Occupational Therapy News OTnews October 2019

FEATURE CAREER DEVELOPMENT Promoting the profession – the challenge is on O Deborah Hewson describes some of the activities members of the Occupational Therapy Admissions Tutor Forum have been doing to raise the profile of the profession with school-aged children ccupational therapy has much in common with other UK admissions tutors for occupational therapy programmes health professions, not least of which is the pressing within higher education institutions come together twice a year issue of student recruitment. What we don’t share at the Occupational Therapy Admissions Forum to discuss all is the other side of the recruitment coin – important issues regarding recruitment. Promoting the professional identity. profession is always a discussion topic – there For members of the public, and are constant challenges. by extension potential students, One major challenge is promoting the how do we promote occupational profession itself; enabling individuals therapy? Our professional identity issues to understand what occupational One major challenge is are well documented and increasing therapy is in the hope they will aspire promoting the profession an understanding of the profession to be one. This involves visiting itself; enabling individuals to is an ongoing struggle. But why schools and colleges to carry out is this? And what can we do to talks or workshops to primary and understand what occupational remedy it? secondary school pupils and college therapy is in the hope they will Gash (2018) questioned our students. aspire to be one. approach and asked us to reconsider In the role of admissions tutor, this is our narrative by embracing a more something that is completed throughout positive outlook. the academic year. In order to change the narrative, we However, it is impossible to reach every need to do something about our own attitudes school and college in the UK with just a handful of and behaviours as well as our actions. We need to admissions tutors. lead confidently in our explanation of the profession and, as a At a previous admissions tutor forum meeting, tutors shared an profession, we need to share who we are and what we do. idea they had to promote the profession. They were encouraging 36 OTnews October 2019 ‘‘

Occupational Therapy News OTnews October 2019 | Page 36