Skip to main content

My Experience as a fUTure OT

Today I wanted to talk about my personal experience and thoughts as a current occupational therapy student. Since school started just a few months ago in January, my perspective of this profession has changed significantly. For example, I have always planned on working in a geriatric setting once I graduated; however, after just a few classes, my eyes have been opened to numerous OT settings that I could see myself pursuing a career in. I am constantly learning about new populations and settings that OT's work with, and even more emerging practice areas are coming about. 

As the AOTA Vision 2015 states, "Occupational therapy maximizes health, well-being, and quality of life for all people, populations, and communities through effective solutions that facilitate participation in everyday living." Occupational therapists work with ALL people, not matter their background or disability. This profession is centered around allowing individuals to enjoy life though participating in activities that are meaningful to them. 

Everyone in our program has become friends in just a few short months because we all share the same passion for this profession. We are all here because we want to use our strengths and knowledge to help others live life to the fullest.

Occupational therapy has so much to offer, and I love learning something new about this profession every day. Life can be hard, but with the help from an occupational therapist, it can get better. I cannot wait to advocate for this profession and spread the word so that others might be interested in becoming occupational therapists one day. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Journal Article Review

The article I chose to review was titled  The Benefits of Group Occupational Therapy for Patients With Parkinson’s Disease. I found this article through AJOT, and chose it because I am very interested in Parkinson's Disease interventions. This study looked at how progressive physical symptoms of Parkinson's disease affect participation in activities of daily living.  The aim of the study was to see whether a group rehab program using an OT approach specifically designed for IPD, in association with ideal medical management, could maintain the functional status of these patients.  A two group experimental design was used in this study. Individuals with Idiopathic Parkinson's disease were randomly assigned to either an experimental group receiving group occupational therapy intervention, or a control group receiving only medicinal treatment.  Immediately after randomization, the  experimental group received 10 sessions of group occupational therapy....

Leadership Summit Reflection

I met with my fellow classmates Rachel Scarbrough, Emily White, and Caitlyn White for my leadership summit. We discussed our ideas and current plans for group facilitation, as well as the theories that we based our protocols on. Rachel is presenting on budgeting, Emily is presenting on volunteer opportunities, and Caitlyn is presenting on care of pets. I enjoyed getting to hear their ideas since we all are facilitating different group discussions. Brainstorming with my classmates really helped me come up with more ideas for my group protocol. I think it is important to collaborate with fellow colleagues in the school and professional setting in order to not only help you think your own ideas through, but also to receive feedback from others who might be able to add more creativity to your plan. I will absolutely do this when I am a practicing OT. I enjoyed this experience and found it to be very beneficial for this group assignment.