Eye Opener

For those of you who don't know I am attending Occupational Therapy school right now and for the next three years. I wrote this as a reflection on my hospital experience a couple of weeks ago and felt as if I should share it...

My hospital experience was one of the most important parts of my first semester in OT school, and maybe when I look back at it, my career. I feel as if pieces of information that I have been trying to put together in school have start to come together through my experience at the hospital.

I was in acute care and followed a very professional OT. One part of the day I experienced, the all-intimidating bathing, was really not as bad as it is made out to be. I had heard stories from other students about having to give people baths and was quite nervous that I was going to be one of the ones to help with bathing. Turned out I got to do bathing and toileting, and believe these are experiences every student going through the program should have their eyes open to. There is no way to know if you will or will not be exposed to it in your own career. Look at our professors. None of them stayed in one practice area for too long, and I bet none of them thought in their first year they would teach. We always say that the versatility is one of the best parts about being an OT.

The experience helped me learn some important things that I will carry throughout my time as a student at OT. Get over it. At some point you have to do things that aren't always comfortable and push you to the limits. Whether this is going to look at a cadaver, watching a patient being given a bath, or teaching patient, new toileting techniques, sometimes “you gotta do what you gotta do”. I realized that these are all things we as OTs are exposed to and need to be comfortable with them. The patient trusts you. Imagine if you were that woman who has just suffered a stroke, first day on a new floor, with a new OT, and there is a male graduate student, a stranger and complete surprise, watching you in some of your most personal moments. Patients trust that we as OTs know what we are doing and that we will carry out these responsibilities in the most professional manner. These are people. Hearing the patient’s history in team meetings not only let me see that OTs are just part of the recovery process but also that patients are people, with families and amazing stories just like us.

It really hit me at the hospital that as an OT we are so much more that just a therapist that comes and helps, but we are giving life and independence back to someone. Yeah, we do some things that are pretty uncomfortable to most people, but that is yet another reason why not everyone can or will do what we do. Coming from mostly an outpatient shadowing background, I learned quite a bit.  I may never work at a hospital but it is great to know that is always something I can do if I want to.

Side note-- There was something else that I dealt with at the hospital and learned from, but it didn't fit to share it in this reflection. Occupational therapy is a field dominated mostly by women. I would liken the ratio to education maybe a few more females on the female to male ratio. I was asked by on of the OTs working in an abrasive tone, "You're a guy, why would you want to be an OT?" I stepped back and wanted to say, "You're a girl, why do you want to be an OT?" But remembering that I am in an inferior position, I just simply thought about it. I told her, "For the same reasons that you want to. I love seeing the progress of patients and using occupations they love to do to teach them how to do them again." She had no rebuttal but, "yeah, me too." I honestly believe God has lead me to become an OT because I will be able to show his love, kindness, how awesome our bodies are that He made, and ultimately a whole lot of patience to those that may not know it and by doing so I can help one person, great.

For those of you reading, family and friends, if you never knew why I want to be an OT, I hope I cleared up some confusion.