Exploring Experiences that Influence Occupational Therapy as a Career
Start Date
April 2020
End Date
April 2020
Major Field of Study
Occupational Therapy
Student Type
Undergraduate
Faculty Mentor(s)
Karen McCarthy, OTD, OTR/L
Presentation Format
Oral Presentation
Abstract/Description
There is an abundance of students choosing to pursue a career in the healthcare field, however, compared to other healthcare professions, such as nursing and physical therapy, occupational therapy is not as favorable. The most contributing factor to an individual's reluctance to choose occupational therapy is the lack of knowledge of occupational therapy’s scope of practice. If that is the case, in which people are not choosing occupational therapy as a profession, what is it to say about those who are choosing occupational therapy? The purpose of this study is to further understand how first-hand experiences of occupational therapy have influenced students’ desire to pursue a career in occupational therapy. The efforts of this study hope to expand individuals’ understanding of occupational therapy and what it has to offer as a potential career choice. The nature of this study also allows participants to reflect on their own journey to occupational therapy and how it has affected themselves.
Exploring Experiences that Influence Occupational Therapy as a Career
There is an abundance of students choosing to pursue a career in the healthcare field, however, compared to other healthcare professions, such as nursing and physical therapy, occupational therapy is not as favorable. The most contributing factor to an individual's reluctance to choose occupational therapy is the lack of knowledge of occupational therapy’s scope of practice. If that is the case, in which people are not choosing occupational therapy as a profession, what is it to say about those who are choosing occupational therapy? The purpose of this study is to further understand how first-hand experiences of occupational therapy have influenced students’ desire to pursue a career in occupational therapy. The efforts of this study hope to expand individuals’ understanding of occupational therapy and what it has to offer as a potential career choice. The nature of this study also allows participants to reflect on their own journey to occupational therapy and how it has affected themselves.
Comments
This presentation was accepted for the Scholarly and Creative Works Conference at Dominican University of California. The Conference was canceled due to the Covid-19 Pandemic