Occupational Therapy Career

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For my whole life I have wanted to work with children, and from a young age, I have wanted to be able to teach and help those around me. At first, I thought that the best way to achieve this goal was to go into education and become an early childhood or preschool teacher. However, as I grew older I became aware of the various other professions that would allow me to help young children. After exploring numerous different options, I have decided to pursue a degree in psychology with the intention of attending graduate school to become an occupational therapist. By pursuing this career path I will be able to help young children develop skills that they will need in day to day life. One particular aspect of the psychology program at Eau Claire …show more content…
Personally, I believe that all people, the old and the young alike, deserve to be treated with kindness and respect despite any limitations they might encounter or face during their lifetime. This idea is illustrated in the first principle in the code of ethics, which states that occupational therapists should demonstrate concern for the well being of others (AOTA, 2015). I have exhibited this characteristic throughout my lifetime, and have strived to better the lives of those around me. For example, for the past four years I have volunteered weekly at a therapeutic horseback riding facility, where I have been able to work with and aid children and adults with special needs. Actions, such as this, strongly support the Beneficence principle of my future code of ethics and I will strive to uphold it for the rest of my life. Additionally, the idea that all clients need to be treated with fairness and objectivity (AOTA, 2015), aligns with my personal values as demonstrated through my own experiences. Many facets of my personality have often put me at a disadvantage when it comes to fair treatment, because my kind nature makes it easy for people to try and take advantage of me. As I have previously mentioned, I have strived to help those around me in the majority of situations in my life. However, it is these helpful acts that often led people to treat me unfairly. Because of this I believe that just because it might be easy to treat people differently due to their personality, or even mental or physical abilities, I strongly believe that no matter what the circumstances are people should be treated equally, and that an objective stance should be taken in all cases. By examining the code of ethics that guide the behaviors of occupational therapists I can increase my justification of pursuing a psychology degree and