♪
Sometimes I move
better than I--
(woman)
I work at the Ohio State
Wexner Medical Center
in an acute inpatient rehab
facility called Dodd Hall.
We use assessments
and treatments
to improve
someone's independence
and their daily living skills.
So, this can be anyone
with a mental, cognitive,
physical impairment.
And it can be simple things
like getting dressed
and grooming and bathing
to higher level things
like being in the kitchen
and cooking
or medicine management,
money management.
Anything that you have to do
in your daily life,
we get you back to doing
as independently as possible.
I've been at the medical center
for about three years.
I've been an occupational
therapist for over five years.
The difference between
an occupational therapist
and a physical therapist
would be,
we look more
at functional activities
and include
upper body strengthening,
fine motor skills--
anything that you need
to complete those tasks
of your daily living skills.
Physical therapy will look more
at your ambulation--
your walking,
your lower body exercises,
endurance, things like that.
(patient)
Ativan makes me have--
In the morning,
when we get here,
the occupational therapist
will start a little earlier,
and we will meet patients
in their rooms,
and we practice their
morning routines with them.
This can be using
compensatory strategies
or adaptive equipment
to get them independent
and getting dressed
and brushing their teeth
and bathing and toileting.
(Albrechta)
As the day progresses,
we bring them downstairs
to the therapy gyms,
where we may work on
strengthening
and conditioning--
anything that would help them
get back to being independent.
To be an occupational therapist,
you need a master's degree.
There is a licensing
and certification requirement.
When you finish
your master's degree,
you will take
a board-certified exam.
This is a national exam.
And then you're licensed
per state.
There are many prospects
in advancement
as an occupational therapist.
There's different routes
you can take.
You can get
your doctorate degree
in occupational therapy,
your O.T.D.
Then you could be a professor
of occupational therapy.
You could do research,
if that interests you.
I thought of a new
neighborhood activity.
(Albrechta)
To make yourself
a more desirable prospect
as a high school student,
you can do what I did,
where I started out shadowing
occupational therapists,
to make sure that that's
what I wanted to do.
Then you can start
volunteer work
as soon as you get to college
or even before.
And then the more hours,
the better it looks
on your application.
The thing I like best about
being an occupational therapist
is how rewarding it is.
(Albrechta)
You get to see
patients come in
at their lowest point,
and before they leave,
they're so thankful for you.
They're improved,
they're independent now,
they can go home
to their lives.
It's just
a really rewarding job.
Funding to purchase and make
this educational production
accessible was provided by the
U.S. Department of Education.
PH:1-800-USA-LEARN (V)
or WEB: www.ed.gov.
♪
