The Big Question: Why OT?
In this field of occupational therapy, practitioners have to continuously advocate for their profession. A part of advocating for your profession may be simply answering why you chose the field over all the other health professional programs. So here’s kind of how I personally discovered the field of occupational therapy (OT). Unlike many of my friends, I didn’t necessarily know what I wanted to do with my life. I never had goals of becoming an occupational therapist. I went to school with hopes of becoming a nurse. Although I felt that nursing was my calling, I wasn’t happy nor was I enjoying the experience. I remember one day in clinical, there was a practitioner guiding a patient through what looked like steps or a routine they had gone over together. Even though I was supposed to be checking on my own patients, I took it upon myself to see just what it was they were doing. I watched as the practitioner worked with the patient on getting out of bed; putting on a sweater; and