3 answers
Caitlyn
Student
Grafton, Ohio
1
Question
Asked
433 views
Is Occupation therapy for me?
What Job or Occupation should I go into if I enjoy kids and love helping people. I was thinking Pediatric Occupational Therapy or some type of job where I can help people. Is there something else that I would be interested in? Is there any other careers like the ones I listed?
Thank you so much!
(Oh I also dislike needles :)
3 answers
Morgan Sarver
Physical Therapist
4
Answers
Owings Mills, Maryland
Updated
Morgan’s Answer
Hi Caitlyn,
Occupational therapy (OT) and Physical therapy (PT) in the pediatric setting are great options. As a PT I find that I get to spend more time with patients at the bedside than the providers (doctors, physicians assistants, nurse practitioners, etc) and I really get to know the patients and families more, which I enjoy and ultimately led me to chose PT over the provider route.
As an OT with children you will focus more on "fine motor" activities such as writing, manipulating objects, performing ADLs (activities of daily living - such as brushing teeth, getting dressed, using the bathroom, etc), sensory impairments, overall development, and many more areas. These areas are obviously dependent on the age of the child
As a PT you will focus more on what we call "gross motor" activities and overall development. Your assessment and treatment would primarily be focused on identifying areas of impairment in development of function and addressing them. Examples can include improving head control in tummy time (belly/"prone") position, improving sitting balance, improving crawling, improving standing, etc. or higher level activities in older kids. It is really a wide variety of areas with each age.
Another area you could look into would be a speech therapist (SLP). Speech therapist focus on a really large variety of areas including language, communication, swallowing, feeding, etc. You would help younger children with language and communication skills or even swallowing, sucking, and feeding skills. This may translate to older children as well.
In the therapy/rehabilitation world there are a lot of different settings you can work in including hospital, inpatient rehab, subacute rehab, outpatient, school based, private practice, and home based.
Since you said you don't do well with needles I probably wouldn't recommend nursing unless that is something you feel you could over come but there are a few other professions you could consider: child life specialist, social worker, case manager, child psychologist, behavioral therapist, teacher, child care, and music therapist.
Happy to answer any other questions you have!
Occupational therapy (OT) and Physical therapy (PT) in the pediatric setting are great options. As a PT I find that I get to spend more time with patients at the bedside than the providers (doctors, physicians assistants, nurse practitioners, etc) and I really get to know the patients and families more, which I enjoy and ultimately led me to chose PT over the provider route.
As an OT with children you will focus more on "fine motor" activities such as writing, manipulating objects, performing ADLs (activities of daily living - such as brushing teeth, getting dressed, using the bathroom, etc), sensory impairments, overall development, and many more areas. These areas are obviously dependent on the age of the child
As a PT you will focus more on what we call "gross motor" activities and overall development. Your assessment and treatment would primarily be focused on identifying areas of impairment in development of function and addressing them. Examples can include improving head control in tummy time (belly/"prone") position, improving sitting balance, improving crawling, improving standing, etc. or higher level activities in older kids. It is really a wide variety of areas with each age.
Another area you could look into would be a speech therapist (SLP). Speech therapist focus on a really large variety of areas including language, communication, swallowing, feeding, etc. You would help younger children with language and communication skills or even swallowing, sucking, and feeding skills. This may translate to older children as well.
In the therapy/rehabilitation world there are a lot of different settings you can work in including hospital, inpatient rehab, subacute rehab, outpatient, school based, private practice, and home based.
Since you said you don't do well with needles I probably wouldn't recommend nursing unless that is something you feel you could over come but there are a few other professions you could consider: child life specialist, social worker, case manager, child psychologist, behavioral therapist, teacher, child care, and music therapist.
Happy to answer any other questions you have!
Thank you so much!! I love taking care of people and talking to them so I feel like a lot of this information is right up my ally!
Caitlyn
Karin P.
Lecturer
378
Answers
Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Updated
Karin’s Answer
Hi Caitlyn,
How about nursing and then specializing as pediatric nurse or neonatal nurse? Or speech-pathologist, obstetric sonograppher, midwife, lactation consultant, behavioral technician, autism behavior technician, neonatal respiratory therapist, pediatric dental hygienist, pediatric medical assistant, pediatrician, psychologist.
I guess some of these will involve needles, but you might be able to get over that dislike when you actually work with them.
Good luck!
KP
How about nursing and then specializing as pediatric nurse or neonatal nurse? Or speech-pathologist, obstetric sonograppher, midwife, lactation consultant, behavioral technician, autism behavior technician, neonatal respiratory therapist, pediatric dental hygienist, pediatric medical assistant, pediatrician, psychologist.
I guess some of these will involve needles, but you might be able to get over that dislike when you actually work with them.
Good luck!
KP
Alese McClelland, MSN, AGPCNP-C
Adult Gerontology Primary Care Nurse Practitioner
2
Answers
Nashville, Tennessee
Updated
Alese’s Answer
Hi Caitlyn! Occupational Therapy or Physical Therapy for pediatrics is an option. You also have psychologists and psychiatrists who work with children as well. You can also research other professions as well that assist children as there are many professions that work with children.
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