As the end of this two-year journey draws near, I have enjoyed contemplating the lessons learned, and consistently affirm that this life path is my passion, and my calling. As we discussed the definition of Occupational Therapy continually throughout the program, I feel confident in my assertion of the definition. So, what is OT? It definitely isn’t Physical Therapy! The definition we came up with in class was: “OT is a holistic, client-centered profession that uses clinical reasoning to develop and individualize treatment goals that assist clients to function and enhance meaning in daily life activities across the lifespan.” I find joy in the opportunity to share information about my future profession as I continue to be questioned. I have often rehearsed this definition: “OT is a holistic practice that attends to the daily occupations of people that have been disrupted due to illnesses, injuries, or disease that impede their ability to find meaning in their lives. Whereby assisting them to regain function and independence through remedial or compensatory treatment.”
It has been emphasized that people are living longer because of better medical care: mortality rates are decreasing and age of death is increasing. As a future professional in the health care field, I am interested in knowing what constitutes successful aging. Is there really an art to aging? Is how you age indeed within your control? I have learned that how one adapts to developmental life changes that occur within each of the five developmental domains is what ultimately influences how one ages. We are taught through various theories and frames of reference how people adapt. The PEO model suggests that occupational performance is achieved when individuals adapt one or more of the three components: person, environment, and occupation to create an overlap to equal occupational performance. Individuals must be constantly adapting to the changes in each component to ensure the outcome of occupational performance. According to Rholkon, successful aging occurs when there is maximum physical and cognitive function and minimal disability coupled with active engagement (social and productive).
Occupational Therapists can take a preventive intervention focus when working with the older adult population. This approach focuses on helping people plan occupations, and balance their lifestyle, even when there is no specific impairment in place. Interventions can include home evaluations, universal design, resource allocation, an increase in community and social networks, and much more. Home evaluations focus on multiple dimensions to ensure safety which is “…an area ripe for occupational therapy intervention and consultancy practice”. By taking the proactive step of focusing on how people can live healthier when they are younger will impact their aging process in the long run.
An important piece of my learning journey is clinical reasoning. Although all of the science classes (anatomy, physiology, neuroanatomy, and kinesiology, etc.) are vital to our future practice, clinical reasoning concepts (such as interactive and narrative reasoning) emphasize the focus on the person, rather than just the disability. To echo the challenge issued by Mary Reilly, we must not forget the roots of our profession and lean too close to the medical model, but remember the innate drive that humans have to do and to be occupied. I recently watched the movie Patch Adams where a medical student defies the norms of medical school as he reaches out to develop personal relationships with the patients. In one scene, another doctor, is teaching his medical students about a patient’s diagnosis in front of the patient. As he is explaining the effects of this diagnosis and the patient’s current status, he mentions things such as “gangrene” and the possibility of amputation. This must have been stressful for the patient to hear. Patch Adams inquires about the patient’s name and greets her and then shakes her hand, something not practiced or encouraged by the teaching staff. His actions comforted me as I struggled to watch the patient grow in her discomfort while the doctor talked about her rather than to her. This is a reminder of the need to concern ourselves with who the patient is in addition to what they have. This can be summed up by considering the difference between being an Occupational Therapist and doing occupational therapy. To quote Thomas Moore once again: “care of the body soothes the soul, and care of the soul keeps the body relaxed and free of anxiety” (
In conclusion, I find comfort in the fact that my passion for wanting to become an occupational therapist is not only still present, but it has increased exponentially over these past two years. I continue to be touched by situations similar to the scene in the movie Patch Adams. I find comfort in realizing the importance of caring for both the body and the soul. I find comfort in knowing that my future will be filled with opportunities as an occupational therapist where I will get to know who the client is and what it is they want to do. I will listen to their stories, and I will learn what is meaningful to them. I will work to improve the quality of each life, and I will learn to do it better every time.
References:
Moore, T. (2003). Body and soul. Topics in geriatric rehabilitation. 19(4), 231-238.
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