cOnnecT with Margherita Jess

Advisory Committee member, Margherita Jess

Why did you choose OT as a career?

I always knew that I would work in healthcare, but was trying to decide between medicine and physiotherapy in my third year of university.  I happened to have a friend who had just completed her first year of the OT program and I loved listening to her talk about the practical learning parts of the program and the broad range of clientele that they were learning about.  Upon entering the program, I loved the whole person view and the way that we were taught to facilitate people to help themselves rather than solving problems for them.

Where have you worked over your career?

I have worked in the United Stated and Canada and in a number of different practice settings.  I started out working with kids with Autism and have always kept up a small private caseload with this population.  I worked in Oregon as a sole charge practitioner in a tiny rural hospital on the coast and learned a lot about inpatient and outpatient OT.  Upon my return to Canada, I did a brief stint in home care and then settled in to life as an independent contractor in 2007.  Since 2007, my focus has been on complex Return to Work, FCE community PTSD rehabilitation.  Presently, I have my own rehabilitation company called Vector Rehabilitation Services and am focused on building a vocational program for teens with autism called The Vocational Independence and Transition to Adult Life (VITAL) Program.

What has been your most interesting job?

By far my most interesting job has been building The VITAL program.  I have had to learn about all of the supports in the community for teens and adults and connect with all of the different service providers.  There is no one doing this type of service presently and it has been a very challenging way to advocate for professional OT services in this realm as it’s a bit like the Wild West!  Developing the program has been a great way to push myself to be extremely current in the research in this field and to develop an intervention program accordingly.

Tell us about someone who has influenced your OT practice?

In my first clinical placement as a student, I worked at a small, rural hospital in Alberta.  The first patient I ever worked with was a grandmotherly lady who had had a massive left-sided stroke.  The stroke had occurred only a week previously and she had been left with severe deficits.  I was given the task of teaching her how to dress herself again.  During one of our sessions, she got extremely frustrated and broke down and I got discouraged and a bit teary, as well.  After the session, my supervisor pulled me out and gave me a good talking to.  She told me that I had no business getting discouraged and that, as a therapist, it was always my role to point out the positives to the client, no matter how small they were.  She told me that I could always cry at home, but to never let a client see you lose hope as you were often one of the only sources of hope when things were really bleak.  This stuck with me and guides my practice to this day.

What do you do when you aren't working?

When I am not working, I spend time with my amazing husband and my two little ones – Henry is 3 and Luisa is 1 ½.  I love to cycle and do yoga.  In the summers my husband and I play slow pitch.