Physical And Occupational Therapists Help Improve Someone 's Life

As a physical therapist, one is able to make a difference in the lives of the patients he or she encounters. Whether they have a minor injury, such as a broken

The occupational therapy profession shares many objectives across the communities, clients, and families they serve. Some of these aims include: “Developing the field of occupational therapy and enhance the professions capabilities to meet the needs of the entire population, providing evidence on the efficacy of occupational therapy. This includes working with organizations and local communities, incorporating education, research, and practices as a complete whole. In addition, developing a team of professionals that innovates and adapts to the developing health needs of the population” (AOTA, 2013). This includes advocacy efforts with policymakers to ensure continued funding to provide care to individuals (AOTA, 2013). Occupational therapy is a distinctive profession that helps

Without occupational therapists, millions of people would struggle to live their everyday lives. Occupational therapists give specialized assistance to people with physical, developmental, social or emotional problems. This assistance is used to live productive and independent or semi independent lives. Occupational therapists can be used, and is effective for people of all ages. Many people have not heard of occupational therapy and are not aware of the positive impact it has on members of our society. With this paper I want to spread the knowledge that I have on occupational therapy. Many people that could benefit from occupational therapy do not even know that it exists. This career is difficult for everyone involved, but the impact it has

There are several grey areas between physical therapy and occupational therapy. While both occupations focus on physical functions of the anatomy, their intentions vary. An occupational therapist’s mission is to improve physical functions so a person can work or participate in daily life. A physical therapist is tasked with diagnosing and treating physical ailments or injuries. The relationship between physical therapists and occupational therapists shows common characteristics, however; they are different in many ways. Some differences and similarities are the amount of required education, salary, licensing, and job duties.

World War II was a very influential event on occupational therapy. There was a high demand of occupational therapist in the rehabilitation aspect as soldiers were returning injured from war (Schell, Gillen, and Scaffa, 2014). Occupational therapy took a huge turn in this time as well that influenced the techniques that occupational therapists use in our day and age. Prior to World War II, occupational therapy was considered an art and craft based therapy. During this time, the focus moved to rehabilitation techniques that were scientifically based (Schell, Gillen, and Scaffa, 2014). The wounded warriors were the primary focus during this time in history, and the prevalence and development of prosthetics and orthotics really took off.

Occupational therapy is much more than enhancing activities of daily living to me. I see occupational therapy as helping people achieve daily freedom and making attainable goals to improve their physical and mental health while providing a professional relationship to encourage trust and reliability throughout treatment. Something as simple as tying shoes or being able to grab a fork to eat can make all the difference in the world to the patients an occupational therapist will treat. I have been working at a hand clinic since September and have seen that the small achievements like the tying of the shoes of the ability to bend the finger 10 more degrees puts a big smile on the faces of the patients and improves their outlook and demeanor towards their injury. Encouraging home exercise, helping with self cares, teaching writing skills and helping provide custom splints are all aspects that I have seen with my job and observation of occupational therapy as a whole. When I started my job at the hand clinic a therapist told me that the most basic occupational therapy explanation she could provide me is that occupational therapy is a way of helping others achieve a better level of daily living for things that they want and or need to do in life than when they sought help from therapy.

Physical therapy has a long and changing history. As a medical treatment, physical therapy goes back as far as cave dwellers, but was not considered a profession until World War I. During ancient times many places, worshiped the sun for its healing powers. Places such as Germany who worshiped and also set up fields where people lay in the sun to get well. Different therapies that were used throughout history contributed to physical therapy as a profession, hyper therapy, cryotherapy, hydrotherapy, and electrotherapy. As a polio epidemic swept the United States from 1915 through 1917, many therapists services were requested to help victims recover from the effects of this devastating illness. By the end of World War II, physical therapy was a widely accepted therapeutic practice. Near the 19th century in Britain, physical therapy was established, and all of the people being trained were women. The first

Most of these people lost hope and became anxious and depressed because there was not enough food. Occupational therapists were called upon to help WW1 Veterans adjust to civilian life. During WW2 women began working more in the health care field, the need for Occupational therapists were at an all time high. Since there was a higher survival rate, solders needed services which included Physical and mental rehabilitation. During the rehabilitation movement in the 1960's our injured veterans created a demand for experienced personnel to treat solders and get paid for their medical services . After which the role of certified Occupational therapy assistant was established to help with the demand of the Occupational

A physical therapist and an occupational therapist are two job titles that people feel are the same but they are not. Physical therapists focus more on evaluating and diagnosing movement dysfunctions, whereas occupational therapists focus on evaluating and improving a person’s functional abilities. However, they both involve educating people on how to prevent and avoid injuries

Physical Therapist/Occupational Therapist’s careers are on the rise! According to my interest in adaptive technology, and my passion for helping others, a career as a Physical Therapist/Occupational Therapist (PTOT) appears to be a very positive, and a rewarding career choice for me! As a result, as a PTOT I will be working with new adaptive technologies and career advancement, reveling in ultimate job security, and new methodologies, open to growing employment opportunities, experiencing unlimited options, and the rewards of helping others to be healthy, healthy and knowing I had a part in a their recovery is key. However, as I embark on this career path as a PTOT that I have considered all the positive attributes, and the negative

There are many things that you have to be able to do to be a occupational therapist. You have to be able to “Test and evaluate patients ' physical and mental abilities and analyze medical data to determine realistic rehabilitation goals for patients” ("Occupational Therapists."Ohio Means Jobs ). This means that you have to be able to figure out your patient 's physical and mental abilities and you have to know what is best for your patient.

Occupational Therapy has been around since World War 1 when OT

The association started with 274 members and was led by Mary McMillan. In 1922, the association changed the name to American Physiotherapy Association. In the 1930s, APA introduced the first in its history a code of ethics and men were admitted thus membership swelled to just under 1,000 members.” (apta) With World War II looming on the horizon with Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan and then the national poliomyelitis outbreak during the 1940s and 1950s, physical therapists stood in more demand than ever. The association's membership swelled to 8,000 members and the number of physical therapy education programs across the US increased from sixteen to thirty-nine. By the late 1940s, the association changed its name again to the American Physical Therapy Association, and opened its first office in New York City. With the new office, sections were created to promote and develop specific objectives of the profession. The first two sections were the school and private practice sections. In the 1960s, APTA membership reached almost 15,000, and the number accredited institutions grew nationally to fifty two. Now headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, APTA represents more than 90,000 members throughout the United States. A national professional organization, APTA's goal is to foster advancements in physical therapy practice, research, and education. Currently two hundred thirteen institutions offer physical therapy education programs and three-hundred nine institutions offer physical therapist and physical therapist assistant education curriculums across the United States.” (apta) Physical therapist have seen their profession come from absolute nothing to a thriving career over the course of the twentieth and twenty-first

Physical therapists are members of a health care team, specially trained to improve movement and flinction, relieve pain, and expand movement potential. Through evaluation and individualized treatment programs, physical therapists can both treat existing problems and provide preventive health care for people with a variety of needs (Physical Therapy-Improving 1). Physical therapists are very knowledgeable and skillful concerning the human body. Physical therapy is a complex, but rewarding field to pursue as a career. Specialization, working conditions, job outlook, salaries, and education requirements need to be taken into consideration when contemplating a career as a physical therapist.

Physical therapy focuses in more on larger movement, increasing mobility and strength, and physically preparing a patient as best as they can to move around in the world. While an occupational therapist also helps a patient dealing with movement, occupational therapy focuses more on fine motor skills and teaching a patient skills necessary for increased independence so they don't have to rely on others as