What's your job about?
I am working at an aged care residential facility providing occupational therapy services to the residents. In a regular day at work, I see at least 20 residents for treatment sessions including soft tissue massage and exercises to improve and maintain mobility and function. In some days, I might be requested to do a resident’s mobility review and assessment, particularly for those who have had recent falls or those who seem to have some difficulty getting around.
Working in the residential care setting is fairly different from any other setting I have had experience in such as private paediatrics and acute hospital settings. Any teenager who has the patience to care for others will surely understand what is to care for someone else. But all the technical and medical things that I have learned in uni is definitely a know-how that is acquired and not a personal trait you learn along the way like patience.
What's your background?
I am from the Philippines. I was born and raised in Ormoc City, a small city in the province of Leyte in Eastern Visayas, and completed my primary and high school education there. I then moved to Cebu City where I spent 5 years learning about occupational therapy at Cebu Doctors’ University.
The 5th year was an internship program with facility assignments in various settings the Philippines. In addition to local assignments, our batch had the opportunity to engage in a 2-week internship program with Hong Kong Polytechnic University. PolyU arranged for us to see the different services offered in the city, one of which that I think was a highlight in the program, was visiting the seating service. The seating service provided custom-made seats for individuals needing modifications to their meal time chairs and wheelchairs, among others. The service manager had us making an abductor wedge from scratch based on some client measurements as a seat modification.
That 2-week internship in Hong Kong was scheduled close to our graduation, so it was somewhat served as a quick holiday for us interns. After graduating and obtaining my OTRP in the same year, I opened my own private paediatric clinic in my home town. I have had a few adult client referrals but the bulk of my experience as an OT was spent working with children. I worked with the kids for about 8 years before deciding I needed a change. That need for change and a new perspective brought me here to Australia.
Could someone with a different background do your job?
Suppose someone wants to do the same job as you do, would that be also possible with a different background?
No, I don’t think someone with a different background can do my job, just like I wouldn’t be suitable to do a job that I do not have any background and experience in. To be able to do the tasks tied to being an Occupational Therapist, you have to have the right education to understand different conditions and how to treat them. Knowing what you can and can't do for a client is very important. Being that Occupational Therapy is a part of the healthcare system, having the right credentials to be able to practice the profession is vital. Apart from knowledge and credentials, the job requires patience especially when dealing with individuals with impairments that limit participation in any activity on a daily basis.
What's the coolest thing about your job?
The coolest thing about my job right now is hearing all the stories from residents. With seeing so many residents in a day, the job can become monotonous and a bit dragging. It is the conversations I have with the residents that make each day different and makes everything feel lighter. I ask them questions about their family and their childhood, in turn, they ask me about mine. They tell me stories from their childhood that are very unique to their time. For instance, one resident told me about her listening to the radio of the Queen’s coronation when she was just 10 years old and how excited she was. Another resident, educated me about footy. All these stories being told while I was providing treatment for them, which definitely makes treatment sessions more meaningful.
What are the limitations of your job?
I would say there are a lot of limitations to any job really, but the job as an OT is both physically and mentally demanding, regardless of what setting you are working in, be it paediatrics or geriatrics. The number of digits for salary might be the initial motivator for some to choose this as a career, but you have to put in the work to get there.
A regular full day of work for me when I first started was seeing 8 children for OT sessions, 1 for every hour. I allocated 5 minutes to prep for the activities, 40 minutes for the actual treatment session and 15 minutes for documentation and caregiver feedback. 8 children with different diagnoses and different goals to work toward. A regular work week for me back then was seeing 30 children in 5.5 days. With all those children, I had different set of activities to do for every hour and different approaches to each child like being calm and firm for one then jolly and so playful for the next. In addition to my approach and consideration of his or her condition and individual characteristics, I also had to consider the child’s disposition when they come in for treatment. By the end of each day, I was always feeling so drained and tired.
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