I am a good Occupational Therapist

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. 

Introduction

For a long time I have been wondering what it takes to earn self confidence.  I do think that some people just have it from when they are young kids because of how they are raised and different circumstances that occur in their lives.  But in today’s society we have all of these therapists, counselors and advice givers saying that all of us need to have lots of self confidence.  How can that happen if when we were kids the odds of that ever happening (for whatever reason) were against us.  My entire adult life I have been working on gaining self confidence.  The other day I was thinking what qualities I have to help me gain self confidence.  It feels like I have worked so hard to love myself and believe in myself. 

Intelligence:  I am smart.  Whether it’s genetic or environmental or both, I am a smart young lady.  When needed I ask questions and do research on the questions that need to be answered.  I retain information and remember it.  I tend to have good judgment and common sense when confronted with choices.  I feel like if I lacked this I would have veered off course when making important decisions in my adult life.   Without being smart I would have been unable to be responsible.

Motivation:  I am encouraged when I accomplish things.  It does make me feel good.  I have learned to make lists and when I can cross things off the list, I feel much better about myself.  I feel accomplished and proud.  By watching the students I have and the people encounter I have kind of realized that motivation can’t be taught.  It is almost an inner desire to chase your wildest dreams and complete tasks that you never have before.  Not everyone feels the need to dream big or the feeling of accomplishment when the tasks are completed.  I am lucky to have this. 

Determination:   If I don’t succeed, I try again and keep on going.  Despite any hardships I’ve had, I never give up on the end goal.  The trick with this trait is knowing when it is time to let go and walk away. 

Charm: I have a good smile and positive attitude.  I am very easy going and have a good sense of humor which makes me easy to be around.  Since I am a social person and likable it is safe to say that I couldn’t have earned the confidence I have today without the people who have influenced me the most. 

Adventurous:  This is a trait I have discovered within myself the past 6 months or so.  I have always had it inside of me but I never realized it before.  I love trying new and different things and challenging my boundaries and this has made me feel really good about myself.  It is important that I remember this and keep striving on this. 

Genuine/Truthful:  I wear my heart on my sleeve and people are going to know what I am thinking and feeling.  What you see is what you get.  I am really bad at being dishonest with myself and other people.  If I feel like something is wrong I express that instead of living in a lie. 

Perceptive:  I am very good at reading people's signals and knowing when a situation is wrong for me.  It amazes me how hard it can be sometimes to trust my gut instinct.  I have been caught in situations where I feel like I should listen to other people’s advice or follow what the norm of society should do rather than trust the truthfulness I know that lies deep within me.  On the flip side this trait has swayed me away from several horrible decisions and situations. 

I think my self esteem and self confidence has improved a lot from when I was a young adult.  But I have realized that in order to maintain a long lasting loving relationship with a man I am truly going to have to love myself first and be complete person.  Everyone always seems to see so many good qualities in me that they express.  When they say things like this I am kind of in shock.  It’s almost like I don’t believe what they are saying.  I think it is time to start seeing and believing what other people already see and believe in me.