Essay Questions
1. Describe your understanding of the occupational therapy profession.
Occupational Therapy is a vital segment of the health care field. Individuals in this profession make a difference in the lives of others by helping their patients function effectively despite their disability, illness, or injury. They help by teaching patients many activities of daily living tasks which can include, grooming, toileting, dressing, eating, mobility, and much more! Along with the daily living tasks, Occupational Therapy helps individuals to be productive and successful in ways they want to be, like going school, taking care of others, managing their homes, preparing meals. Most importantly, they help their patients adapt to their environments and increase their independent function by helping them perform tasks with as little help from others as possible. Without Occupational Therapy, some patients with temporary disabilities could have a permanent disability. If individuals receive the Occupational treatments, they can prevent the loss of function.
2. Explain your interest in becoming an Occupational Therapy Assistant. My interest in becoming an Occupational Therapy Assistant comes from my desire to change lives. I want to help people do activities they never thought they would be able to do again. I want to be there for others and teach individuals to live a “Normal life.” I want to make a difference by being helpful and compassionate to others through a difficult
In the daily life of an Occupational Therapy assistant, it consists of the person actually being involved with the patient. It’s a lot of hands on, and it’s very challenging when it comes to your own body, because
Lives are changed everyday by occupational therapy assistants. I have the dedication, compassion, and ability to celebrate every miniscule improvement needed to become a successful OTA. This a quickly growing field where I can use the talents I already possess to excel. I can easily recall the differences made in my papaw’s life through occupational therapy and the way every advancement in mobility or independence was as exciting as it would be with a new
To be able to participate in one 's own life, to do the things we want to do, and to competently perform the activities that form part of our daily, weekly or monthly routines, is a common goal for most people. This not only includes taking part in the basic activities of self-care, such as grooming and dressing, but also extends to our work and leisure activities. It is through doing things that we learn and develop as human beings. The occupational therapy profession believes that being prevented or hindered in some way from participating in the activities that are important to us could adversely affect our health and wellbeing.
Throughout this course, my mind was opened to several healthcare careers which I was unaware of before. For the careers that I did know about, this course still did a great job at informing me of the professions on a deeper level. After reviewing the lectures and careers, I feel strongly about pursuing a career in Occupational Therapy. More specifically, I want to become an Occupational Therapy Assistant. This was a career that I had in mind when I began the course and I have been interested in it for about two years now. Occupational Therapy Assistants need to be sociable, compassionate, flexible, and enjoy problem solving. I believe I will enjoy this profession because my personality matches with all of these things.
Occupational Therapy has played a role in helping those with Mental and physical disabilities in the United States since 1917. Before that time, Occupational Therapy was used solely in mental institutions to help people that were "more normal" and able to function in a social status. These patients enjoyed things like arts and crafts. It seemed that those who engaged in such activities where perceived as "more healthy". These findings lead Drs. to encourage patients to engage is such activity to improve there overall health. (http://quoccupationaltherapy.weebly.com/history-of-occupational-therapy.htmlhistory-of-occupational-therapy.html)
Occupational therapy, to me, is rehabilitation services that are given to a client in order for them to regain or obtain as much independence as possible to fulfill meaningful activities in their daily lives. This particular case study is about AK, a 2-year-old girl diagnosed with diplegia. As a future occupational therapist, it is important to assess everything about our clients in order to implement successful interventions. “ Occupational therapists are skilled in evaluating all aspects of the domain, their interrelationships, and the client within his or her contexts and environments”(AOTA, 2014).
The occupational therapy profession shares many objectives across the communities, clients, and families they serve. Some of these aims include: “Developing the field of occupational therapy and enhance the professions capabilities to meet the needs of the entire population, providing evidence on the efficacy of occupational therapy. This includes working with organizations and local communities, incorporating education, research, and practices as a complete whole. In addition, developing a team of professionals that innovates and adapts to the developing health needs of the population” (AOTA, 2013). This includes advocacy efforts with policymakers to ensure continued funding to provide care to individuals (AOTA, 2013). Occupational therapy is a distinctive profession that helps
The American Occupational Therapy Association(AOTA) offers continuing education (CE). They are recognized, by NBCOT, state licensure boards, specialty certification providers and employers.There are many areas to specialize in, in both adults and children needs. There are also areas in Health and wellness, mental health, productive aging rehab and disability, work and
Occupational therapy has been in the process of continued development since the 1900’s. With several contributors helping to build the groundwork for creating the awareness needed to bring occupational therapy into the field of health care. Continued research is contributing to the ongoing significance of how occupational therapy is a vital aspect in promoting increased independences in all aspects of healthcare. (Willard, Schell, 2014) With the incorporation of “Occupational Therapy Practice Framework Domain and Process (3rd ed.)” helps creates the foundation for occupational therapy clinicians as well as other health care providers in facilitating the core believe of occupational and the relationship of health and occupation. (AOTA 2014) Therefore, providing a uniform outline of the various aspects of each individual and how they are interconnected to create the foundation of each individual. With a greater understanding of the foundations of that induvial, the clinician can then facilitate the best therapeutic treatment plan for that individual to achieve their personal goals with unified foundations of care.
As part of my Master's in Occupational Therapy (OT), I have been tasked with presenting a community profile experiencing occupational injustice in order to establish their occupational needs through an interactive poster and this written project brief. The community identified is middle-aged Irish men living the London borough of Ealing. This brief will communicate a critical analysis and justification for using occupational therapy as an agent for change with this particular community in mind. A variety of sociocultural factors will also be explored, which are negatively impacting the health and well-being of this community. Occupational justice (OJ) can be defined as "the right of every individual to be able to meet basic needs and to have equal opportunities and life chances to reach toward her or his potential but specific to the individual's engagement in diverse and meaningful occupation."
Occupational Therapy is a health, wellness, and rehabilitation profession devoted to the development of performance and function across their lifetime so that individuals can live their life to the fullest. The holistic approach taken by occupational therapy practitioners is particularly effective in the areas of wellness, health promotion, and prevention. The practice of occupational therapy can take place in health care and education settings, and in community based agencies and organizations. The timing is excellent for occupational therapy in the area of wellness and prevention. Occupational Therapy practitioners administer habilitation and rehabilitation services, which are among the fundamentals health benefits of the
In accordance with Occupational Therapy Practice Framework (OTPF), “the efforts directed toward promoting occupational justice and empowering clients to seek and obtain resources to fully participate in their daily life occupations.” (Occupational Therapy Practice Framework, 3rd Ed., p. S41). I consider occupational therapy to be a compassionate career, practitioners try to grant their clients’ wants and needs to better suit the
Occupational therapy gives the impression of working for children with an autistic disorder in terms of dealing with their sensory difficulties. The therapy will also be primarily featured owing to that the client can make their own progress with help from a specialist encouraging them at every session to grow further which is an excellent method to attain any specific objective set in their sights. Autism is also a severe lifetime spectrum of disorders which, “according to the DSM-IV…is characterized by deficits in [language and cognition plus] three behavioral domains: communication, social-relatedness, and normal range of interests” (Freberg, 2010, p. 476). These afflictions can even bear way to neurological quandaries such as with taking in sensory info. On the whole, occupational therapy makes available the crucial opportunity for such people to endeavor towards a sense of
An occupational therapist is a trained and licensed health care professional who can make a complete evaluation of the impact of disease on the activities of the patient at home and in work situations. Hobbies and recreational activities are considered when an assessment is made. The most generally accepted definition of occupational therapy is that it is an activity, physical or mental, that aids in a patient’s recovery from disease or injury.
A clinical situation that has taken place that has enabled me to incorporate the “Occupational Therapy Practice Framework Domain and Process (3rd Ed.)” (AOTA, 2014) into my approach was when an individual that has had a car accident during an ice storm. We will refer to this individual as Jane. She was a 55 year old housewife that was the primary caretaker of her husband who had suffered a stroke a few years ago. Jane took care of all the home management as well as transportation and health care needs for her husband. Jane was very active in her community as well as her family that lived several hours away.