Statement Of Purpose To Pursue A Degree In Occupational Therapy

Through the almost 100 years of occupational therapy as a profession, occupational therapy have gone from a profession focused only on the mentally ill patient to a profession that is targeting a broad range of population ranging from the special needs population, to veterans, and people with different diseases and physical disabilities or injuries. It is inspirational to know that this profession started based on the ideology that “even the most challenged are entitled to consideration and human compassion” (O'Brien, 2012). Likewise, it is fascinating that occupational therapy played such an important role in both of the world war as reconstruction aides focusing on rehabbing the soldiers and helping veterans recover during post-war period

Research studies indicate that occupational therapists translate OBI in practice but are limited by environmental factors. Lack of equipment and supplies and limited space are the major barriers of many occupational therapists. The available equipment are used for remediating impairments and body functions (Chisholm, Dolhi, & Schreiber, 2004). Equipping an organization with the required OBI setting requires funding but most organizations lack adequate funds for the supplies of the equipment for the occupational therapy practice setting. Time is another barrier that influences occupational therapists to effective use OBI.

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.

The occupational therapist, I interviewed was Lorena Ortiz, MS, OTR/L. She is from Columbia, South America and currently lives in Greenville, South Carolina, where she has been a resident for sixteen years. She has three sisters, one brother and a son that is two years old. She attended Brea High School her junior and senior year and later graduate from Mauldin High School. Her favorite subject in School was anatomy because she enjoyed learning about the human body and the way it functions. In her opinion of what an occupational therapist is, she stated, “Helping people become as independent with daily activities as they wish after injury or disease.” The facilities where she works are, Greenville Health System, PRN acute care/In-patient rehab and Greer Memorial Hospital, out-patient rehab fulltime. Other areas she has worked are, subacute, long term acute care orthopedics. She worked as an occupational therapist assistance at St. Francis Hospital for seven years. While she worked at St. Francis Hospital, she later went back to school, for her master’s degree,

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.

Becoming an Occupational Therapist is a goal that I have been working hard to achieve my whole life and know it’s a field that I will be highly successful in. From a young age, I knew that I wanted to work in a field that helped people. I have dedicated my life to achieving this dream. I have given up breaks from school to observe therapists or to volunteer at Equestrian Zone, a facility that provides hippotherapy and therapeutic riding. I first learned about occupational therapy through a family I was close to growing up who has a daughter with Rett Syndrome.

Children with many different disabilities need the intervention of an occupational therapist; therefore, occupational therapists work in the school systems. Elderly people often begin to lose their physical ability to do certain tasks, so there are occupational therapists working in nursing homes or providing in home care. Many athletes suffer sports injuries that cause them to lose their ability to do daily activities, and occupational therapists are available to them in rehabilitation centers and hospitals. These are just a few of the many scenarios where occupational therapists are available; they can also work in orthopedic centers, colleges, mental health settings, and drug and alcohol settings (Hoffman & Harris, 2000, p. 405). Due to the fact that occupational therapists can often specialize to a certain type of patient, it may be helpful to hold a job in college where one could learn how to work with that group of people. For instance, if a prospective occupational therapy student wants to work in a preschool for students with special needs after they graduate then it may be beneficial to hold a job as an assistant preschool teacher. Similarly, if the goal of an occupational therapy student is to provide their service to elderly people then training and working as a CNA would provide both useful experience and medial

My career goal is to become an Occupational Therapist and specialize in pediatrics. I want to specialize in pediatrics because I have always loved to be around children and be able to help them in whatever they need. Also, pediatrics is important to me because kids are our future and if I can help kids for their future I will be glad to do so. Helping kids become more independent on their activities of daily living makes me happy because I am helping them to become more independent and make them feel like they can accomplish anything. In order to be able to do this I have to get a Master Degree and I plan on getting this degree from Loma Linda University. In five years I see myself working in the Occupational Therapy setting and working with kids. I see myself, making others

Every day we engage in various activities that we don’t think twice about. Activities such as dressing ourselves, brushing our teeth, feeding ourselves, and participating in several activities throughout the day come easily for many people. For others, however, these routine tasks can be a daily struggle. Fortunately, occupational therapists empower people in these circumstances to live functional lives, doing the things they enjoy despite any physical, psychological, or social circumstances that may hinder them. The time that I have spent working and observing with occupational therapists have cemented my desire to pursue this career. I am excited to join this amazing field and be afforded the ability to make a meaningful difference in people’s

My career plans is to become an Occupational Therapist. In doing so, I have begun preparing myself for graduate school at MUSC. I started by printing and completing the application for acceptance in the school. This did not take very long; however, I explored the Occupational Therapy program webpage for the different criteria that is needed to increase my chances of getting accepted. I noticed there are several requirements that must be completed. This included volunteer work experience and supplemental profile form. I searched on the web for various rehab centers in the Florence area that would allow volunteer work. These included McLeod Rehabilitation Services, Robert S Fogner, Lowe’s Therapy, and Carolina Rehabilitation Hospital. I spoke

My observations began with Shelley Seratt, OTR/L at Sports Plus Rehab in Dyersburg, Tn. I was fortunate enough to observe Shelley work with both geriatrics and pediatrics. I was allowed to observe an Aquatic Therapy session and a feeding therapy session. The feeding therapy session was very beneficial to watch because I was unaware of how crucial that aspect of Occupational Therapy would be. My favorite part of the day was when I was allowed to help an elderly stroke victim relearn how to wash dishes. Her genuine excitement of conquering an everyday task was

I enrolled in college at this point in my life to get ahead before going to a bigger school to pursue my ultimate career goal, occupational therapy. As a high school senior I have already obtained nearly thirty hours in college credit hours, which means I’m one third of the way through my associates degree in science. With this I can move on with one hundred percent confidence that I will get into Georgia College and State University, but that is only the first part of what I need to do. After being accepted to the college I then need to get into the occupational therapy program. After graduating from the occupational therapy program I intend to have a masters degree, my own practice, an occupational therapy license and a rather lovely starting salary.

In order to become an Occupational Therapists Assistant, one must earn an Associate’s Degree, obtain a certification and/or license for OTA, and have 1-2 years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. As I complete my major, I will also be gaining work experience during my Externship. Through this experience, I will have the opportunity to participate actively in my field of work interest alongside my mentors who are OTs and OTAS and gain the hands-on training I will need in order to begin my career as an OTA.

Graduating with a bachelor’s degree in Rehabilitative Services, I have heard the majority of my fellow colleagues state that their reason for pursuing this degree is because they are interested in helping people. There are many other professions that require helping people so it makes me question not only them but myself, “How do I want to help people?”. Reflecting on this question also helped me realize why I want to help in the first place. The reason for this passion of mine comes from knowing that life moves incredibly fast, therefore, it is important to me that people live their life without difficulty and enjoy the present. As an Occupational Therapist I will be the person that the patient receives hope and encouragement from.

I have chosen occupational therapy as a career because of my family experiences, volunteer work, and my personal skills and qualities that I believe will contribute to my success as an occupational therapist. Occupational therapy has interested me from a young age because my mom, who is an occupational therapist, inspired me and instilled a passion within me for helping others. I have always been interested in pursuing a career in the health field where I am able to put my sills to great use in order to help other people. I am also drawn to occupational therapy because of the amount of variety within the profession. I love that occupational therapists have a wide range of populations to work with, as well as settings and specializations that they can chose to pursue. I also like how holistic and patient centered the therapist’s approach is while helping patients. For me, the biggest reason that I would to be an occupation therapist is because of the opportunity