Occupational Therapist Goals

Occupational therapists play various roles as a member of the health care team. Specifically, the occupational therapist’s role in the post-acute setting will be the focus of this paper. Like other professionals there is an amount of education required to become an occupational therapist. There are specific goals and role that occupational therapist focuses on as a member of the health care team.

Occupational therapist and registered nurse are both an essential component of the interprofessional team but they both had to achieve different requirements to practice in their respective profession. The degree that is required to become an occupational therapist is a master’s degree. After obtaining a master’s degree the NBCOT Certification Examination

One of the situations that he/she encounters is that the client may be of a different culture, speak a different language therefore adjustments need to be made in order to facilitate effective patient teaching. Another situation that is come across is that the plan of care needs to be adjusted frequently to reflect the changes, whether they be advances or worsening, in the client condition (“Position Statement: Occupational Therapy in Oncology”, 2015). There are situations that arise in the occupational therapists’ profession that can slow down the ability to effectively provide care for the client which is not uncommon in other professions

I saw first hand how the OT sought to reach the goal that had been agreed upon between the patient and himself. The OT encouraged the client to get dressed as best as he could on his own. The patient also was encouraged to brush his own teeth and eat his breakfast by himself. The client was also educated on why half of his body need to be trained again to perform tasks. I witnessed first hand how the occupational therapist added to the patient life by ensuring that the was on their way to being as close to independent as possible thus ensuring that whole person care was being achieved.

Occupational therapist play an important role in the team of healthcare professional. Occupational therapists are educated on how to effectively provide care to the client and they have their own set of roles and specific goals that help the client achieve a better quality of life. There are circumstances that arise in the OT’s profession that cause a delay in patient care, but that is common in various professions. Other team member such the RN can facilitate the goals that were implemented by the OT. With various professions caring for a client, whole person care can be