Personal Statement: A Career As An Occupational Therapy

In order to become an Occupational Therapists Assistant, one must earn an Associate’s Degree, obtain a certification and/or license for OTA, and have 1-2 years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. As I complete my major, I will also be gaining work experience during my Externship. Through this experience, I will have the opportunity to participate actively in my field of work interest alongside my mentors who are OTs and OTAS and gain the hands-on training I will need in order to begin my career as an OTA.

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.

In order to be considered for a job in this field you need to have a Master’s Degree in Occupational Therapy. Along with a Master’s Degree you also need to have a state license, be CPR or Basic Cardiac Life Support (BCLS) certified, sometimes both are necessary. In order to get a state license, you need to go through a Master’s program, have fieldwork experience, and pass the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT) exam. Once pass the exam, you will be given an OTR credential and continued education will have to follow in order to maintain the OTR credential. Others optional certifications can be taken from the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). Also, you are required to have at least one to two years of experience, but some employers may differ. Key skills that an employer’s looks for in an Occupational Therapist are good communications and interpersonal skills, compassion, patience, and strong writing skills. Physical strength is sometimes taken into consideration as

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 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

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.

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 am writing to apply for the Master of Occupational Therapy Practice with Swinburne University of Technology. I initially studied Bachelor of Health Science and Master of Occupational Therapy Practice at La Trobe University from 2013-2017. I took an alternative exit to Bachelor of Health Science as I was excluded from the course due to failing the same subject/placement three times. Despite difficulties and failures, I am determined to strive and become a qualified and competent Occupational Therapist. I always want to become an Occupational Therapist since I was young.

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.

To become an occupational therapist, you’ll need to graduate with a diploma, then attend a college or university and take courses like anatomy/physiology, biology, statistics, psychology, chemistry, and core classes like math and English. Then you’ll need to attend a university that offers an occupational therapy program that will take 5-6 years depending on whether or not you’re a full-time student. Later, when you

I have always wanted a career in which I can make a positive impact on people’s lives. The engaging, challenging and diverse nature of Occupational Therapy meets that need and would allow me to support individuals; enabling them to achieve their personal goals and ultimately gain independence. I want to study this exciting degree as it will equip me with the practical skills to become a confident, knowledgeable and innovative occupational therapist. I have visited Eastbourne Hospitals OT department to meet the therapists and see the range of environments and equipment used. I have also spoken directly with OT graduates and service users which has given me a deeper understanding of the scope and breadth of OT.

When I attended the Terrace Child Development Centre, I witnessed one therapy session with a 7.5 month old who was born 5 weeks earlier. This child had two prior sessions with the occupational therapist to work on independent sitting, and rolling over. The therapy session for that day was about getting the infant to roll over properly and trying to get the infant to start crawl. The infant would roll over with a wide stance of legs and arms, using the arms and head to roll over, and not using the hips or legs. The occupational therapist showed the parents how to properly help the infant to roll over by getting the infant to roll with the leg and hip first with the use of the parent’s finger to guide the hip to roll over. The occupational therapist

I have chosen occupational therapy as a career because of my family experiences, volunteer work, and my personal skills and qualities that I believe will contribute to my success as an occupational therapist. Occupational therapy has interested me from a young age because my mom, who is an occupational therapist, inspired me and instilled a passion within me for helping others. I have always been interested in pursuing a career in the health field where I am able to put my sills to great use in order to help other people. I am also drawn to occupational therapy because of the amount of variety within the profession. I love that occupational therapists have a wide range of populations to work with, as well as settings and specializations that they can chose to pursue. I also like how holistic and patient centered the therapist’s approach is while helping patients. For me, the biggest reason that I would to be an occupation therapist is because of the opportunity