‘‘
They said you can do a whole degree course . I laughed and said I hadn ’ t
I studied since my City and Guilds course at college in 1984 .’
However , after returning to school to do a BTEC and A Levels , 11 years later Amanda graduated from Essex University with a BSc ( Hons ) in Occupational Therapy .
When it comes to giving sound advice to anyone about to reach out to schools , Amanda says : ‘ Reach out to your local school , or the school you went to if you are able , and link with the local college , particularly the health and social care departments .
‘ Contact the head of sixth form , or the careers lead , and tell them you can be available to support their careers event . Send them some literature on occupational therapy to include in their resource library , they are always grateful of understanding more about what we do .’
Amanda also suggests that people contact their RCOT region committee , ‘ as some of them may have contacts of people who have held careers events in the past and can put you in touch ’.
And when it comes to inspirational occupational therapists and healthcare professionals who have had a big impact on her own professional journey , Amanda points to two very familiar names .
didn ’ t know what occupational therapy was ... but I knew that I liked helping people to live life to its fullest and promote independence with those I supported .
CAREERS CAMPAIGN FEATURE
‘ Personally I have been inspired for many years by Dee Christie , who was RCOT ’ s chair of council when I was a student ,’ she reflects . ‘ I was privileged to meet her at a student event I attended at RCOT , and more recently , Dee supported and inspired me to build my confidence and leadership skills to take on the role of chair for the RCOT Eastern Region committee . ‘ I have also been inspired by Suzanne
Rastrick , chief allied health professions officer at NHS England , who , at the RCOT annual conference in 2019 , advised us : “ Do not destroy the young – be supportive and encouraging ”.
‘ I followed her and the AHPs into Action platform to connect with students and promote the value of occupational therapy within the wider aspect of clinical practice of the 14 allied health professions .’
Amanda ’ s final thoughts for anyone about to embark on a career in occupational therapy are to ‘ take every opportunity to network , obtain a variety of experiences , and do not focus on one specialism ’.
She urges : ‘ Become an expert of occupation first , and then when it is right , become an expert in your chosen field . Never close the door behind you as you leave ; occupational therapy has the potential to open opportunities you don ’ t even know exist yet .’
The personal development opportunities in mentoring students
Hayley Vaughan , a specialist occupational therapist , has been providing career talks to students at a local sixth form healthcare college for the last three years . ‘ I originally set this up as the local university currently doesn ’ t offer a degree in occupational therapy and so the numbers of qualified therapists locally are low ,’ she says .
‘ I was also not confident speaking to crowds , so felt this was a good development opportunity . I am provided the opportunity to speak with students from year nine to year 13 about occupational therapy in general , and then more specifically about occupational therapy within mental health .
‘ From this I have offered my support to students as a mentor , for interview preparation for university and for guidance on a career in occupational therapy .’
She adds : ‘ Student feedback has been positive , with most students having limited to no prior knowledge of occupational therapy , or having understanding from a family perspective – either their parents are occupational therapists , or someone in the family has needed an occupational therapist .’
Like others , Hayley has found the talks successful in inspiring the young people to join the profession . ‘ Students have commented how interesting the career seems , with its diversity , and at least three students from each talk have been in contact afterwards and gone on to an occupational therapy degree ,’ she says .
To get involved in your local area , Hayley advises people to use social media to find out when schools and colleges are introducing career days and then introduce yourself to them .
‘ Write an email to the health and care leads of schools , introducing yourself and outlining what you would like to offer students . Be flexible to meet the students ’ needs , so offer to talk about occupational therapy and then about their current learning topics and how occupational therapy fits into this , to be more relevant to their learning .’
When Hayley was in sixth form , she originally thought she wanted to be a psychologist ‘ to help people ’, [ however ] her psychology teacher introduced her to a friend who was a mental health occupational therapist and she spent three days with her over the summer break , ‘ and that was my mind made up ’.
‘ I loved the diversity in client sessions , the freedom to do with people , and I enjoyed getting to know people and their environments , hobbies and interests .
And finally , with the benefit of hindsight , she has some good advice for students about to embark on a career in occupational therapy : ‘ Explore the opportunity to visit other clinical areas or volunteer before or throughout your degree , for example physical hospitals , mental health wards , mental health community teams , learning disability day services , charities and schools , as you don ’ t always get the opportunity to visit these on clinical placements .’
OTnews January 2021 17