Occupational Therapy News OTnews November 2019 | Page 51

CAREER DEVELOPMENT FEATURE Moments of magic Why become a lone occupational therapist when newly qualified? Keeley Varey talks to OTnews about her early career choices I was not actively looking for a position as a lone practitioner, however, as the opportunity had arisen, it had seemed foolish to turn it down. Being a lone practitioner was amazing; it allowed me to organise my own diary and build my skills quickly, as I had to make many of the clinical decisions by myself. I am constantly reflecting in my practice, wondering if I could have changed or amended something that could have improved someone’s quality of life. This just pushes me to be a better therapist. Personally, I feel that I might have relied too much on others and not challenged myself so much should I have been in a team. There are obviously challenges that come with being a lone occupational therapist, one of which was ensuring that I had role identity. However, this in itself allowed me to develop the service on the ward, showing people what an occupational therapist can achieve. Another challenge is not having other occupational therapists to speak to on a daily basis, which means there is a heavy reliance on supervision and supervisors. Getting to see a patient at the beginning of their journey and following the occupational therapy process right through to discharge means you can celebrate their goals and achievements with them – these are my ‘moments of magic’ and push me to continue my career as an occupational therapist. When thinking about becoming a lone occupational therapist it is important to think about your personality. A lone practitioner has to be strong, confident and brave in relation to their decisions, the families they work with and the team they work alongside. The opportunities are vast with regards to working with patients and families, service development, career development. I have recently moved into a band six position, which I do not think I would have achieved after only six months of being qualified without have held that position as a lone occupational therapist. Keeley Varey, occupational therapist, Rapid Response Team, Warrington and Halton Hospital Foundation Trust, email: keeley. [email protected] OTnews November 2019 51 A s I left university, the majority of my peers had decided that rotations or positions where they work closely with an experienced occupational therapist would be beneficial for them. However, I decided to take an alternative route. To understand why I decided to join a service where I was a lone occupational therapist, it is important to understand my background. I had worked in Central London for a private bank, while working at the weekends as a community based senior carer. While sat at my desk one day, I decided to look up courses that related to healthcare and I began reading about occupational therapy. I knew straight away that this was the profession for me. When I told people that I was giving up a good job in the city, most replied asking why I would want a job in human resources, and one member of my family thought I was going to be a doctor. But occupational therapy struck a chord with me. I needed to act, to change to make my life better, increase my personal health and wellbeing, and to adapt using the skills that I already had. This is what we as occupational therapists do; we ask people what they want and what they need to improve their lives and their wellbeing, find out their backgrounds and what skills they have, and help them adapt to reach their goals. I wanted to be part of this world as I felt I understood it. It was important to me. As a mature student with a mortgage, the course was a lot tougher than I had expected. I had to work 30 hours each weekend, which was difficult in itself when you are also working a 40 hour week at a placement. I had obtained a BA (Hons) degree in media writing six years before, so I was not worried about the studying initially, however, the difference between what was expected in my first degree compared with the occupational therapy degree did seem overwhelming at times. With just a few months left of my degree, and with the added pressure of my peers already securing jobs, I felt that it was time to focus my own job hunt. With previous experience in learning disabilities and a new found love of occupational therapy within a mental health setting, I found a position as a lone occupational therapist working with people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour on an assessment and treatment unit.