Born and raised in India, I immigrated to America on 17 May 2008. At 29, I am a Certified Occupational Therapist Assistant and currently serve at a skilled nursing facility; highly professional and consummately dedicated to the people I do, especially our residents/patients and the staff, who have become like my family away from home. Despite the nightmare we have now been living through for weeks, if not months – it seems like an eternity – of the coronavirus targeting and killing our residents, I still could not be happier in my chosen career. I have tasted victory when an older adult walks for the first time again after having a stroke, uses a telephone without assistance, or a host of other little everyday things that we take for granted, the look of triumph in their eyes, the joy in their hearts and mine.
I have grown enormously along with the coronavirus. I feel empowered by the sight on the television of 40, 50, or more elderly residents being wheeled out of their nursing homes, already lifeless, to be stacked up in line waiting for attention at the overflowing morgue. I am ready and meticulous in the care I exercise and plan for safe distancing practices over the long term. I will not abandon my work in nursing homes, and I make this pledge to myself deep inside my soul, for it is my calling, my duty, and the residents need me to help them live life to the fullest.
As a volunteer at a skilled nursing facility, XXXX Care Center in Glendora, I spent some of the most rewarding 45 hours serving under an occupational therapist's supervision. This OT professional continues to cross my mind to this day as an inspiration. I very much seek to model his compassion and his giving of himself. I am interested in neurological disorders, particularly in patients who have suffered a stroke. I earned my BS in Biology at Stockton University in Galloway, NJ, in December 2014. Two years later, I received an associate degree in occupational therapy Assistance from XXXX College in LA.
I am extremely excited about having the profound privilege of working in a field focused on facilitating the activities that are most important to everyone, living as independently as possible. I appreciate how some clients can benefit significantly from Occupational Therapy, where even modest gains in independence can be enormously satisfying to clients and therapists alike. I also understand how OT is a rapidly advancing field with diverse opportunities and excellent career options.
Studying OT in depth helps one think outside of the box to most fully appreciate and savor lifelong learning experiences by thinking creatively. As an OT; I plan to enhance and expand my contribution as a volunteer with the Healthcare Fair at Chino Hills Baps Hindu Temple and help with a variety of efforts or initiatives in my community that are in some way or another related to the values of the OT community and the causes that we hold dear—educating elderly populations on fall prevention strategies for example. At some point, I want to have experience with children with developmental disabilities, helping them with their mobility, attention, behavior, and other issues. Or I may devote myself exclusively to the area I already know best, the elderly. They fill my heart with joy when they recover, regain their independence to the fullest, and leave the nursing home with immense pride and dignity.
The impact a talented and hardworking OT can make on the client’s life can be enormous and priceless to the therapist, seeing that smile on the client’s face. My devotion to our elderly and my love for children with special needs drives me to volunteer in both of these areas.
I look forward to serving as a pediatric occupational therapist working with children who suffer from neurological impairments - such as cerebral palsy, autism, and Down syndrome - helping them to reach independence in as many areas of their life as possible. The hands-on experience will allow me to hit the ground running and distinguish myself as a student in your program. I also had a 6-month experience with a rehab program, attending meetings with patients, caregivers/family, making a daily schedule by projecting minutes, and following the guideline of CMS. I see myself in the future working at a skilled nursing facility/sub-acute setting, and I hope to continue as a fieldwork educator for OTA and OTRs students since I very much enjoy my current supervisory capacity with OTA fieldwork students.
Thank you for considering my application.
OT Personal Purpose Statement Examples in Occupational Therapy