CAREERS CAMPAIGN FEATURE
In the first week of November , RCOT kicked-started Occupational Therapy Week with its # ChooseOT campaign ( https :// chooseot . co . uk ), to inspire people from all backgrounds to join our professional community and choose occupational therapy as a career .
Although there are over 41,000 occupational therapists across the UK , there is still a significant shortage and the profession is included on the UK ’ s Shortage Occupations List .
There is also a need to ensure that the occupational therapy profession reflects the diversity of the population it serves . To support this , we want to encourage more people from different backgrounds to become occupational therapists .
During Occupational Therapy Week we launched a social media campaign to promote occupational therapy careers with students , their influencers , graduates and mature adults . And we want to keep the momentum going into 2020 .
You can inspire school students throughout the school year by giving a virtual careers talk . Get in touch with your local school using our guide and email template , and offer to give a virtual careers talk to students . There is a guide to help you reach out to schools and a presentation you can use for your talk . All the resources to support you are on the new careers website : www . rcot . co . uk / ChooseOT .
You might already be involved in reaching out to schools to promote the profession , it might be an activity that you ’ ve never considered before , or it could be something that interests and intrigues you , but you just don ’ t know where to start , or don ’ t have the confidence to get started .
Rest assured , you ’ re not alone . Over the next few months , starting here , we talk to a range of occupational therapists about their varied experiences of inspiring the next generation .
And the RCOT website still has a whole raft of resources to get you started and support you through the process of setting up and delivering your careers talk . There are guides to help you reach out , email templates to help you contact the right person , guides on giving your talk , and template presentations , in both English and Welsh : www . rcot . co . uk / ChooseOT .
The ‘ perfect fit ’ profession Adrienne McGhie ’ s exposure to the profession came at a young age . She says : ‘ My mum worked as an occupational therapist for over 30 years , so in some ways I had early exposure to the profession . Despite this , when I left school I wasn ’ t sure what I wanted to do , apart from working with people , probably in a healthcare context
‘‘
.
‘ I feel incredibly lucky to have found occupational therapy as a profession , because for me , from day one of
I university it was the perfect fit .’
However , she knows ‘ the road isn ’ t so straightforward for everyone ’, and like many people , the events of this year have prompted her to reflect more closely on various aspects of herself ‘ both personally and professionally ’.
She says : I became curious about conversations on racial equality , equity , diversity and inclusion in the workplace , and discrepancies in health outcomes for people of BAME backgrounds .
‘ In a Black History Month forum discussions were raised about diversifying the allied health professions workforce . I was
feel incredibly lucky to have found occupational therapy as a profession , because for me , from day one of university it was the perfect fit
made aware of the organisation called Inspiring the Future , which links professionals into careers events at primary and secondary schools around the country .’ Adrienne signed up for various events at local and regional schools and was invited to participate in talks by people in college and primary school classrooms . ‘ The students were really interested in the experiences of someone who works for the NHS , although most had never heard of occupational therapy before ,’ she exclaims .
Alongside supporting RCOT ’ s # ChooseOT social media campaign , Adrienne encourages people to get involved with Inspiring the Future , ‘ which has enabled me to connect with young people to talk about occupational therapy in a way I wouldn ’ t have otherwise had the opportunity to .’ She urges : ‘ I would say , don ’ t be afraid to be yourself . As healthcare professionals , bringing our own personality and individual perspective is so important to connecting with and making a difference to the people we work with .’
OTnews December 2020 15