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 then standing up to use a walker. I found that this practitioner was an occupational therapist.  

 After observing OT's in many diverse settings, I realized that in the beginning, I thought nurses would be doing what OT's actually do: working with people on regaining their independence. From the time we are born until the time we leave this earth, the one thing we want the most is our independence. Being independent and having the ability to do things on our own is rewarding in itself; yet, many of us take this ability for granted. The profession of occupational therapy appealed to me for this reason. When something negative impacts someone's life or the way they typically do things, I want to help them navigate comfortably in their own environment again. The one on one contact between the client and therapist is also important to me; as well as the ability to meet someone and work with him or her closely, so that they too can achieve short and long-term goals. 

I knew that becoming a health professional was a part of my life, I just didn’t know how it was going to play a part in my journey.

Comments

  1. Dr. LancasterJanuary 31, 2019 at 8:49 AM

    Wow, Erica - this is really powerful! I see so much "OT-think" in your writing and look forward to reading more in the future!

    ReplyDelete

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