The work I do with patients aims to help them maintain or improve their independence and with many individuals, building their confidence is key.
What’s your role in our organisation?
I work as an Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) in the medical team of the Occupational Therapy (OT) department.
I carry out delegations that the qualified OTs' write. These include helping patients practise personal care tasks, such as getting washed and dressed, practising moving/walking, listening to patients, providing orientation, communication support and reassurance.
The work I do with patients aims to help them maintain or improve their independence and with many individuals, building their confidence is key.
I also order equipment from different counties so that patients have the things that they need to manage at home when they are discharged. These include raised toilet seats, hoists, kitchen trolleys and kits to raise furniture (e.g. beds and chairs).
Other aspects of my role include liaising with other team members, attending meetings and supporting projects to develop our service.
I love it!
Tell us a bit about your CUH journey – when did you join, what positions have you held here?
I joined CUH longer ago than I care to remember, when I was a young and newly qualified OT. I worked on the wards for older people, assessing how their ageing process and health issues had impacted on their independence and working with the multi-disciplinary team to discharge patients home as safely as possible.
I then left CUH and developed my career as an OT in older peoples’ mental health. After a career change into teaching in 2009 for the next 13 years, I decided to get back into health care in a support role, because I missed the patient contact. I came back to CUH in April 2021 as an OTA and now work full time here.
What do you enjoy most about your role?
I really enjoy the patient contact, as every patient is a unique individual with a life story – so every patient is different. I spend time getting to know each patient and then carry out the delegation in a way that is meaningful to that individual patient. Sometimes this is easy but it can be quite challenging.
What advice would you give to someone who is starting their AHP career journey?
Find out about the many AHP roles that are available – there lots of them! Try to shadow staff in the roles you are interested in. Do some voluntary work to gain experience of working with people. Develop reflective skills – they are vital for effective practice. Ask for help when you need it – don’t struggle on your own.