- As of 2012, there were over 100,000 occupational therapists practicing in the United States.
- As the Baby Boomer generation begins to age, experts have projected that this number will greatly increase between now and 2022.
- Occupational therapists seek to provide aid to people of all ages, struggling to engage in the simple tasks of everyday life. Occupational therapy is a health and rehabilitation profession.
- Therapists in this field work with people suffering from an array physical, development, mental, and emotional problems.
- What does it really mean to be an occupational therapist? What does it encompass? What does it require?
“Some places we can work are private practice settings, we can work for non-profits, hospitals, or clinics.”
To answer these questions spoke with Occupational Therapist, Tumaini Grey to get a deeper look into the profession of Occupational Therapy.
Specializing in speech therapy, Grey has been a licensed occupational therapist in the greater Las Vegas area for over 13 year and has experienced, first-hand, what the field encompasses.
- Born and raised in Michigan, Grey began her professional life as a registered nurse. After working closely with several of her patients, an interest in speech therapy sparked. During my time spent off the record with the registered speech therapist she raved about the great deal of diversity that the field offered. Having now spent 13 years as an occupational therapist she has been exposed to various elements of the job and emphasized the point that every day brought a new challenge.
- She also emphasized the great deal of flexibility that the career path offered stating “Your career as an OT is what you make it, if you want to work 20 hours you can work 20 hours, if you want to work 40, you can work 40. It’s really dependent on you and your career goals.” She finds her job rewarding and humbling and encourages any students looking at physical therapy programs to do some research into occupational therapy as well.
“There’s nothing greater than being able to teach someone the skills necessary for them to live a normal life.” – Tumaini