Inspirational Story

Did you know Occupational Therapy was what you wanted to study from a young age?

Initially I did not know what I wanted to study at university, but I knew it would be a course in health care. I originally planned to study Psychology at university as it was my favorite subject at school but then came across Occupational Therapy in year 13 when I was finishing my A levels. I did not know much about the career, so wanted to get a good insight before making the decision to pursue it.

I tool a gap year which led me to shadowing many Occupational Therapists and having interviews with them to gain an in depth understanding of what this career path entailed. After speaking to many people, I became certain of my choice.

I found it difficult to go straight into Occupational Therapy degree after my gap year because of my lack of experience within this field. Therefore, I decided to study Health, Well-being and Social care for a year at University of Bradford and then transfer into occupational therapy in the same university. I felt this transition was easy as both courses with health related and I learnt more about the university during my foundation year.

What has been your favorite part of studying Occupational Therapy?

Placement has to be one of my favorite parts of the course. We are sent out to placement every year during the 3 years of study into different fields and teams.

I have had placements in mental health inpatient, mental health community, Home Assessment Team, Impatient Orthopaedics team.

This experience has given me the best insight of what I will be doing as a future occupational therapist’

What would your advice be to those considering what to do after school?

‘my advice to students making their university course choices would be to not give up on what you want to do and to make sure they understand completely what their chosen careers requires from them. It is better to know before you start the course at university. And of course, love the field you’re in because that’s so important in enjoying your role and future career.