When someone experiences an injury, illness or other setback, they might have to stop doing something they love. By doing occupational therapy, that person can overcome their challenges through focused work on their individual needs—allowing them to get back to doing their favorite activities.
“‘Occupation’ in our profession means meaningful activities,” said Heidi Sanders, PhD, OTR/L, the division chief of the Occupational Therapy Graduate Program in The University of New Mexico School of Medicine. “We help people to be as participatory and successful in their meaningful activities as possible, whether it’s physical, cognitive, sensory or mental health issues that are keeping them from that.”
An occupational therapist (OT) applies creativity and innovation to address the individual patient, the patient’s environment and the tasks the patient needs or wants to do, Sanders said. The treatment is highly specific to each individual.
For example, a patient could have difficulty with daily activities, such as taking a shower or brushing their teeth. Another patient might want to return to doing an advanced task, such as playing a sport or a musical instrument, she said.
What’s great about OT is it’s a very innovative and creative field. So, it’s helpful for us to have students with a lot of different backgrounds. We don’t prefer one specific degree over another.
- Heidi Sanders, PhD, OTR/L, Division Chief, Occupational Therapy Graduate Program, UNM School of Medicine
Treatment could involve helping the patient strengthen muscles after an injury or making other modifications, such as changing equipment or their environment, Sanders said.
“If you had a spinal cord injury, the way you’re going to get dressed and move through your house is going to be different, but you can still do it,” she said. “We can help you to figure that out.”
An OT can even assist someone with mental illness, such as depression, by helping that patient establish a daily routine and building on it, Sanders said.
OTs treat patients of all ages.
“We have OTs working in the neonatal intensive care for babies that are significantly premature, and all the way to hospice and old age,” Sanders said.
And OTs aren’t always in the clinic. An OT might work in the home of a child patient, or make a trip to the zoo if it’s relevant to the child’s treatment.
“In the real world, we work in schools, but we do work in outpatient clinics and hospitals,” Sanders said. “Some clinics and hospitals allow you to do outings with individuals, which I always think is best practice. Knowing what you can do in a hospital room is very different than what you can do when you leave the hospital. Then, with adults with developmental disabilities, most of that work is in the community. So, there’s a huge range.”
UNM’s Occupational Therapy Graduate Program includes options for an entry level Master of Occupational Therapy (MOT) degree and an Occupational Therapy Doctorate (ppOTD) degree.
Sanders said the MOT program, consisting of two years of academics and six months of hands-on field work, thrives on training students with varied undergraduate backgrounds.
“What’s great about OT is it’s a very innovative and creative field. So, it’s helpful for us to have students with a lot of different backgrounds,” she said. “We don’t prefer one specific degree over another.”
Students entering the MOT program will have to satisfy certain prerequisites, such as basic science and psychology, she added.
“If we have people with a range of their own meaningful activities and understanding, I feel like we’re better at meeting those needs of our clients,” Sanders said.
The ppOTD degree, a post-professional program, requires an MOT, and it helps practicing OTs become better leaders and/or create a path into academia and research, she said.
Sanders believes in the value of this work.
“We’re always happy to have people get to know our profession more and our program,” she said. “It’s important.”
Click here to learn more about UNM’s Occupational Therapy Graduate Program.
Banner and Thumbnail Image Credit: Sarah Head
