cOnnecT with Sara Bishop

Why did you choose OT as a career?

When I was 16 my family and I left Vancouver to sail the South Pacific Ocean on a sailboat my Dad built in our backyard.  While we were visiting Moorea, I was in a pretty bad motor scooter accident. When we returned to Vancouver I went to a Physiotherapist, as my resulting knee problems. After my experience in therapy I thought Physio would be a great career choice for me, so I started my science classes at Kwantlen College. I remember my biology teacher saying "Oh you're never going to make it in Physio, your grades aren't high enough" and I said "Well, I'm going to try".

To learn more about the field, I went to the Rehab open house at UBC for Physio Someone asked me if I as going to stay for the OT presentation. I hadn't even heard of Occupational Therapy so I stayed and ended up liking it even more than Physio. I applied for the OT program at UBC and was accepted to start in 1991.

Where have you worked over your career?

Upon graduating from school I moved to Mexico to take a break. After living on a boat in Mexico for six months, still living off my student loans, I realized I was running out of money. I called a recruiter in the US that a friend of mine had used to apply for a job as a traveling therapist. At that point I had nothing but the clothes on my back. The recruiter (who later became my husband!) still laughs at me for meeting him in the airport in North Carolina wearing a jean jacket with $2,000 stuffed in the pockets in order to buy a used car.

I drove up to my first job in Galax, Virginia. On my first day I met an unusual co-worker, a big cat sitting right on the desk where I was supposed to do my paper work. The RA introduced herself and said "I'm not going to help you at all, and don’t touch that cat because she bites." That was my first day on my first job!

As a corporate traveling therapist, I often filled positions where the OT has walked off the job. Sometimes I would have only a days’ notice to pack up and move to the next position. I traveled for two and half years and I obtained fifteen state licenses.

After working in Maryland doing school-based therapy for 10 months I moved to Seattle. I accepted a position working for 2 years for the North Shore School District in Bothell, Washington. I loved working with kids in the water at the schools and had been studying, taking courses and volunteering with experts for years. I wanted to pursue graduate school right away, but the timing was not right that year. Instead I decided to start my own business in paediatric aquatic therapy.

The following year I was accepted into the Master of Science in Rehab at the University of Washington and developed a tool for measuring how children with autism respond to aquatic therapy. Over the next 5 years I simultaneously ran my business and completed my Masters. I was grateful to the professors at UW for the great mentorship and learning opportunities they gave me.

I have worked mostly in paediatrics after moving back to Canada in 2003, both in private practice - ABUZZ Paediatric Occupational Therapy, and for Centre for Ability in the North Shore School District. I have also worked at Lions Gate Hospital in many different practice areas. Last May I took on a locum position in Adult Mental Health in the HOpe Centre, which ended in May. I had never worked in mental health before and found it a great challenge and an awesome learning experience.

What do you like most about working as an OT?

The diversity! I’ve been able to work in so many different practice areas without having to completely retrain. I love assisting people find practical means to reach their life goals.

You have been the chairperson for the Pediatric Special Interest Group for many years. Why do you volunteer for CAOT-BC?

I love that OTs from all over the province can come together either in person and via teleconference and have the opportunity to ask questions and participate. I enjoy being in a leadership role and I like to learn what other OTs are doing in their practice. I find it important to keep a pulse on what’s happening in the province and to let OTs have a forum to talk about what’s going on. Having been so professionally isolated in my early career as a travelling therapist, I want to help prevent OTs in remote practice areas from feeling unsupported.

What is next on the horizon for you?

I am continuing in paediatric private practice and at the occasional shift at LGH. I'm also thinking about going back to do my Ph.D when the time is right for my family. It’s a chapter that I haven’t started reading yet, and I’m excited to find out what’s next!