As I’m getting older, I’m becoming more aware of the effects of my cerebral palsy and therefore I have more of an understanding of what is classed as ‘normal’ for a person of my age and this makes me question how independent I can be when I qualify as an occupational therapist...
When I talk about confidence, I don't mean the confidence to speak up as I feel like I'm quite vocal- hence why I'm a blogger. I mean to have confidence in my professional capabilities. I have a placement learning agreement that covers everything that I find challenging on placement and now I've passed two traditional placements I have a better idea of what my needs on placement are.
I've accepted that fact that I'll never be as independent as other occupational therapists, in practice and will always need help as my physical needs aren't going to change. But I'd like to think that there's a way around some of the obstacles that I will face.
I remember when I went to my first placement for a visit, when they asked me what my needs were I gave them a very basic answer, because the truth was I hadn't been on placement before so I didn't know what I was and wasn't going to struggle with.
Now we have a better idea of what the challenges are, so towards the end of my last placement my educator could accommodate my needs a lot better as we figured out that I needed a bit longer to write notes, and that if I was just doing office work and felt fatigue then there would be nothing stopping me from doing this at home.
My last placement also involved a lot of equipment which I found challenging, so it was agreed that I should talk someone through how to set up the equipment to demonstrate my understanding.
But is this it? Will me explaining how something is done to someone so they can do it for me be the most independent I'll feel when I qualify?
I've accepted that fact that I'll never be as independent as other occupational therapists, in practice and will always need help as my physical needs aren't going to change. But I'd like to think that there's a way around some of the obstacles that I will face.
I really enjoyed my paediatric placement, and I don't want to say that, that's the area for me as I'm still to experience a mental health placement but this is the area that I've enjoyed working in the most so far. This placement wasn't as physically demanding as my last placement in assistive technology, but it was still challenging at times... I don't think I'll be rushing back to hydrotherapy anytime soon. So, therefore, if I was to work in paediatrics I would need help with carrying and setting up equipment which you'd think is no big deal, but it does impact my confidence as it makes me feel that I'm not making as much of an impact.
When I'm working this view may change as I'll have my own caseload and I'll be a lot more involved in the service which will naturally increase my self-belief. But it still leaves me wondering what my independence will be...
Whatever my ‘independence’ is I’ll be okay with it I mean this time 3 years ago I didn’t think I’d be able to drive so who knows what the future holds, I’ve just got continue to be optimistic. But I also need to be realistic with myself, I’m never going to be the greatest at manual handling. This is completely fine I might not even go into a physically demanding job. I guess, my point is that I don’t have to be totally independent to be satisfied with my independence. But I’m happy with this and I know that one day I will be that occupational therapist that I want to be as I am very determined to reach for my potential in my career- in whichever area of occupational therapy I end up in. However, it can be hard to know what this will look like and how long it'll take me to get there as who knows what physical demands and unexpected battles, I may face along the way...
Georgia @georgiavine4213 @GeorgiaVineOT