I am a good Occupational Therapist
The other day I was thinking what it took for me to make it to where I am today in terms of my career. Then I realized I am no longer the young woman who was at LCC and thought of every reason and excuse to make the statement “I will never become the OT I want to be” a truthful one. I am no longer the young woman who thought because I once was a student/patient who received therapy I would make a bad therapist. I am no longer the college student who felt like crap because I kept failing tests. I am no longer the college student whose Baker College instructor pulled me into her office and said I was no longer able to call myself names and talk negatively about myself.
Granted I did have to sit through interviews where I was told that I would never be able to complete the job duties of an OT because of my physical challenges. I also had to bear a job for 2 years I absolutely hated from the second I walked into the human resource office on my first day. I told myself many times that I should just give up on my dream of becoming a school based Occupational Therapist, but I never did give up.
I am doing the job I have wanted to do since I was 15 years old. Some days it’s really stressful and lots of work but I never wake and feel like I “hate” my job. I have had that feeling of hating a job before, so I know what the experience feels like.
I am good at what I do because I am able to work and interact with lots of different people (students, parents, teachers, co-workers). I am a good team player and like to include everyone in the decisions and work that is completed. I also tend to be very diplomatic. I am able to listen to everyone’s side of the story and do my best to meet everyone’s needs. I am also starting to realize that sometimes I do need to be assertive and allow myself to say something when I disagree or feel uncomfortable. This will help me become an even better therapist because I do need to learn to avoid burnout and stress. I need to remember how to have a happy medium between my personal life and professional life. When I first started I felt young and naive and felt like I had to follow others directives and opinions. I am now a seasoned therapist and it is time to stand up for myself when needed. I think getting to work earlier and staying just an hour late has helped me become more efficient with paper work and also helped me separate work from my personal life. I will never again “bring work home.”
I work well with the young kids because of my sense of humor and creative nature. So many of the kids express their desire to come with me and learn and/or play with me each week. Knowing that they like being with me makes me feel really good about myself and it also helps with the therapeutic process. Many of the parents have also told me what a good job I have done with helping their child with the educational process. The best part of my job is watching the student I have succeed at something new and knowing I played a role in that. I also have a strong amount of empathy and understanding when working with students with disabilities.
I am a professional employee. I try to do what is right and I try my best to be efficient, through and prompt at what I do. Since I am an intelligent person I have good judgement and common sense which increases my professional abilities. Even though there is a lot of paper work, etc I always stick with it and do a good job at getting the work done. I am good at what I do at work every day and I am lucky to have the job I do.
