Occupational therapy

daauneal

My girlfriend is "studying" Occupational therapy in trinity, all she ever seems to do is learn how to have "movie nights" for old people and smile at everyone:D
. Does anyone else think Occupational therapy is a bit of a p*ss take?:p

europerson

No. I think it's a good thing that people with debilitating illnesses, stroke victims, etc. get to do things everyone else can.

ZWEI_VIER_ZWEI

Yes, but the above description of her course doesn't exactly sound academically rigorous, does it?

stardust_dublin

No way. its actually something i want to get into, i find it very interesting and i think it would be a very rewarding career. the pay is very good too!

paperclip

I'm sure they have to write papers discussing the social and psychological effects of disability on people and that sort of thing.

Personally, I think they're great. If you suddenly found yourself debilitated by a stroke, say, would you rather read a critique of Emerson or talk to someone who could help you learn how to arrange your house so that you could get around it with the minimum of pain? Or to be able to tie your shoelaces so you don't always have to ask other people to do it? It doesn't sound like a lot, but it can mean the difference between being able to live independently and having to ask someone else to do things for you all the time. I think they're great people and having other people say things like 'Oh, it's not academically rigorous...' may turn people off doing it. We need more people who are attracted to the caring side of such things!

They do need to learn about the different types of disability and their limitations- if a mother comes up to you and asks you how to deal with her autistic child on buses-- an OT can suggest ways of distracting him, etc.
Their coursework is here: http://www.medicine.tcd.ie/occupational_therapy/courses/student_area/student_area.php

Csikszentmihalyi - Model of process that he calls ‘ flow’-
A person who is in flow is completely absorbed in a satisfying activity.
I'd say that learning how to spell this surname is a minor academic challenge in and of itself.
Occupational therapists play an important part in the team that makes up the medical health service and that's all there is to it.

starz

No, i dont think its a "p*ss take". It's actually a very important job. What course are you taking thats so important?
As paperclip has just mentioned, the coursework is actually quite academic, if you bother to take a look.

snorlax

ZWEI_VIER_ZWEI wrote: »

Yes, but the above description of her course doesn't exactly sound academically rigorous, does it?

I suggest looking at the website for information on this. It's a lot more complicated..trust me on that one...and yes we do get paid well

clairesheara

Ahh...no it is not a P**S take...and it is an academically rigorous...it is 4 years, covers the science, psychology and social side of disease and disability....want me to continue....I love my job...and can argue this point well...:p

Noopti

daauneal wrote: »

My girlfriend is "studying" Occupational therapy in trinity, all she ever seems to do is learn how to have "movie nights" for old people and smile at everyone:D
. Does anyone else think Occupational therapy is a bit of a p*ss take?:p

You've really researched this. Good man. Make sure you maintain a healthy lifestyle, wouldn't want you having a stroke anytime soon, especially seeing as the only help you will get will involve a big smile and a DVD of Driving Miss Daisy.

:rolleyes:

snorlax

clairesheara wrote: »

Ahh...no it is not a P**S take...and it is an academically rigorous...it is 4 years, covers the science, psychology and social side of disease and disability....want me to continue....I love my job...and can argue this point well...:p

Your an OT, what area are you working in? Im out in the community so I do lots of building adaptations/ wheelchair assessments/ fall prevention. Such long waiting lists though..some people are waiting up to a year to see us..it's a disgrace really.

clairesheara

snorlax wrote: »

Your an OT, what area are you working in? Im out in the community so I do lots of building adaptations/ wheelchair assessments/ fall prevention. Such long waiting lists though..some people are waiting up to a year to see us..it's a disgrace really.

I am actually in Australia at the moment...so what am I doing on an Irish board...I am considering relocating for a while

I am currently working in a manual handling unit, where my client is actually the care worker. So I conduct risk assessments and implement strategies to reduce the risk to the care workers using hoists, equipment and alternative techniques or restructuring the task. THEN I write procedures and train the staff....phew....but...

Then majority of my experience is in geriatric care. I particularly inpatient and day hospital rehab including home visits, falls prevention, stroke rehab, parkinsons rehab, pressure care, equipment prescription, lymhoedema management etc etc etc...this is what I love the most....

Where are you located?

Cheers

snorlax

Area 2, Dublin, LHO is in the old tubercolosis hospital in Clonskeagh.

We've OTs from Australia, england, new zealand and one filipino. Im the youngest OT in my department by about 12 years and the only ever new grad employed in that particular area!

Persuading people to hoist their loved one is pretty challenging in the community. I am actually on the high dependency team which means my job is to try and keep people in their homes after hospital discharge rather then putting them in longterm care. Alot of these clients have psychiatric problems aswell so its not a very simple caseload.

Im still trying to get used to the sheer volume of equipment out there, I think Iv learned more in the past 6 months about how the HSE works/ how to do my job then any of the theory I learned in college. But at times it feels like there has been alot of responsiblity put on me and Im still only 22!
Im trying to bring assistive technology and some stroke reab into my practice a bit more as I believe it can reallly benefit some clients..but not everyone is open to assistive technology. Its mainly the elderly I work with (I have 2 different caseloads), haven't had any MS clients yet.
Speaking of lympodema a riser recliner can do wonders out in the community ! Pity all the equipment costs a small fortune.

Griffin1983

i love this, O.T.s of the world unite! i'm currently in first year O.T. in trinity and its just wonderful. it is academic and covers challenging enough courses but the best thing is the people you meet and work with. the best decision i ever made was applying to this as a mature student. O.T.s are just great people.

snorlax

Well if you need any help with essays/ advice etc feel free to ask any questions . From what I can remember first year was good craic.

TONY BRENNAN

Wait Till She Gets Wages