While many colleges and universities demand the best and the brightest of students, occupational therapy programs have one more requirement: the most compassionate students. Most students go to college with the desire to see how much money they can make after graduation. Occupational therapists want to know how many people they can help.
What an occupational therapist does
An occupational therapist is someone who helps people who are disabled in some way, to learn how to get through each day in as normal a fashion as possible. This includes working with people who are mentally ill, physically handicapped, or developmentally or emotionally disabled. This can range from teaching somebody who has lost an arm how to dress themselves, to helping a mentally challenged person how to sit in a pizza parlor and enjoy watching the TV while surrounded by people. There are thousands of schools that specialize in occupational therapy programs, and the demand for graduates grows by the day.
Occupational Therapy Programs Requirements.
An entry-level degree is required to enter the field and to take the national certification program. However, a doctoral will be required to add semesters in administration, leadership, and theory development, among other skills. While both degrees will require level one and level two fieldwork experience, entry-level doctoral students need to complete an extra sixteen weeks experiential component, plus a culminating project. It is also possible for an entry-level OT to acquire a teaching position at schools and universities, and to get tenure, as well, depending on the school.
Roots of Occupational Therapy Programs
Many people think that this is a fairly new field that began shortly after World War Two in order to help wounded veterans returning home. While occupational therapy plays a major role in rehabilitating veterans, the first known occupational therapist lived in ancient Greece. He was a physician named Asclepiades, who began treating mentally ill people with therapeutic baths, massages, music and exercise. While the middle-ages saw a complete lack of compassion for the mentally ill and physically challenged, today there are millions of people learning to live normal lives through the help of Occupational therapists.
The Occupational Therapy Process
The steps taken by occupational therapists in order to achieve the goals of their clients are specifically outlined for all students entering the field. In order, the eleven steps are as follows:
- Referral
- Information Gathering
- First Assessment
- Identify Needs
- Goal Setting
- Action Planning
- Action
- Ongoing Assessment
- Outcome Measurement
- End of Intervention
- Review
This world is filled with examples of greed, selfishness, hate and anger. However, anytime you may feel despair for humanity, all you have to do is look beyond all of that, and see graduates of occupational therapy programs in action. You will see them in a park teaching a tentative adult how to pet a friendly dog, or in a parking lot teaching a young person in a wheelchair how to get back into the car. You will see them in a store, showing one of their charges how to buy a soda for themselves. It only takes a moment to view these examples and realize that the quiet good and beauty in this world can never be conquered by their opposite.