Area of interest

I think my interests and curiosity will change over the years and that is the great thing about occupational therapy. I do not want to be limited to doing the same exact thing for the next 30 years every single day from 9:00 to 5:00. I enjoy a change of pace and venue. However I think my end goal would be to work in a for profit agency with a outpatient type setting. I believe eventually I would like to start and run my own clinic that is why I am saying this setting cause that would be the most common type. I like the thought of the freedom and adventure that comes with being my own boss and running a small business. I think this would allow me to always be pushing to learn something new and expand my services to best service my clients. I think a clinic with both a pediatric side and an adult outpatient side with a variety of services not just occupational therapy would be the goal. However I know that is not a feasible starting spot. I really have a interest and a heart for pediatrics, and I enjoyed my time during my internship that was done in a pediatric clinic. However I am interested in seeing as many different settings as possible. I feel like a public agency such as an acute care hospital would allow me to see a variety of diagnosis and disorders to sharpen my skills, broaden my experiences, and make valuable networking contacts. As of right now I have not found a special certification that draws my attention so much that I would like to focus on it, but that could change at any time. As you can see it is not necessarily a single nitch that intrigues me the as much as it is the endless possibilities and serving people along the way.

History of Disability

Dr. Keisling spoke to the class about the history of how people with disabilities have been treated in the United States over the past century. The lecture started out quite grim. I was made aware of many things I previously did not know. I was specifically taken back by the story of the Kennedy's. I am a self professed lover of history, and I had not heard this before about the Kennedy's this is why it stuck out to me.  Most people will agree that at one point the Kennedy family was the closest thing to Royalty the United states has ever had. It just showed me that no family, however plentiful the resources, had the knowledge of how to best help their loved ones with disabilities at that time in history. It was nice to see how far society and the country as a whole had come since those times but also how far we still have to go. I took the time like Dr. Keisling suggested to think back on some people with disabilities in my past. Most of them did disappear around my middle school years like he mentioned, however I remember some of them and how there were excluded from certian things. The lecture opened my eyes on how to think and interact with people who have disabilities in a everyday situation.
   

OT 425 Era Presentation

The first point I found Interesting was from the 1940s presentation. It was interesting to learn about how things would change in war time to expedite everything. The two week OT boot camps sounded about like drinking from a fire hose. The second point I found interesting was from the 2010s. I was not aware until their presentation that you could implant a fully artificial heart into a patient. The last interesting point was from the 1980s presentation. I enjoyed learning about how the deinstitutionalization during the 1960s and 1970s impacted the way OTs practiced today and how it allowed for OTs to focus in new areas.