Careers Feature
Careers Feature
© Stígur Már Karlsson / Heimsmyndir via Getty Images that I discovered my love for the occupational therapy role and adaptive equipment .
My grandmother had rheumatoid arthritis and spent time with the hand specialist occupational therapist , which sparked my interest in the profession , as I saw how much this helped her with her daily life .
Consequently , I felt it was important to focus on reaching out to young people and college students who are looking to find their chosen career path . This also links in with the Scottish Government ( 2023 ) aims for education , by providing careers advice when young people need it , leading to better knowledge of capabilities and more informed choice to progress to those opportunities .
By presenting to young people within these different education systems , it allowed them to ask me questions about my role as an occupational therapist and gain a deeper understanding and knowledge of my own job and the profession .
For all three presentations , I took assistive equipment with me and demonstrated them and the children in the primary school particularly enjoyed this aspect . They were also asked to guess what my job was , and while they had many guesses , none were able to identify my role . This showed me the importance of promoting our role to young people in education , to ensure that , when they are making career choices , they are aware of our profession and the important role we play in people ’ s lives .
For my presentations at Tain Royal Academy and UHI North Highland College , I began by explaining the role of occupational therapy , my own personal student journey and experiences , services occupational therapists can work in .
Again , I took various pieces of assistive equipment with me , such as a sock aid , grabber , adaptive cutlery and theraputty . I also discussed the importance of team working to provide the highest person-centred care to patients and how closely occupational therapists and nurses work together .
The nursing students said that , after my presentation , they had a much greater understanding of my role as an occupational therapist and that they found the assistive equipment I demonstrated interesting , useful and that it would be beneficial to their own patients .
The children in Knockbreck Primary School were able to ask me questions after my presentation to gather further information for their class projects regarding the skills required for my job , qualities an occupational therapist might have and the requirements for university .
By going out to promote the occupational therapy profession within different education
You too can inspire future occupational therapists
RCOT has resources available to help you inspire future occupational therapists ; school students and their influencers , graduates and adults considering a career change . You can get involved by sharing our careers website and videos and reaching out to schools .
Our careers website is filled with inspiring stories and information about becoming an occupational therapist . You can share the website on social media , in careers talks and with people interested in becoming an occupational therapist .
You can inspire school students throughout the school year by giving a careers talk , either virtually or in person . There are resources to support you , including : a guide to reaching out ; an email for contacting schools ; and a presentation and guide for your talk . These resources are available for download in English and bilingual Welsh / English
To find out more visit http :// chooseot . co . uk /.
systems , I hope that it has given the young people a better understanding of the role of an occupational therapist and how we can positively impact people ’ s lives and occupations .
I also hope it has sparked their interest in joining our profession and pursuing occupational therapy as a rewarding career .
I feel passionately that it ’ s important we all , as occupational therapists , consider how we can help the public understand our role better ; not only within our education systems , but also with the wider public . Thus , ensuring that our profession is more widely known for the valuable work we do with people of all ages and conditions .
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RCOT ( 2023 ) Stepping up for occupational therapy . Available at bit . ly / 3R3rLZB [ accessed 24 March 2023 ].
Scottish Government ( 2023 ) Developing the young workforce : fifth annual progress report 2018-2019 . Available at bit . ly / 3KrXMX8 [ accessed 24 March 2023 ].
Words CHLOE SKINNER , Occupational Therapist , Older Adult Rehabilitation Ward , NHS Highland
September 2023 OTnews 55