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Why I chose to pursue OT . . .


From a young age, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in the medical field, but I was unsure what exactly I would chose. With both of my parents being pharmacists, I thought this would be a perfect fit for me and began exploring it. I looked at educational requirements, prerequisites and job outlooks, but ultimately decided pharmacy was not for me. During my junior and senior year of high school, I began exploring other medical careers. I eventually shadowed a pediatric OT, and fell in love with it. I knew very quickly that this is what I wanted to spend my career doing. During my years at Tennessee Tech University, I continued shadowing occupational therapists and confirmed that this is what I wanted to do. I observed how the therapists enjoyed what they were doing and did not dread going to work everyday. Additionally, I felt that several of my personality traits would allow me to be an excellent occupational therapist. I truly enjoy helping others and have a passion for health care, so I saw this as a good way to enjoy my future. Also, occupational therapy looks different for each client and is not "cookie-cutter" patient mill. This permits creativity to allow you to best fit the needs of each individual person.

I am thankfully for the opportunities I had that led me to chose occupational therapy and to this point in my life. I hope to one day inspire and mentor a future OT. I hope you enjoyed my story!

Comments

  1. Dr. LancasterFebruary 2, 2019 at 4:59 PM

    Hi Kaylee, I enjoyed reading your OT origin story and am so glad to have you in our program!

    ReplyDelete

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Logan and I on our first day of OT school.

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