As long as I can remember whenever I was asked about my future career it was constantly changing. However, the one thing that remained constant was that I wanted to directly help others in one way or another. Throughout the last few years of my life and college education I explored multiple career paths in hopes to find the perfect fit for me. Having a strong understanding and knowledge of professional career paths truly helped in guiding me towards a career in occupational therapy. My academic hardships and experiences, work experiences and community involvement have guided and prepared me for furthering my education and my future career as an occupational therapist.
Three years ago, I chose to continue my postsecondary education at St. Ambrose University as a Biology major. At the time, I felt that this specific path provided me with the most career options such as dentistry or medical school and still kept my main goal of helping others in mind. Briefly after my first semester of freshman year came to an end, I learned that this major was not the proper fit for me. I was no longer sure of what to pursue or where to look for help. With the help of my parents and the internet I began to explore other career options and majors. I heavily researched professional careers, physician’s assistant, pharmacist, and other healthcare professions. I decided to examine the career physician’s assistant more as it intrigued me in more ways than one. I quickly learned that although it is a fascinating and flourishing career it was still not the perfect fit for me.
As I continued my search for not only a different professional career, but also another major I was seeking recommendations from my parents, advisors and other faculty at my institution. In the midst of my search I was taking a psychology course that I was excelling in and quickly realized that I enjoyed every aspect of it which motivated me to pursue a major in Psychology. I continued to work towards my new major and shortly after discovered the professional career, occupational therapy. I continued to research more about this profession and quickly began to observe as my interest and excitement for this career was nothing like I have experienced before. My first experience of observing within this occupation was at a specialized hand therapy clinic which had an array of patients with different diagnoses and ages. After observing I knew that becoming an occupational therapist was the perfect for me. I enjoy the direct involvement the occupational therapist had with the patient and their ability to relate and connect with the patient. From here I began to observe in multiple settings within occupational therapy in order to diversify my experiences and provide myself with a better understanding of all that occupational therapy is. Each setting that I observed in provided me with more insight on the different ways occupational therapists can help their patients by listening to the patient and showing empathy towards them. Therapists employ a variety of approaches such as including the patient’s goals, family recommendations and daily activities in attempt to allow the patient to reach their fullest potential of independence that works well within their lifestyle. The unique aspect of occupational therapy to me, is that it not only focuses on the physical demands and needs of the patient but also their psychological and emotional well-being. Occupational therapy is vital within children and adults lives as these therapists have knowledge and experience on how to allow one to be able to complete daily tasks such as eating or dressing. These therapists are essential to a patient being able to gain independence in order to complete the things that they enjoy doing in their life.
My time spent at St. Ambrose University has impacted me in many ways. Throughout the last few years I have grown as a person and also gained useful knowledge in regard to the real world, but also educational knowledge. At times I struggled academically, but always motivated myself by having my goal of becoming an occupational therapist in mind and with the help of encouraging family and faculty. St. Ambrose University has instilled me with knowledge and experiences that will benefit me not only short term, but also long term as I work towards furthering my education.
Throughout the last year I have worked as an Emergency Room Medical Scribe with Genesis Health Systems. The emergency rooms that I have worked in consist of mental health, stroke, and trauma that have provided me with unique experiences. As a medical scribe, I had to educate myself with the proper terminology and information by taking an eight-week emergency medicine course. By taking the proper steps to prepare myself for working as a scribe I have an indescribable amount of knowledge in regard to documentation and the constantly changing regulations which will be beneficial while working as an occupational therapist. The main role of my job is to assist the physician with their documentation by improving and providing quality and efficient documentation on their behalf. This specific job has given me the opportunity of having a unique experience as I have an exclusive view of what a physician endures and am an active part of the team as I work side by side with a physician. Throughout these shifts I see a multitude of things as no shift is ever the same with working in the emergency room. With each shift, I worked my knowledge and understanding of how vital effective communication and teamwork in regard to patient care and a working environment increased greatly. This employment experience has given me the opportunity to learn how to cooperate well with a team in order to accomplish a task. This is the most important skill that I have learned throughout this job. Working as an occupational therapist I will interact with other health professionals either seeking recommendations or working as a team with physical therapists, speech language therapists or physicians in order to help a patient reach their goals. Having this unique understanding of how to work together with other health professionals will ensure that every patient will receive a care plan that is most beneficial for them. Working as a medical scribe for the last year has been very rewarding and exciting. It has made me very ambitious and equipped for my future career as an occupational therapist.
My community involvement has consisted of immersing myself within organizations that are focused on children from an array of backgrounds. From poverty stricken children to children suffering from cancer, these experiences have inspired me to pursue this goal. By providing myself with these experiences it will ensure that I treat every patient with the same compassion and respect that everyone deserves.
In the last three years, from the beginning to the near end of my undergraduate education I have learned lessons that have impacted me as a person, personal growth and academic knowledge and experiences. I have also found a career and major that is truly the perfect fit for me after struggling to find the right path. Ultimately all of these experiences have assisted in preparing me for graduate school. As I am nearing my final year of my undergraduate education I am anticipating the next step towards my professional career. I am looking forward to gaining knowledge, training, and experiences in graduate school that will prepare me to be the best occupational therapist I can be.