My journey to the ‘ Oyibo ’ s ’ ( white person ) profession
Georgina Azoska reflects on the barriers and hurdles she faced in her early career and as a Black student occupational therapist
I
used to work as a healthcare assistant and I remember being told by one of the consultants on the ward that I worked on how good they thought I would be as a nurse . I was ambitious and I knew that I wanted to continue to work in the healthcare sector , but preferably to work in a senior position , so that I would be able to influence change .
However , due to the barriers of being unable to progress , or get the support from my superiors , I remained a healthcare assistant for over nine years .
I have always been passionate about working with vulnerable people and making a difference in their lives . I am quite creative and felt my creativity would be more pronounced in the field of occupational therapy , hence my decision to become an occupational therapist .
Prior to starting the course , one of my former colleagues approached me to ask why I was going into the occupational therapy profession ( she referred to it as ‘ Oyiba ’ or the ‘ white person ’ s ’ job ). At the time , she was a physiotherapy assistant and perhaps she was talking from Georgina Azoska experience . I did not question her viewpoint .
As I started the course , I experienced a lot of challenges along the way , but I was so determined to become an occupational therapist that not even my ill-health , which forced me to defer the course for a year , could stop me .
20 OTnews August 2021
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