Congratulations to our new colleagues who have just passed the occupational therapy boards! This batch of exam passers is special because they waited far too long to get their licenses due to the lockdowns. So in light of this milestone in your lives, here are 3 tips that I hope will help you navigate your years as junior occupational therapists (OTs):
# 3 Work in at least one therapy clinic where you can be mentored. Mentorship can take many forms. In some settings, the senior OTs have a systematic way of coaching new clinicians such as by reviewing their reports, observing their therapy sessions, giving feedback on their performance, and letting them observe the more experienced therapists. There are also clinics where the senior OTs only give feedback to the evaluation reports and treatment plans. A lot of therapy centers also now have in-service training programs, such as lectures, workshops, webinars, journal clubs, and case discussions. Participate in these continuing education activities whenever possible. Plus, make sure to ask both the senior and junior OTs lots of questions about their techniques. These mentoring opportunities are crucial in equipping you to translate theory from the classrooms into the realities of clinical practice.
# 2 To quote Jordan Peterson, “Surround yourself with people who want the best for the best in you”, not just in terms of your career but in the totality of your person. What you’re experiencing in your personal life will reflect in your treatment sessions. If you have people who encourage you in your vocation, you’ll most likely have the courage and the creativity to address challenging clinical problems. If you’re surrounded by toxic people, you’ll be too depleted to give the best to your patients. This is why you ought to choose your romantic partner wisely. Every boyfriend or girlfriend is a potential spouse. A husband or a wife who inspires you to be the best that you can be will help you excel in any field — especially in homemaking! But if you marry the wrong person, you’ll be miserable no matter how many external successes you may have. If worse comes to worst, you’ll end up using your patients to fulfill your unmet emotional needs.
A few people, however, will be single forever. Being unattached will give you so much freedom to pursue your career and hobbies. Just make sure that you don’t buy into the Sex and the City myth that you can sleep around, indulge in all sorts of vices, and still be fabulous in midlife. Poor health habits will increase your risk for all sorts of diseases. Sexual immorality too has devastating consequences, from unwanted pregnancies, to sexually transmitted diseases, to psychological trauma, to job losses, to financial bankruptcy, to broken dreams, to damaged relationships. Besides, your reputation as a morally loose person might be turning off the right man or woman, hence your single status.
But how do we find the right one? How do we know if the people we’re close to will bring out the best in us? The key is to…
# 3 Examine and develop your worldview. I can’t give you a step-by-step process on how to date as I’ve never been in a romantic relationship. However, I did waste too much time stalking and crying over romantic prospects, thus causing me to miss out on some very important opportunities. I’m also still trying to figure out how my life should be if I’ll never find a husband. And since graduating from college, I never had close friends who I regularly hang out with or confide in.
But I’m glad that I did not compromise in the area of purity just to belong to anyone. It’s NOT because I’m deeply moral. In fact, I have a strong predisposition towards being easily corrupted. It’s also not because there weren’t any temptations. I didn’t get into impure relationships simply because I have too many things to be happy about that I will certainly lose if I run after short-term pleasures. I may not be that much into religious rituals, but I enjoy studying theology and apologetics. I find that to be far more stimulating than talking with guys who are either wishy-washy about their beliefs or are dogmatic about issues that are actually gray areas.
Knowing the Scriptures also gives me clarity about how I should serve others given my abilities and interests. Helping people through my unique gifts provides me with opportunities to be more of my true self, which is a mostly fun experience! Because I need to protect the fun that I’m having, I’m guarded against people who might take such a legitimate pleasure away from me (see # 2). And they too must guard their hearts from a sinner such as myself.
In the beginning, God gave Adam his wife Eve as a helpmate only after He established a relationship with Adam and gave the latter the calling to take care of His creation. In the New Testament, Jesus as the new Adam was single. When He launched His ministry, God gave Him friends instead of a spouse. His true followers didn’t always treat Him right, but they loved Him overall and they carried out His work long after He was physically gone.
So examine what you believe in, OTs! Your worldviews will influence your attitudes towards your vocation, which will attract you to certain relationships. Hopefully, you’ll develop a life philosophy that will translate into high standards for the kind of people that will influence you.
(NOTE: If you want to learn more about how relationships can impact OTs, head over to the Occupassion FB page to access the snapshOT series, wherein 3 senior OTs were interviewed about mentoring, getting married, and raising families.)
Annie very good content and well written!