Occupational Therapy

[Miss Sparkle]

I know this is a salon forum but I am thinking about retraining to be an occupational therapist as my "day" job (I love doing massage therapies but I only do them in my spare time as I like having a day job too, I suppose it is the variety). OT seems to emcompass everything I want from a day job, I'd get to help people, chat to people, make people's lives better, encourage people to live independently, be creative and I wouldn't be stuck behind a desk! Basically they work where the doctors leave off, helping people live with their condition (for example, the effects of a stroke) and enjoy a happy and fulfilled life. At least, this is the impression I'm getting so far. It sounds ideal for me, but so far I've only researched it on the internet and no spoken/emailed to anyone who has done this kind of thing. My sister is a physiotherapist and she is going to arrange for me to meet some of the OTs at her hospital, but I thought I'd ask on here too.

Has anyone done this kind of work? What were your experiences?

I really want to get as much information as possible before I embark on a full time course

Thanks very much and have a great weekend

 

[tog]

My brother's an OT and enjoys his job on the whole, but one thing that occurs to me when I speak to him about it is that you'll be working for one of the biggest bureaucracies in the country - the NHS.
It would frustrate me I think being part of such a large organisation, sometimes equipment is not available and funding cut so it's not your fault but you can't always do your job properly.
As I have always worked for myself it just seems so different to the way I work.
But having said that, he likes it and gets a lot of job satisfaction from what he does.
Good idea of yours to meet up with some OTs and get feedback about their job.