came from and the hardship they have gone through. This has molded me into the woman I am becoming to face my fears, grab the wheel, and steer my life into what I want it to be. I’ve always enjoyed helping other people from my many years in volunteering with Red Cross to giving my time to an elderly home. Working with Red Cross I was always put in the mother baby unit, seeing the new infants and getting to see the nurses having fun with their jobs I decided to pick a career I enjoy. Volunteering at a elderly made me realize how much I took pleasure in taking care of other peoples’ family members while they were away.

What do I want to do when I’m older? What college do I want to go to? How am I supposed to know this, I don’t even know what I want to eat for lunch! When I was little, I would always watch Hannah Montana, which was my all-time favorite show. I was convinced that when I grew up, I would become a popstar. I imagined myself living life just like she did. I even had a blonde wig which looked just like hers. Sometimes I would go into my room, put the wig on, and play her songs as loud as possible. I would get my hair brush out, use it as a microphone, and start dancing around my room like nobody was watching. But now, because I’m older, I realize my dreams of rock star fame and fortune have longed sizzled

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

I have always been interested in a career in the health-care industry. However, I was not sure what fields I wanted to pursue. My grandmother was on a motorcycle accident 4 year ago. She suffered head injuries, road rash to her arm, elbow, and leg. My grandmother’s head injuries and road rash eventually started to heal, but she had trouble with using her hands to make things such as wearing her clothes. Hence, she was referred to occupational therapy clinic. At that time, I really had no idea of what occupational therapy was. Thus, I went with her to see the occupational therapist twice. I saw that the therapist not only helped my grandmother’s through the pain but also helped her regained the ability of using her hands doing things. My grandmother’s

I chose occupational therapy because of my personal experiences my grandmother had after a fall that caused her brain damage. Although I was young, I would go to her therapy sessions and help her with everyday activities such as brushing her hair, turning the stove on and off and going for walks with her. Young and naïve I remember thinking to myself, “Wow, this is so easy, Grandma, why can’t you do these activities?” I remember the things my grandma loved to do. Like most grandmas, she was the best cook and baker around. Almost every day she was making a meal or a special dessert to share with our family. After her injury she was unable to do what was meaningful to her everyday life. Watching her struggle made me want to help her get healthier. Eventually, after years of therapy, she recovered enough to live an almost-independent life. Being able to look back on that time has made me realize how important and rewarding a career in occupational therapy can be. Today, when I think of her, I think of my intention to be an occupational therapist assistant and how that work will be as meaningful to me as Grandma’s was to her. Helping someone so close to me makes me want to help others and the ones they love succeed in leading healthier, easier lives.