Occupational Therapy is a therapy that blankets everything people do in their lives. Such a broad field can be very difficult to define. Unlike Physical Therapy who people instantly identify as a field that get people walking. In the past the vision of the field was broader. “In 2004 The Scenario were developed” a structure created with the Occupational Therapy framework.
Occupational therapy is an arcane profession to the general populous. Occupational therapists help all individuals live life to their fullest by maximizing one’s level of independence through engaging
There are many responsibilities OTA’s have on a typical day and they can vary from day to day or patient to patient. Occupational Therapy Assitants execute the plan created by the Occupational Therapist. Performing cleical tasks such as scheduling appointments, and answering phone calls is another responsibility. Occupational Therapy Assistants do more work directly with the patients, rather than the Occupational Thereapist who does more desk work, creating the plans and prescribing exercises and activities to be completed by the patient.
The goal of this profession is to provide service to those in need of it. Responsibilities I may be granted include demonstrating and proposing specific equipment to the patients, observing, evaluating, educating patients and their kin, elaborating on treatment plans, and aiding those with various disabilities. A typical day in this career will likely involve traveling to numerous homes and discovering ways to help people lie their lives more comfortably. Occupational therapists usually work on their feet and might work night and weekend
For the practice of Occupational Therapy it teaches meaningful, functional, and adaptive life skills; it is a profession that enhances activities of daily living (ADL), and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). IADL’s including community mobility, is a critical area for the United States citizens. Driving is an instrumental activity that needs addressed with each client for safety and testing motor movements. Between 2002 and 2012, more than 1.5 million U.S. soldiers returned to the United States after an active duty Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Operation Iraq Freedom (OIF; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs [VA], 2012a). Soldiers are trained specifically to what branch of service they’re going into.
and intrigued by the mind-body connection as well as the importance of human activity and occupation in maintaining mental and physical well-being. At the same time, my desire to work directly with people and be able to make a positive and lasting change to their lives by empowering them and helping discover their strengths and confidence in themselves to achieve their goals, led me to a realization that a career in occupational therapy would be a perfect fit for me. To me occupational therapy is a dynamic, rewarding, challenging, and inspiring field where I can fully realize my skills and knowledge. Having always been a firm believer in the patient-centric approach, I am passionate about providing excellent service to patients by improving their performance, preventing illness and disability and promoting adaptation to life
First, the theory of ethical egoism. According to this theory, “actions are morally right because they maximize self-interest” (Farias, 2012, slide 6). When occupational therapists agree to perform duties or work on skills that are outside of the OT scope of services, they are working to promote their own self-interests and well-being. It feels good to help others and when we believe that we are going above and beyond to keep our clients happy, we are doing what is in our best interests.
During the 1960s, as a medicine became “specialized”, so did OT. Occupational Therapists were also called upon and qualified to treat in the fields of pediatrics and developmental disabilities. In 1965, under the amendments to the Social Security Acts, Medicare now covered inpatient occupational therapy services.
As an occupational therapist I would like to help individuals who are differently abled gain quality of life and independence by improving upon both mental and physical challenges to function as a whole person, as this is what I understand the role of the occupational therapist from both personal and observational experience to be. I believe this is accomplished through providing encouragement and support, educating each client and their loved
Becoming an occupational therapist is my passion and my long-term career goal. Since a young age I have been incredibly inspired and motivated to befriend and help disabled individuals. Having grown up with a disabled mother who benefited from the services of occupational therapy I had the opportunity to see first hand how the experience gave can give individuals like her fulfilling and productive lives. With both parents working as healthcare professionals, including my mother who is now an occupational therapist herself, I see every day how rewarding the field is. Through my life I have had unique personal, professional and educational experiences that have shaped me into a strong candidate for an advanced education in occupational therapy.
Howat, personal communication, March 22, 2018). Occupational therapist’s main roles include encouraging clients to develop new skills, helping them find improved ways of completing activities, manipulating the individual’s residence or workspace to meet their needs, or through providing therapy devices and equipment (About Occupational Therapy, 2018). When prescribing therapy devices, the occupational therapist must ensure the client knows how to best use it to ensure the client gets a full solution, not just a product (About Occupational Therapy, 2018). A further responsibility of occupation therapists is to consider the individual values of the client, an example of this is making a physically harmful activity less so because of the emotional benefits of the activity (K. Howat, personal communication, March 22,
I have always had the intense desire to care and look after people from a very young age. I firmly believe that everyone deserves the best quality of life possible and this is what had drawn me to occupational therapy as a career path in the first place. It is so easy to take for granted all the everyday tasks we can do and we seldom consider the effect of not being able to complete them. As an occupational therapist I would be able to make a positive impact on someone’s life and make it possible for them to enjoy their life. I want the opportunity to provide support to people, help them gain independence and watch them grow more confident in their own ability.
I learned that occupational therapy is not just about physical limitations, strength and endurance, but more about a client centered approach indicative of adaptations and interventions. An OT practitioner can assist clients in returning to an independent level of functioning by creating and developing activities that are meaningful to them. According to AOTA (2011) “The practice of occupational therapy means the therapeutic use of
Occupational therapy services will be provided in the classroom and the OT room as
This helps highlight the role of parents as the primary support to their child’s growth and development. It also increases the family-centered nature of occupational therapy. Parent involvement provides more relevant intervention in their daily lives and helps show improvement in the child’s outcome. The results of this study helped show that the coaching and training of parents demonstrated a significant improvement in the child’s outcome. Parent participation, indeed maximizes the gains of therapist provided
