Inpatient acute

The interview confirmed my understanding of what it means to work in a hospital environment. I

have spent many hours volunteering at Wexner Medical Center, the environment is fast paced,
the stakes high, and the work extremely rewarding. The OT interviewed described long hours
and a variety of experiences in this setting. She mentioned a specific personality type is
successful; one must be flexible, decisive, articulate and willing to go the extra mile on a daily
basis. Essentially, she describes the OT I imagine myself being one day; I believe I possess these
traits. The description of a typical day in this setting mentions a lot of time spent reading about
the patients before the OT even sees them, reading what doctors and nurses have written
concerning their progress. She stresses that an OT in this setting works with a team. One helpful
idea from the interview was the distinction between OT and PT. As I am constantly asked the
difference, I am always looking for new and better ways to explain. She states that a PT will get
you up and moving, and an OT will help you do what you want from there.

Industrial Rehab
This interviewee confidently stated that industrial rehabilitation is Occupational Therapy in its
purest form. He says this because his primary objectives are to prevent injury at the workplace
and to assess and rehabilitate patients with the goal of returning to their workplace. He also states
that this area of OT is unique in that he treats a wide variety of injuries, while many OTs treat
primarily the same type of injury every day. In addition to physical injury, many of his patients
also have secondary issues such as depression which can be caused by being away from work.
What I found most compelling about the interview were his words of wisdom. His advice to
young OTs is to make a name for ourselves. He challenges us to find the type of work we want to
do and do it, even if this means thinking outside the box and creating a new area of OT.

Childrens Hospital
Working as an OT in a Childrens Hospital is a path that I have considered for myself. After
listening to an interview with an OT currently working in a Childrens Hospital, I think it would

be a good fit for me. This OT stated that to be successful in this environment one must be
playful, flexible, and patient. This serves as a confirmation for me, as I spent a number of hours
shadowing at a Childrens Hospital in Columbus. As I learned through reading and the interview,
an OT in this environment will work with clients from a few months old to 21 years, and will see
many different diagnoses in a single day. Some examples given were recovery from acute injury,
fine motor delay, and feeding. While seeing children who are inpatient, it is important to have
general medical knowledge, as many clients will have assistive equipment related to their
hospital stay, and during recovery may not be able to fully participate in therapy so it is
important to understand these potential limitations.

Sensory Based
Sensory based OT is an area that I had observed for just a few hours and was interested in
learning more about. Based on readings and an interview, this area of OT is still in its early
stages. There is a need for more research, but clinical evidence shows positive signs. Based on
the interview, SI is mainly used to treat children with vestibular or proprioceptive processing
difficulties, children with Autism or on the spectrum, and children with language or motor
delays. I have always been interested in child development, so this area that aims to help children
return to a typical development path seems like a potential fit for me. The OT interviewed
mentions that meaningful practice in this area means a lot of parent interaction since the children
are young. The OT must explain to family why they have chosen this type of treatment, and what
research evidence supports its use. The OT also states the main goal must always be to link
treatment to what the family defines as a functional difficulty and how it impacts their everyday
life.

Research
As the OT profession continues to move towards evidence based practice as a standard, research
becomes more and more important. OTs conduct research in many areas, and the goal of this
research is to generate new knowledge, and transform that knowledge into something that will
improve society. In an interview, an OT who is currently a researcher states that it has greatly
shaped her identity as an OT, since the goal in OT is always to get the patient back to living their
life, and research gives OTs more efficient and more effective ways to do just that. It is therefore
very encouraging to find that the areas of research are always expanding, and that in turn
research aims to expand the scope of OT. For example, John A. White of Pacific University has
been conducting research with the conclusion that OT has been effective in decreasing reoffenders when OT is given in a prison setting. He aims to widen the scope of OT so that prisons
become a standard setting.

Cognitive Rehabilitation
I had not considered cognitive rehabilitation as an area of practice for myself. After listening to a
very interesting interview though, I would like to learn more. The OT interviewed works in the
area of cognitive rehabilitation on a military base. He works primarily with TBI, or traumatic
brain injury. More specifically, he helps patients with memory and attention deficits, cognitive
processing, vision and fine motor development, and sleep problems. One helpful idea I gained
from this interview came from the OTs description of the development of his professional
identity. He stated that he has redefined it many times throughout his practice. Many others have
described it as developing, but this OT has experience in many different areas, from hands to
cognition, and that caused his identity to form and change constantly. I would like to gain
experience in many different areas in OT, and his multitude of experiences show me that it is
both possible and rewarding.

Lifestyle Redesign
Learning about Lifestyle redesign was so interesting to me. I was unaware of this area of
Occupational Therapy, and Im glad I had this opportunity to learn about it. Lifestyle Redesign
evolved out of a research study. The study showed OTs working with elderly people without any
disability in their own homes prolonged the time that they were able to live independently and
prevent disability. Since then Lifestyle Redesign has expanded to treatment for people with
chronic illness such as obesity, diabetes, mental health, as well as students seeking healthy life
balance and smoking cessation. Essentially, the OT works with the client to create gradual
changes in their life routines in order to promote healthier living. The OT interviewed had an
interesting way to describe OT to clients, saying an OT looks at how you occupy your time and
specifically at your choices and their consequences. While I think this description is somewhat
unique to Lifestyle Redesign, I appreciated that the description was slightly different than the
way most interviewees had answered that same question previously.

Outpatient Rehab
This interview was especially interesting to me because it was with a student currently in
fieldwork. I really appreciated the perspective of someone closer to where I am in the process of
becoming an OT. This OT worked in Outpatient Rehab, specifically with neurological cases such
as MS, ALS, stroke and traumatic brain injury. This OT described OT as a way to help people
return to doing the things they enjoy. My favorite part of the interview is when the OT states that
when a person asks if OT is like PT, she says it is not. I have been trying to find a way to
describe OT as its own autonomous profession, without using a comparison to PT, and this OT
did just that. I also greatly enjoyed the words of wisdom this OT gave. Her advice primarily
focused on fieldwork experience. She said that at first you will feel stupid, you will make
mistakes, but that trial and error are very important in forming an identity as an OT. She also
advised OT students not to be afraid to voice their opinions because even if they turn out to be
wrong, they can easily be revised.

Hand Therapy
Certified Hand Therapists occupy a very specific and specialized practice area of Occupational
Therapy. Simply put, they specialize in treating upper extremity diagnoses to improve function
of the hand and arm. The OT interviewed stated that she might see a client for trauma such as
fractures, tendon repairs, or grafting or, for a diagnosis such as tendinitis. More recently, Hand
Therapists have started working with laterality in brain function, chronic pain and amputations.
One personality trait the interviewee stated as important for this practice area was confidence.
Hand Therapists often speak with physicians and employers of clients who can be intimidating.
Another recommendation was having good manual skills, as much of the work of a Hand
Therapist is fine motor. Finally, being a problem solver was stressed by the interviewee. This is
an area of Occupational Therapy that I have long been interested in, and was glad to learn more
about. I enjoyed learning about the variety of settings a Hand Therapist can work in.

Advocate
This interview focused on the importance of acting as an advocate for the profession of OT in
addition to being a practicing clinician or researcher. The interview was with a former member of
the AOTA Executive Board. Her primary duties in this post were to serve members, their clients,
lobbyists, and legislators. Something I found interesting during the interview was the very
specific and structured way the interviewee chose to tell people what OT is. When she
introduced herself she never says she is an OT she always fully states Occupational Therapy.
She also never asks a person if they know what that is, which I think makes sense as it may make
a person feel uncomfortable if they are not familiar with OT. She has a prepared description of
what OT is, but always tries to tailor her answer, to put what an OT does in a context familiar to
the person she is speaking with. I think these are important things to remember when speaking
with members of the community about OT, because I believe they can help make a better
impression on people.