ACCEPTED: What It Means to Be an Occupational Therapist

In the spring of 2019 I was interviewed by ACCEPTED which is a company who prides itself on helping others “start you journey to acceptance“. Their company allows you to get teamed up with an admissions expert to help you confidently apply to graduate schools such as MBA admissions, Medical school admissions, Law school admissions, and more. In addition they run a blog that provides insight into different careers. They reached out to me via a DM on my Instagram.

Click here to view and follow me on Instagram where I post a lot about occupational therapy, advocacy, positivity, and a little about a life as a busy medical resident’s wife.

They simply asked if I would be apart of their series of question/answer interviews about my career and I agreed. Easy as that. Below you will see questions I answered as well as a glimpse of the post itself.

Remember: You can read the entire post here: “What Does it Mean to Be an Occupational Therapist?”

Inside the post I will provide my insight in the most authentic way I can by answering the following questions:

1. Can you start by telling us about yourself and how we can learn more about what you do?

2. What made you decide to pursue a career as an occupational therapist? Was there a particular person or event that inspired you to choose this path?

3. What difficulties did you encounter during the application process? How did you overcome them?

4. Where did you go to OT school, and when did you graduate?

5. What surprised you most about the program you attended?

6. What is the process for graduates of OT programs to become licensed? Are there boards? Is it necessary to pursue licensure in each state separately?

7. How did you find the job market in your field after graduation? Did OTs seem to be in demand, and if so in what practice settings?

8. What inspired you to choose to practice in a hospital/rehab setting?

9. Do you work exclusively with a geriatric population? Which demographic groups benefit from OT?

10. How is practicing OT in a rural setting different from practicing in a more urban environment?

11. How does the field of OT differ from PT or from recreational therapy? Is there any overlap?

12. As a family with both spouses working in patient care, has your husband’s career path influenced your own work experience?

13. What is ABCsofOT? Why did you start the page and who is your target audience?

Preview snapshot of the post:

As noted before, click HERE to view entire article!

I will close with my favorite quote I think I have ever written to describe OT….

OT is different than PT because OT will ask you about your roles as a spouse, as a parent, and as a person who has things they like to do, and will work with you to help you not only participate in them in the current state you are in through compensatory strategies or environmental modifications, but also will work with you to regain those motor and processing skills required to reengage in those tasks.

Physical therapy is wonderful, needed, and complementary to occupational therapy. The physical therapist will help you improve in your pain management, motor control, and sensation, and slowly with the PT’s guidance, you find yourself moving better again, making daily progress from tolerating sitting up with support to without support to eventually standing and walking with a little help.

The occupational therapist will be there to help you in your most vulnerable and meaningful moments – the moments when you progress to transferring to the bedside commode rather than the dreaded bedpan…the first time you shower since your accident…the moment where you pick up your child again using an alternate method that both compensates for decreased unilateral strength as well as utilizes appropriate body mechanics…the session where you can remember and legibly sign your name and fill out a check from memory again…

Occupational therapy enables individuals across the lifespan from neonate to the eldest of all to live life in the most meaningful of ways by focusing treatment on the therapeutic use of life’s occupations (activities that are necessary or important to function as a human). It is an evidence-based, health and wellness profession that views the person as greatly influenced by their environment and the tasks that a person chooses to participate in.

If you like what you’ve read or have any comments/questions, feel free to reach out by noting a comment below.

Much love,

SHANNEN M