Reasons for pursuing a career in Occupational therapy

This personal statement discusses the reasons for pursuing a career in Occupational therapy and the events that motivated the author. It highlights the importance of this profession in the present world and the preparation required for a career in Occupational therapy.

Running Head: PERSONAL STATEMENT
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PERSONAL STATEMENT 1
Reasons for pursuing a career in Occupational therapy
In the present time, every person is feeling some kind of environmental pressure on them
and as a result of this the rate of mental disorder is increasing day by day (Mazerolle et. al.,
2012). Occupational therapy is basically a profession that is truly dedicated towards the health
promotion and wellbeing of humans. This profession motivates the disable people to develop
such a confidence in them which helps them to do those things which they always want to do in
the life span. The main objective of occupational therapy is to permit persons to take part in the
events of everyday lifespan. Occupational therapists attain this result by functioning with persons
and communities to improve their aptitude to involve in the professions they need to, require to,
or are predictable to prepare the atmosphere to increase backing to this professional engagement.
Occupational therapy is a method of treatment that aids persons with bodily and psychological
difficulties. Occupational therapy varies from Physical therapy because physical therapy is just a
part of the occupational therapy. In occupational therapy focus is not made on treating a certain
part of the physique or emphases on a solitary diagnosis by treat it. In its place, it keeps an
overall picture of the complete life span of the person both in mental as well as physical aspects.
Events that motivated to pursue career in occupational therapy
When I was 15 years old, I saw my family members in deep trouble both from financially
as well as emotionally. One of my family members had severe stork which put his life in danger.
In order to provide proper treatment, he was sent to a rehabilitation center. I was a teenager at
that time but still I had good emotional bonding with my family members and this emotional
bond towards my family member had triggered my caring nature for the human. I used to visit
the person admitted in the rehabilitation center quite often. During my visits to rehabilitation
center, I noticed several health care professionals working on the problem and this was the time
when I realized that the field of occupational therapy is worth pursuing career (Bamber &
McMahon, 2008). Before meeting the occupational therapist, I always had a perception that
physical therapy is considered as one of the best medicine in the world for such issues. But after
meeting one of the occupational therapist who was treating my family member, I was very much
impressed by seeing her dedication towards patients. I finally realized that this is the career
which I am looking for.

PERSONAL STATEMENT 2
While interacting with occupational therapist, she told me various things related to
occupational therapy profession. She told me that the main reason for choosing this career was
her caring nature towards humans (Horowitz, Wong & Dechello, 2010). She made me realized
that there are many individual in this world who are in great need of help in terms of rebuild their
lost confidence. Occupational therapist is the one of the person that has taken responsibility of
serving the humanity without any personal benefit.
Another incident which has motivated me for this profession was the tragic incident that
happened with one of my cousins. He was just 14-year-old kid who was returning from his
school on regular basis. But in the mid of his way, he was hit by a speed car which left him
seriously injured. When we visited hospital to see him, one of the doctors who were handling his
case informed us that they have saved his life but they are afraid that he will not be able to walk
properly throughout his life. As a result of this all the members of the family were in deep shock
and even this kid also realized it deep in his heart. But my uncle did not lose his hope and had
taken help from one of the occupational therapist. Deep in my heart, I knew that it is impossible
to make my cousin fit without surgery. But I was really shocked by seeing the confidence of that
therapist. He first started his work on improving the negative belief of my cousin and then later
worked on his complete body with number of exercise sessions. As a result of his hard work and
dedication, my cousin was able to recover from that incident. He has not just recovered from the
injury but also he has become one the most energetic person I have ever met in my life. After this
incident, I decided to meet that OT professional which had treated my cousin. While interacting
with him I came to know that one of the most important aspects of occupational therapy is to
remove the negativity that has generated in the mind of the patient. It becomes one of the most
important duty of this profession to transform this negativity in to positive believe through their
hard work and caring nature (Taylor, Lee, Kielhofner & Ketkar, 2009). This interaction
happened to be turning point of my student career and have motivated me to go for this
occupational therapy career. I started thinking that, it is just one case, and can we even imagine
how occupational therapist can reshape the world of medical science. Offering such service
which can develop positive hope in the mind of the persons who is suffering from such kind of
incidents will be truly remarkable. After gathering information about occupational therapist, I
came to know that there are very few people which have chosen this profession as their career
because this profession does not offer much money. I believe that career path must not be chosen

PERSONAL STATEMENT 3
only on the basis of money making; in fact chosen career path must satisfy the inner soul of the
person. From this, I realized that occupational therapy is truly dedicated towards the welfare of
the community.
During my study in health care, I started realizing the importance of this occupation in
the present world. I realized that this occupation has the power to make the current world a better
place by serving the issues related to human beings. While going through various articles on this
topic, I came to know that many well-known medical scholars had proven the greatness of
occupational therapy career. While developing my interest in this field, I realized that an
occupational therapist plays a very significant role in handling the issues related to emotional and
psychological patterns of human body (Litosseliti & Leadbeater, 2013). I want to enter in the
field of occupational therapist because I want spend my quality time with those persons who are
suffering from some kind of issues. I just want to become a supporting hand for the patients
family and occupational therapy is the only profession that could fulfill my all these
expectations. By exploring the current world, I am very grateful that I have chosen this field as
my study career path because it is one of the professions which require a lot of dedication,
willpower, and understanding and this is one of the professions which can provide me chance to
serve the community.
Preparation for my career
I am well aware that the occupational therapy profession is one of the most challenging
professions in medical services and hence I have to put my lot of efforts in understand this
profession. Hence, I have decided to apply for this occupational therapy course so that I can
recognize the real issues related to the humans (Doherty, Stagnitti & Schoo, 2009). As this
profession is not limited to any age group which is actually the beauty of this profession.
Children need love and care, while in case of youngster those are in great need of motivation and
inspiration (Reid, 2011). I also have to collect deep knowledge in order to understand the nature
or possible pattern of this profession. By participating in health community events, I will be able
to develop positive energy inside me (Clarke, 2009). Voluntary in these health communities will
teach me how to form a strong bond between patients and the therapist which is essential for me
if I really want to grow in this profession. Occupational therapy is truly connected to the issues

PERSONAL STATEMENT 4
which are related to the psychology state and behavior aspect of an individual (Fortune, Ryan &
Adamson, 2013).
At present time need of occupational therapist is at every place like schools, hospitals,
offices, sports clubs and hence it is offering a developing career. If I really want to choose these
Occupational therapists as my career, it is my duty to understand the emotional aspects which are
connected with the mind of the patient and their family members (Horowitz, Wong & Dechello,
2010). Occupational therapists have always a choice to transform him into management,
specialism, education, investigation and even in private rehearsal places (Mooney, Glacken &
O’Brien, 2008).
While study my health care, One of my guess lectures conducts a session in which we
have to just observe each other for almost 5 minutes and try to present a brief description of other
which will help us in understanding the person by just analyzing his body behavior (Arbesman &
Logsdon, 2011). From this session, I came to learn that children usually enjoy the sessions and in
fact, they do not want to remain out of touch with their occupational therapist for long hours. It is
this profession which is truly dedicated to helping the people by teaching them the essential
aspects which can not only help them but in case of emergency will act as a supporting pillar to
their families (Doble & Santha, 2008).
Even government has started taking initiatives to organized events which are related to
the occupational therapist in various cities of America. The reason for organization such event is
just to increase the awareness of occupational therapist among the community (Wood, Fortune &
McKinstry, 2013). American government has realized that for the welfare of the community, we
are in need of more numbers of occupational therapist.
After completion of my degree, I have decided to take this occupational therapist as my
career in the future. In future, I want to offer my services to the most needed population of
America so that they will get a feeling that there are some people present in America who really
care about human values (Rodger et al., 2008). I also believe that my caring nature and critical
thinking will help me in creating a great learning capability which will assist me in grabbing
every possible opportunity that can keep on adding values to my professional career. Also, I will

PERSONAL STATEMENT 5
take help of my experience college mentors to guide me in making my career goal successful
because every successful person has gained their learning from their mentors (Hammell, 2009).

PERSONAL STATEMENT 6
References
Arbesman, M., & Logsdon, D. W. (2011). Occupational therapy interventions for employment
and education for adults with serious mental illness: A systematic review. American
Journal of Occupational Therapy, 65(3), 238-246.
Bamber, M., & McMahon, R. (2008). Danger—early maladaptive schemas at work!: the role of
early maladaptive schemas in career choice and the development of occupational stress in
health workers. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy: An International Journal of
Theory & Practice, 15(2), 96-112.
Clarke, C. (2009). An introduction to interpretative phenomenological analysis: A useful
approach for occupational therapy research. British journal of occupational
therapy, 72(1), 37-39.
Doble, S. E., & Santha, J. C. (2008). Occupational well-being: Rethinking occupational therapy
outcomes. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 75(3), 184-190.
Doherty, G., Stagnitti, K., & Schoo, A. M. (2009). From student to therapist: follow up of a first
cohort of Bachelor of Occupational Therapy students. Australian Occupational Therapy
Journal, 56(5), 341-349.
Fortune, T., Ryan, S., & Adamson, L. (2013). Transition to practice in supercomplex
environments: are occupational therapy graduates adequately prepared?. Australian
occupational therapy journal, 60(3), 217-220.
Hammell, K. W. (2009). Self-care, productivity, and leisure, or dimensions of occupational
experience? Rethinking occupational “categories”. Canadian Journal of Occupational
Therapy, 76(2), 107-114.
Horowitz, B. P., Wong, S. D., & Dechello, K. (2010). Intergenerational service learning: To
promote active aging, and occupational therapy gerontology practice. Gerontology &
Geriatrics Education, 31(1), 75-91.

PERSONAL STATEMENT 7
Horowitz, B. P., Wong, S. D., & Dechello, K. (2010). Intergenerational service learning: To
promote active aging, and occupational therapy gerontology practice. Gerontology &
Geriatrics Education, 31(1), 75-91.
Litosseliti, L., & Leadbeater, C. (2013). Speech and language therapy/pathology: perspectives on
a gendered profession. International journal of language & communication
disorders, 48(1), 90-101.
Mazerolle, S. M., Gavin, K. E., Pitney, W. A., Casa, D. J., & Burton, L. (2012). Undergraduate
athletic training students' influences on career decisions after graduation. Journal of
athletic training, 47(6), 679-693.
Mooney, M., Glacken, M., & O’Brien, F. (2008). Choosing nursing as a career: A qualitative
study. Nurse education today, 28(3), 385-392.
Reid, D. (2011). Mindfulness and flow in occupational engagement: Presence in
doing. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 78(1), 50-56.
Rodger, S., Webb, G., Devitt, L., Gilbert, J., Wrightson, P., & McMeeken, J. (2008). Clinical
education and practice placements in the allied health professions: an international
perspective. Journal of Allied Health, 37(1), 53-62.
Taylor, R. R., Lee, S. W., Kielhofner, G., & Ketkar, M. (2009). Therapeutic use of self: A
nationwide survey of practitioners' attitudes and experiences. The American journal of
occupational therapy, 63(2), 198.
Wood, R., Fortune, T., & McKinstry, C. (2013). Perspectives of occupational therapists working
in primary health promotion. Australian occupational therapy journal, 60(3), 161-170.