Why would someone who has worked as a nurse for fifteen years decide to abandon his or her career? For me the decision was made easier with each passing day. Heartbreakingly, every client whom I had the opportunity to serve reminded me of my inability to provide the type of care to which I felt they were entitled. Many of the values that I hold strongly today are a direct result of my career as a nurse, and for that I am thankful. Nursing taught me how to show respect towards all humankind, and how to show compassion and love to others in a professional way. I saw simple acts of kindness uplift someone’s mood, and even brighten their whole day. I learned how to help others in their weakest moments, by acknowledging their personal spiritual beliefs. Being a nurse also showed me my own spirituality.
Unfortunately in today’s health care system there is not enough time to do everything a practitioner would like to do for his or her clients. I have always treated people how I hope that they will treat me if I enter a similar circumstance. The depressing reality is that most nurses do not take their clients' personal feelings into consideration. I have sadly witnessed this scenario repeatedly. They feel that there is just not enough time in their shift for small talk, or what they feel to be “pointless conversation”. They honestly believe that they are employed by a facility to treat a medical problem, not be like a counselor, a companion, or even a friend to their clients. Nurses do not develop therapeutic relationships; the care they provide is very direct and scientific. Every year that I worked I was surrounded by this mentality, and it weighed heavily down on my own heart and soul. I hated being the only nurse who actually contemplated my clients’ feelings, thoughts, and concerns. I was saddened by the title bestowed upon me by my clients as their “favorite nurse”, all because they felt I was “the only one who truly cared”. I could not comprehend the cold actions of my co-workers. I didn’t see my clients as a medical problem; I saw them first as people, and second as people with problems that needed my special help. Fellow nurses put down my personal values, saying that I had “too much heart for the job”. They reminded me that I was not a therapist, and that I wasn’t being paid to care about people. I never did understand how I could be expected to care FOR people, when I wasn’t expected to care ABOUT them. After fifteen years of making a positive difference in the lives that I touched as a nurse, I made the decision to start a new path- one that would acknowledge my therapeutic use of self as an attribute, not a character defect.
I am now pursuing a career as an Occupational Therapy Assistant. I believe myself to be altruistic, and feel as though this attribute is a genuine gift that I was blessed with as part of my personality.
Occupational Therapy involves facilitating interactions among the client, the environment, and activities in order to help a client reach a desired outcome. (AJOT 2008). For me, assisting others to achieve their goals will be an honor. Dedicating my time to assisting others to receive what they need in life will be my mission. To be allowed time to communicate with individuals regarding their thoughts, feelings, and aspirations will be priceless and rewarding to my fellow citizens and to myself. To enjoy another’s company within a therapeutic setting will be an educational and enlightening experience for all of us involved. I am filled with passionate thoughts of my future and envision the many ways I will be able to share my knowledge to benefit others through this career I have chosen. To see limitations that my clients may encounter will inspire me to find new ways to help them adapt. I will be faithful to facts and reality, exercising truthfulness to myself and to my clients. (AOTA 2010). I will remain empathetic towards the feelings of others, so I can more fully understand what they are going through, and be more capable of assisting them in getting their needs met.
One of the philosophical beliefs of Occupational Therapy is holism, treating mind and body as one entity. (Ryan 2005). While working as a nurse I was not encouraged to do this. I was taught to treat the body, not the mind. I never was successful at separating a human being into pieces, only to be concerned with issues of a biological or physical nature. To me it is not just a philosophy that is practiced by Occupational Therapists, but it is the only way to successfully help someone to fully rehabilitate an issue that they are facing. I feel holism should be practiced in all scopes of healthcare. I consider myself blessed to have found a career that is congruent with my own personal belief and value system. I remain hopeful, enthusiastic, and optimistic of the impact I will someday have on the future of humankind.
Unfortunately in today’s health care system there is not enough time to do everything a practitioner would like to do for his or her clients. I have always treated people how I hope that they will treat me if I enter a similar circumstance. The depressing reality is that most nurses do not take their clients' personal feelings into consideration. I have sadly witnessed this scenario repeatedly. They feel that there is just not enough time in their shift for small talk, or what they feel to be “pointless conversation”. They honestly believe that they are employed by a facility to treat a medical problem, not be like a counselor, a companion, or even a friend to their clients. Nurses do not develop therapeutic relationships; the care they provide is very direct and scientific. Every year that I worked I was surrounded by this mentality, and it weighed heavily down on my own heart and soul. I hated being the only nurse who actually contemplated my clients’ feelings, thoughts, and concerns. I was saddened by the title bestowed upon me by my clients as their “favorite nurse”, all because they felt I was “the only one who truly cared”. I could not comprehend the cold actions of my co-workers. I didn’t see my clients as a medical problem; I saw them first as people, and second as people with problems that needed my special help. Fellow nurses put down my personal values, saying that I had “too much heart for the job”. They reminded me that I was not a therapist, and that I wasn’t being paid to care about people. I never did understand how I could be expected to care FOR people, when I wasn’t expected to care ABOUT them. After fifteen years of making a positive difference in the lives that I touched as a nurse, I made the decision to start a new path- one that would acknowledge my therapeutic use of self as an attribute, not a character defect.
I am now pursuing a career as an Occupational Therapy Assistant. I believe myself to be altruistic, and feel as though this attribute is a genuine gift that I was blessed with as part of my personality.
Occupational Therapy involves facilitating interactions among the client, the environment, and activities in order to help a client reach a desired outcome. (AJOT 2008). For me, assisting others to achieve their goals will be an honor. Dedicating my time to assisting others to receive what they need in life will be my mission. To be allowed time to communicate with individuals regarding their thoughts, feelings, and aspirations will be priceless and rewarding to my fellow citizens and to myself. To enjoy another’s company within a therapeutic setting will be an educational and enlightening experience for all of us involved. I am filled with passionate thoughts of my future and envision the many ways I will be able to share my knowledge to benefit others through this career I have chosen. To see limitations that my clients may encounter will inspire me to find new ways to help them adapt. I will be faithful to facts and reality, exercising truthfulness to myself and to my clients. (AOTA 2010). I will remain empathetic towards the feelings of others, so I can more fully understand what they are going through, and be more capable of assisting them in getting their needs met.
One of the philosophical beliefs of Occupational Therapy is holism, treating mind and body as one entity. (Ryan 2005). While working as a nurse I was not encouraged to do this. I was taught to treat the body, not the mind. I never was successful at separating a human being into pieces, only to be concerned with issues of a biological or physical nature. To me it is not just a philosophy that is practiced by Occupational Therapists, but it is the only way to successfully help someone to fully rehabilitate an issue that they are facing. I feel holism should be practiced in all scopes of healthcare. I consider myself blessed to have found a career that is congruent with my own personal belief and value system. I remain hopeful, enthusiastic, and optimistic of the impact I will someday have on the future of humankind.