I
wanted to do something meaningful for a career, something that is more than
just looking forward to my pay-cheque at the end of every month. And, for me,
it means being able to help people and making a difference in their lives. That’s
when I decided to become an occupational therapist.
An
occupational therapist is one who helps patients improve their ability to
perform tasks – whether it’s daily living activities or in a working
environment. And these patients may be suffering from a mentally, physically,
developmentally, or emotionally disabling condition. The goal of occupation
therapy is to help patients have independent, productive, and satisfying lives.
I
chose to do occupational therapy because it combines the arts and science –
both of which I enjoy. Science is involved because you need to understand how
the body and brain function, and the arts would be the creativity to come up
with the different types of activities to help our patients achieve their
goals.
When
the patients are referred to me, I have to first assess what they are capable
of and where they are lacking. I need to find out from them their goals –
whether it’s to go back to school, get a job or just being able to fend for their
daily needs. Physical exercises may be used to increase strength and dexterity.
We may also use computer programmes to help them improve decision-making,
abstract-reasoning, problem-solving as well as memory, sequencing and
coordination – all of which are important aspects of independent living.
I
conduct both individual and group sessions for inpatients and outpatients here
in the Institute
of Mental Health. And my
patients range from 16 to 40 years old. Each patient is different. They have
their own particular needs.
One
of the challenges that I face is the expectations of patients. Some of them set
their expectations up too high and they end up feeling frustrated and
disappointed. At the same time, we don’t want them to set expectations that are
too low because that would not be helping them. Another challenge is patients’
compliance. It’s a challenge getting them to attend their therapy sessions
regularly. In such cases, our case managers or myself, will call them up if
they stay away for too long to find out why they couldn’t make it for the
sessions and to encourage them to be more regular.
As
challenging as it is, it’s most gratifying when I see my patients return to
their normal functioning and when they come and tell me that they are gainfully
employed. This makes everything that I do for them so worthwhile!