A common question people have: what exactly does an occupational therapist do? The easy, abbreviated response: what doesn’t an occupational therapist do? Occupational therapists assist a large diversity of patients, from the elderly to children (in and out of schools) to sick or disabled individuals. Through different and personalized therapies, these people are taught how to live as independently as possible while simultaneously having their mind and spirits lifted.
Due to the diverse work of occupational therapists and the growing demand in the therapies, it is to no surprise that the OT field has grown by 13 percent in the past five years, the Labor Department predicting the field will to grow by 33.5 percent over the next eight years. U.S. News and many others have voted OT one of the top ten professions.
At Stern, there are many students interested in pursuing a job in the field of OT. Students drawn to the field are interested for many reasons, the ability to help people gain mobility and strength, a required background in psychology and biology (two of Stern’s most popular majors), or simply the job’s flexible hours chief among them.
With all these valid reasons for applying to OT school, students are still left with the questioning how the application process works. What are the requirements? There is no longer a pre-occupational therapy guidance counselor on campus. With so many interested in the field, students want to know what to do.
That’s where Stern’s Occupational Therapy club steps in. The students in charge of this club attempt to provide as much information as possible to the eager students interested in OT.
October 23rd the Occupational Therapy club held its first event of the year, featuring a panel of Stern graduates currently in OT school. The speakers came from Kean University, New York University, SUNY Downstate University, and Touro College. After a short hour and a half question answer period, students walked away with a much stronger knowledge of what made each school unique. Rebecca Eckstein, SCW 13’, noted “the panel really helped me get a sense of the differences between the schools and helped me realize why I want to attend a specific program.” Another student, Talya Rohde, SCW 15’, said “this event opened my eyes to a field I knew nothing about and showed me how much there is to do within Occupational Therapy.”
Something that particularly stuck out was when a panelist from SUNY Downstate challenged the students to question why they wanted to go into the OT field. She explained, “By having this deeper understanding of why you want a certain job, you create a strong passion towards that job.” This piece of advice resonated with the students and additionally applies to other careers in the health field. With application deadlines rapidly approaching, the event answered and clarified many last minute questions, while additionally providing information to students newly interested in the field.
To all you pre-occupational therapy students: Thank you for coming to our first event and keep your eyes out for more club events in the future.