 |
|
 |
I am the Director of the Occupational Therapy Department at Neosho
Regional Medical Center in Chanute, Kansas. I developed this department
in April 1997 and worked alone for 14 months as an Occupational
Therapist Registered (OTR) before hiring a Certified Occupational
Therapy Assistant (COTA). As this department has grown, we now also
employ another Occupational Therapist Registered, making three full
time therapists. Occupational Therapists work with people of all
ages whose lives have been disrupted by illness or injury. As allied
health professionals, we work with people to help them to be as
independent and functional in their daily lives as possible. If
a person cannot be returned to the status that they were prior to
injury or illness, we may use adaptive equipment or revise the way
that they perform their activities of daily living. A large portion
of our patients require hand and upper extremity (arm/shoulder)
therapy and rehabilitation.
As a nontraditional student, I was accepted into the University
of Kansas Medical Center's Occupational Therapy Education Program,
and completed the program from June 1994 through March 1997, receiving
a Bachelor of Science in Occupational Therapy in May 1997. During
the last nine months of the program I completed my first three-month
clinical fieldwork at the University of Kansas Medical Center's
Child Psychology Department in Kansas City, Kansas. My next three
months was with Labette County Medical Center in Parsons, Kansas
performing physical disabilities training. The third and last clinical
was at St. Francis Hospital in Topeka, Kansas working in outpatient
rehabilitation and a specialty clinical in hand and upper extremity
therapy. This was my favorite. I hope to pursue a specialty certification
as a Certified Hand Therapist. My pre-requisites for occupational
therapy were received at Neosho County Community College in Chanute
and Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas. As an occupational
therapist in Kansas we are required to obtain 40 hours of continuing
education every two years to maintain our registration. Because
of this we are lifetime learners, attending seminars and workshops
and reading professional publications.
The most exciting part of my career is seeing that I can make a
difference in someone's life. I can help someone to become independent
again after a CVA (stroke). Sometimes I work with babies and toddlers
to help them develop the skills that they should be doing at certain
ages. What a thrill when they finally crawl or walk. Or with someone
who has had a severe injury to their hand or arm, I can help them
to be able to use that hand again, so that they can return to work
or be able to play ball with their children. A person who has had
a hip fracture requires physical therapy to help them to be able
to move their leg again and to walk. Occupational therapists help
them to be able to dress and bathe themselves, to fix a simple meal
or do other household tasks. Just making friends with people of
all ages is gratifying. Another aspect of my position has been as
a clinical supervisor to occupational therapy students during their
clinical fieldwork. This is always rewarding to see a student grow
and develop their confidence and skills as an occupational therapist.
One of the toughest barriers to arrive at my current position has
been educating the physicians to what occupational therapy has to
offer, and how we can help people in so many ways. They were used
to referring patients to physical therapy prior to my opening the
occupational therapy department, and I've had to prove myself and
my staff to our competence and the wide variety of treatment available,
whether it be with activities of daily living, range of motion and
strengthening, cognitive or visual deficits training. This has been
challenging and very rewarding. As a respected occupational therapist
who has developed a new department and actively promoted the profession,
I was endorsed by the Kansas Occupational Therapy Association as
a candidate for a position on the Kansas State Board of Healing
Arts Occupational Therapist Council. I was appointed by Governor
Bill Graves in August 2000 to a three-year term on this advisory
council. This has been an honor to serve on a state regulatory council.
|
 |
