FEATURE CAREERS CAMPAIGN
Passionate about the role , but realistic about the challenges Sheena Elliott is another occupational therapist who found that this year ’ s # ChooseOT careers campaign to help inspire the next generation of occupational therapists really resonated with her personally .
‘ When I was in school , I had no idea what occupational therapy was ,’ she says , ‘ and I ended up going to university to study languages , which in hindsight , wasn ’ t right for me . I definitely believe things happen for a reason , but since then I have often felt it would be so worthwhile if students in secondary school and sixth form had more awareness of careers in the allied health professions .’
Sheena has a teenage daughter , so had a contact for her school . ‘ I sent a quick email asking if the school ever offered anything like this to students and offering to do a talk via Zoom if they felt they might benefit from it . And the very next day I had a reply saying they would appreciate that and asking to set something up .’
Despite some initial anxiety , Sheena had a real and lasting impact on the students : ‘ I knew the talk would be
‘‘
online , which helped , as I really don ’ t like public
I speaking . I just felt so passionately that I wanted to share how much I love my career and that it ticks a lot of boxes for people who want to combine arts and sciences and be in a caring profession .
‘ It went so much better than I thought . The students asked questions and were enthusiastic which was a relief , and I was amazed to hear that two students had applied to study occupational therapy at university following the talk .’ A fantastic result .
When Sheena looks back on her own journey to becoming an occupational therapist she reflects : ‘ I was considering a career as a dietitian and working as a dietetic assistant in a service where I would see what the occupational therapist was doing with patients and feeling really envious of her job .
‘ I loved the creative aspect , combined with doing really helpful , practical stuff to help patients with their recovery [ and ] I felt like a career as an occupational therapist might be more suitable for me .’
loved the creative aspect , combined with doing really helpful , practical stuff to help patients with their recovery [ and ] I felt like a career as an occupational therapist might be more suitable for me .
While the rest , as they say , is history , Sheena wants to encourage as many people as possible to keep supporting the # ChooseOT campaign long after Occupational Therapy Week , and keep reaching out to as many schools as possible . Her advice ? ‘ I think just being as flexible as possible in terms of arranging a convenient time , and to which year groups you would like to present to , and for how long ,’ she says . ‘ I tried to fit in with them as best as I could . ‘ I also believe that being passionate about the role , but realistic about some of the challenges helped . And the students liked when I talked through a typical working day . I had been advised that some student groups may not be forthcoming with questions , so I also made sure I had plenty to talk about .’
When asked whether there have been any individual occupational therapists or other healthcare professionals who have been an inspiration to during her own professional journey so far , Sheena says : ‘ My colleagues do , always . They have such a depth of knowledge and a real love for their job . I aspire to be as skilled and competent as they are .’
16 OTnews December 2020
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