Why did you choose occupational
therapy as a career?It is an interesting story.
I always wanted to be a librarian and did not know what occupational therapy was
until I took on a job while I was in high school. It was the summer between my
grade 11 and grade 12 year. I was a secretary at the rehab hospital in
Winnipeg. It actually ended up being within the OT department and my role was
to document the therapist’s reports and treatment plans. This job sparked my
interest, so I did some investigating and took the necessary courses to apply
to U of Manitoba’s program. I first received my diploma in ‘77 and continued my
education and received my Bachelors in ‘86.
Where have you worked over
your career? Where do you work now?My final fieldwork
placement was in Regina, which led to my first job as an OT as I really enjoyed
it. It was a rehab setting and I ended up staying in Regina for twenty-five
years. During my career, I have been working with the adult population in many
different areas such as acute care, home care, rheumatology, and long-term care
facilities. Currently, I work casually at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital,
but my main role is as a Distributed Learning instructor for the Therapist Assistant
Program at Medicine Hat College.
I have also had the
opportunity to be the president of SSOT, be on different CAOT committees as
well as on the Board, and was also the Board Chair of the College of
Occupational Therapists of BC.
What do you like about occupational
therapy?I appreciate that we get
the privilege to look at people’s everyday lives. As OTs, we get to look at
what people are experiencing challenges with, how those challenges are
impacting their lives, and problem-solving with them so that they are able to
return to doing the activities that are meaningful to them.
What would you tell someone
who is thinking about becoming an OT?That it’s the best
profession ever. I think it’s important for those who are considering the
profession to really enjoy working with people and to also enjoy being creative
and thinking outside of the box. It is an ever-changing profession that
provides you the opportunity to work with a large variety of clients within
many different practice settings. For example, you could be working with a
newborn child or a senior and could have a role within mental health or
physical rehabilitation settings, within a community program, school or in a facility,
and within the public or private sectors. It is very broad, anything that you
enjoy doing- you can do as an OT. Overall, it is a very gratifying career that
allows you to improve people’s well-being.
What is your favourite
thing about CAOT-BC?I appreciate how CAOT-BC is
so well connected with the members. My favourite things are the blog posts,
email updates, forums, and also getting the opportunity to see what other OTs
are doing. I also really liked the “Invite your MLA to the Legislator” initiative
as well as all of the Practice Networks that are offered. In summary, I enjoy
having provincial professional representation and the fact that they are
communicating with their members on a regular basis.
What do you think will
change/shape practice over the next five years?I hope to see the
profession of OT embrace working alongside OTAs more consistently. There is a
huge potential here to provide better care that is more client-centered. I
think in the upcoming years we need to encourage OTs to develop trusting,
professional relationships with OTA’s to feel confident and comfortable with
providing them more to do which will provide clients better access to OT.
I also hope to see OTs
advocating for ourselves more and becoming more involved in healthcare decision
making across the country. I would like to see OT and OTAs be more involved and
recognized in various areas of healthcare delivery including hospitals,
schools, communities and injury prevention programs. I also hope to see OTs
more involved in infrastructure and universal design in hopes of supporting the
aging population to be able to successfully live in their homes for as long as
possible, if that is their goal.
Lastly, I think that the
work of Karen Whalley Hammell will continue to push the boundaries of
occupational therapy and shape our future practice. Her work focuses on what
well-being means to the client and this can vary from current practice. She
discusses that we need to look beyond the categories of self-care,
productivity, and leisure and focus on the relationship between occupation and
human well-being.
What do you do when you
aren't working or volunteering?I enjoy cooking, reading,
golfing, Zumba class, and I also love to sail with my husband, which was what
actually brought us to the west coast. I also enjoy visiting and spending time
with family including my daughters and grandsons.
What is your personal
philosophy around advocating and giving back to the profession of OT?I strongly believe that
everybody should give back by volunteering during their career whether this
involves participating on a committee, supervising students during fieldwork
placements or mentoring colleagues. There are also benefits to volunteering, such
as learning what is happening and what is new in the profession. It helps you
stay on top of important hot topics.
Do you have anything else
that we did not cover that you think is important to include? I want to mention the
importance of being a lifelong learner. Once you graduate, you are not done
learning. If you are going to call yourself a professional I believe it does
come with some responsibility. Unfortunately, there are some barriers to
continuing education, like not being able to get time off to attend workshops,
or the costs associated. CAOT offers some great options, like the webinars
which allow you to continue your education from home if you are unable to get
the day off work. I also think it is important to include that everyone should
be paying attention to what is currently changing and advancing. Be open to
sharing your voice in the discussion groups that CAOT-BC offers.
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