Why I Want To Be An Occupational Therapist

Occupational therapy was unfamiliar to me until just a few years ago. My son, who is now four years old, receives occupational therapy through the school district in the Early Childhood Special Education program. We knew he had a speech delay and during his testing we also found out he needed occupational therapy to address his fine motor skills. He was our first child, so naturally it is upsetting to learn your child needs help from someone other than yourself. Now, two years later, the results are unbelievable. He wouldn’t be making the progress he is without the help of his therapists. This personal experience of mine has fueled me to want to become someone who can make a major impact in someone's life. I want nothing more in my life than to have the opportunity to help someone live the life they deserve to live.
Occupational therapy is utilized to help people live their life in a functional, successful and independent way.
This includes increasing skills and adapting environments to meet the needs of an individual. An occupational therapy assistant provides treatment according to the goals the OT has put in place. There are individuals in every age group who can benefit from occupational therapy. I believe I would be a great fit in the occupational therapy field. I’ve always desired a career in the health field where I can help people but not necessarily in the way of nursing. I want to be a part of something that truly makes a different in a person’s everyday life. I’ve always had a passion for the well-being of others. I want to be a source of strength to those who may be recovering from a surgery and just want to get back to living life, or to children, like my son, who just need a little extra help so they can enjoy and flourish in their childhood and in
school.
I had the absolute pleasure to observe a couple days at Country Club Care Center in Warrensburg, MO. I followed the certified occupational therapy assistant, Ashley Gorr, as she worked with her patients. I was fortunate that she was able to show me so much of what she does on a daily basis. We saw a patient who had anoxic brain damage and was working on feeding herself. Ashley showed me how she has been using a curved spoon to help the patient have an easier time feeding herself. It really seemed to be working and you could see the joy on the woman's face from achieving this task that so many of us take for granted. I also observed a patient who was recovering from a fracture of the left femur. The first day I was there the care center was having an Easter egg hunt. Ashley took this as a chance to do therapy with this particular patient. She had him use his walker to find the eggs throughout the halls. The second day I observed, we saw a patient who had broken her hip and was in therapy so she could return home. Her main concern was how she was going to get in to her shower. Ashley set up a chair and some blocks to immitate the layout of the patient's shower. Ashley then had the patient step over the block into the "shower" with the appropriate foot and showed her the safest way to go about turning on her own. The whole experience of my observation at Country Club Care Center was so wonderful. It really made me want to be a part of a team to help make someone's life a little easier, especially in their last stages of life.
My next observation was at Martin Warren Elementary School with the OTR, Theresa Slana. She is an exceptional therapist and I could tell that she truly loves her job and the students she helps everyday. I did not get to spend as much time as I would have liked with her due to a couple absences at the school but we made due and she showed me as much as she could. I saw as she worked with a couple of children who had poor visual perceptual skills. Theresa used a computer program that tested their visual memory, visual spacial relationships, visual form constancy and visual closure among a few others. I loved that she allowed me to look at a previous test from earlier in the year as the student took the test with Ms. Slana so I could see how well they had improved. The results were truly amazing. I wish I could have spent more time observing Ms. Slana but I feel very fortunate from what I did learn from her.
Occupational therapy is a career that I already feel so passionate for. For the longest time I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I always knew I wanted to help people but did not know what the right path was for me. Upon finding the occupational therapy field I knew in that instant this is where I belong. I am someone who will put their heart and soul into this goal of becoming an occupational therapy assistant. I recently saw a sign that read, "Medicine adds days to life....OT adds life to days." That was such a powerful statement to me and made me realize this is the field I belong in.