What Is The Importance Of Occupational Therapy

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.

To be able to participate in one 's own life, to do the things we want to do, and to competently perform the activities that form part of our daily, weekly or monthly routines, is a common goal for most people.  This not only includes taking part in the basic activities of self-care, such as grooming and dressing, but also extends to our work and leisure activities.  It is through doing things that we learn and develop as human beings.  The occupational therapy profession believes that being prevented or hindered in some way from participating in the activities that are important to us could adversely affect our health and wellbeing.

Occupational therapy was founded on the principle that participation in meaningful activity is important to the health of individuals. Mental health is very important to the well-being of an individual and those around them. 450 million people experience mental and neurological disorders around the world. These disorders are the leading 5-10 causes of disability worldwide. As services for individuals with mental illness have shifted from the hospital to the community, there has also been a shift in the philosophy of service delivery. In the past, there was an adherence to the medical model; now the focus is on incorporating the recovery model. (2) Occupational therapy’s focus that taking part in engaging and meaningful activities benefits the mental well-being of the individual.

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 concepts and principles in the Founding Vision of 1917 and the Centennial Vision of 2007 establish a connection between our past and present. Comparing the two Visions shows that many of our modern day values were first outlined by occupational therapy’s founders a century ago. The Founding Vision reads, “The particular objects for which the corporation is formed are as follows: The advancement of occupation as a therapeutic measure; for the study of the effect of occupation upon the human being; and for the scientific dispensation of this knowledge” (National Society for the Promotion of Occupational Therapy [NSPOT], 1917). Where the Centennial Vision reads, “We envision that occupational therapy is a powerful, widely recognized, science-driven,

I chose occupational therapy as a career for many reasons. I feel fulfilled when I help others. I want to enjoy my job and not work for money. Moreover, I want to help patients reach their goals because the outcomes make me feel proud. When my brother was little, he had a hard time grasping the pen to write. An Occupational Therapist used to come to our house a few times a week. I would see the therapist try to help my brother write. My mother recently told me that when I was younger, I said, "I want to be just like that therapist."

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).

I chose occupational therapy because it helps people with special needs or rehab stuff to help them get better and get through school or work days. What do occupational therapists do and who do they work with? “Occupational therapy services typically include: an individualized evaluation, during which the client/family and occupational therapist determine the person’s goals, customized intervention to improve the person’s ability to perform daily activities and reach the goals, and an outcomes evaluation to ensure that the goals are being met and/or make changes to the intervention plan (ACTA).” Occupational therapist often work with younger kids with special needs to help them make it through school but sometimes they work with

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.

This scholarship is very important to me in many ways.This scholarship will help me physically and emotionally if I receive money. For instance, it will make me stress less about how I am going to be able to pay for my tuition and fees and not have debt. Also, it will give me a way to purchase my books for the classes I will take.Since I will not receive financial aid I will have to apply for more scholarships. I plan to go to Northwest Shoals to be able to get my basics done and further my education and transfer to Wallace State to be able to become an Occupational Therapist it has always been a desire to work with many people and help someone out if they needed it. Some of my college goals is to be able to maintain a high GPA and do the

A faith-based education can help me expand my worldview. Working towards an advanced education at Loma Linda University will further expand both my personal and professional worldview. For example, if I am admitted to the MSOT program, I will be placed in the occupational therapy cohort that may be composed of people from different parts of the world. Together, we will work towards achieving a common goal. As a result, both my personal and professional perspective will cultivate through experience and learning from staff, faculty, and peers. Nevertheless, I am confident, I will understand how occupational therapy functions through a spiritual view.

The occupational therapy field is frequently being left behind in the health care field because most of the public is uneducated or unaware of the Occupational Therapy practice and the research that is involved. The public also has a few concerns of OT which include the time commitment to the program, the availability of services, the impact of the therapy on other family members, and the cost involved in continued care. While there are drawbacks to Occupational Therapy, the benefits of the practice outweigh them. The value and purpose of occupational therapy is to support the health and participation of clients by engaging them in their desired occupations. Occupations are activities that reflect cultural values, provide structure to living and meaning to individuals. These activities meet human needs for self-care, enjoyment, and participation in society. There are many different types of therapy used for people with disabilities such as autism, people with limitations from strokes, sicknesses such as cancer, and they can even help prevent childhood obesity. The different types of therapy can range from interventions all the way to dolphin assisted therapy, whatever the therapist finds appropriate. The similarity is that the Occupational Therapist will research and pick the most beneficial type of therapy to proceed with for that certain type of disability or problem that person is having. I believe

Have you ever wanted to work in the medical field but can't handle the blood? By being an occupational therapist you can accomplish this. This job would be a great job for me because I love to help and meet new people. An occupational therapist is a person whose goal is the help people achieve idependence, meaning and satisfaction in all aspects of their lives. The reason I chose this job is because I get to help people who are physically disabled. I get to be a part of their lives by helping them better themselves by assisting them into doing everyday things. (Minoritynurse.com)

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 success of a therapy relies on the therapists’ skills, knowledge and personal attributes. To be effective, one must have a background in anatomy, assistive technology and patient care (“How to Obtain Your Occupational Therapy Degree,” n.d.). Other desirable attributes include compassion, flexibility, patience, flexibility, as well as technical and social skills like communication, writing and interpersonal skills. These skills and traits are especially important to have since occupational therapy is patient centered.