For three challenging yet rewarding years I learned more about occupational therapy each day, and each day I fell more in love with this wonderful profession. Through school I was able to gain experiences to aid in my personal and professional development. After graduation, I felt invigorated and determined to pass my NBCOT exam so I could move on to the next step.
Now that I am a newly certified occupational therapist, I must spread my wings and set forth on a new journey into the real world of occupational therapy. I will be working at a rehabilitation hospital where I will be mainly working with individuals who have experienced a stroke or traumatic brain injury. I am so excited to get my foot in the door and begin my career.
It will be intimidating at first, going from the mindset of student to practitioner will take a little getting used to. For most of my life I have identified as a student, someone who is learning and practicing to develop skills. Now I will transition to a practitioner who has those skills and I will need to maintain confidence in my abilities. I believe that we are all life-long learners, and I am excited to continue learning and developing my skills, however now, instead of learning to graduate, I am learning to be a better OT.
This profession of occupational therapy is so wide and diverse. There are so many ways that we can work with people so they can succeed. We focus on the unique attributes of each individual in order to create a personalized plan of care. The amount of empathy and respect we show our clients is how we make connections with them. I chose this profession because once I found it, I knew it was what I wanted to do the rest of my life. The road to OT was long and hard, and I still have a long way to go, but through this process I will always remember:
"Occupational therapy is more than a job.
For many it is a calling.
We feel drawn to it."
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