28 October 2020

Next week (2 to 8 November 2020) marks Occupational Therapy (OT) Week and we're encouraging people to #ChooseOT as a career pathway.

Rachael McGeehin, an OT at Northwick Park (Ellington Ward) talks about why she became an OT.

Why I’m an OT is a difficult question to answer. So many people have wonderful reasons for why they decided to enter into this incredible profession however, for me becoming an OT was a matter of luck. I was 18 and uncertain what career I wanted to pursue after school. One day whilst flicking through prospectuses I came across this thing I’d never heard of Occupational Therapy. I went home and asked my parents about it. They admitted they didn’t really know what it was but that my cousin Lisa worked as an OT. When I spoke to my cousin she said she loved her work so I applied for the course.

After my exam results I had to choose between becoming a teacher or accepting my offer to study Occupational Therapy in Scotland. By chance my auntie Jo from England was visiting home at the time. She previously was an NHS nurse and had personal experience receiving OT due to her Rheumatoid Arthritis.  On the topic of OT she couldn’t quite quantify what they did but identified them as listening to her and supporting her in being able to do the things she wanted. This sounded promising (and I figured if things didn’t work out I could always return home) so I began to study OT.

If I’m being cheesy I became an OT because I wanted an adventure or discovering what this new profession was and to try living outside of Ireland. I certainly got the adventure I was looking for with OT opening the world to me.

The reason I am an OT is that I love the focus the profession has on using everyday occupations as a means of assessment and treatment. Through an OT lens I find the everyday ordinary becomes extraordinary. OTs help people do what is important to them ensuring individuals are not limited by conditions.

I worked with a person that experienced distressing hallucinations but through OT they were able to enjoy reading daily facts for moments throughout their day and forget about the distress their hallucinations caused. I will never forget them saying “thank you this is so nice of you”. The person never learned my name but they recognised me as the person that helped them experience enjoyable and meaningful occupations. They never identified me as an OT but they are the reason I am one.