Occupational Therapy Personal Statement

My parents were both born and raised in Vietnam and like many others, came to America to provide a life filled with better opportunities for their children. My mother worked as a seamstress and was fortunate enough to open up her own alterations shop. During my sophomore year of college, she had a gardening accident that caused numbing and tingling all down her arm and into her hand. This made the little things in her daily life very difficult, such as driving herself to work, filling out paperwork for her customers, and cutting through fabric with a pair of scissors. After giving up on her traditional medication and cultural remedies, she finally agreed to get professional help and it wasn’t until then that I learned about occupational therapy.
My decision to pursue occupational therapy came fairly sudden. Before then, I had always known I would end up in healthcare, dedicating my plan to a nursing career. I worked closely with nurses through my experiences as …show more content…
Patients would come in up to three times a week over a number of months, sometimes even years. A large portion of the visits consisted of discussions that revolved around plans for the day, sharing stories, and even venting about personal problems, making it obvious that a friendship had developed between the two. It was so much more than just a routine interaction, as the uptight professionalism was replaced with casual conversations. The bond between a patient and occupational therapist is more complex than I had initially imagined, and the fact that an occupational therapist can play a part, no matter how small, in improving his or her patients’ lives excites and inspires me. When a patient chooses a therapist, he or she is being invited to participate in another’s life story. The honor of having the capability to improve the overall health of a patient is truly