Today,
we talked about specialty areas in occupational therapy. Occupational
therapists can be certified in a specialty area to show they are skilled in
that area or to provide better care for clients. There are currently 9 certifications available
for OTs provided by the American Occupation Therapy Association (AOTA). It’s
not necessary to have a certification to work in a specialty area, but I think
it’s important if you are super interested in one area. Although this is not
something that I would do any time soon as a new OT, I definitely think it is
important to keep in mind. I don’t know where I will end up after school, but I
may be in a place in 10 or so years that I would want to specialize. It’s
exciting to think about the new specialty areas that will be available by that
time.
Today in class, we talked about cultural competence, what it is, and why it’s important. What I took away from the lecture the most was how to gain cultural competence. I grew up in a small town in East Tennessee, and moving across the state to Memphis is even a huge change for me. I think it’s important in my journey through OT school and future career to have cultural competence, because I will be in contact with a wide variety of people. Some key things we discussed in class include self-reflection, exposure, and interdisciplinary or inter-professional relationships. Self-reflection is huge in revealing to yourself what you know and think about different cultures and molding those thoughts if necessary. Like I said earlier, I grew up in a small town, and although traveling some, I haven’t had many opportunities to expose myself to other cultures. Contact with other students and professors in the OT program and other programs is a good step as well in gaining ...
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