Inspiring the next generation of therapists
In the final part of our careers campaign series , we talk to Ruth Crowley and Sarah Grimshaw about why they are giving up their free time to promote the profession to today ’ s potential future occupational therapists
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Although there are currently 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 , RCOT wants to encourage more people from different backgrounds to become occupational therapists .
Through the ongoing careers campaign , RCOT wants as many occupational therapists as possible to reach out to their local school students and the people who support them , such as parents , teachers , careers advisers and universities .
To support this , a careers website was launched late last year , ( https :// chooseot . co . uk ), while the # ChooseOT campaign website still features videos of occupational therapists talking about why they chose occupational therapy as a career , alongside stories about why you love being occupational therapists on the # ChooseOT wall ( www . rcot . co . uk / chooseot-stories ).
A career-long passion for the profession As part of the annual Occupational Therapy Week celebrations last November , occupational therapists from around the UK were inspired to connect with school students from all backgrounds to choose occupational therapy as a career .
Sarah Grimshaw responded to an email from the secondary school she was a student at , ‘ to help with the sixth form career pathway , as [ under the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions ] they wouldn ’ t be able to have a special evening to invite their present-day students to ’.
Of her own journey to becoming an occupational therapist , Sarah reflects that the careers section in the library at her own school ‘ did not give me any inspiration ’. Luckily for Sarah , her family knew the head of the local occupational therapy training school – as it was then .
42 OTnews February 2021