"When looking at a field of dandelions, you can either see one hundred weeds, or one hundred wishes!"

Servant's Heart

In light of Valentine's day, I want to talk about something that has stayed constant in the field of occupational therapy. One foundation of the profession stemmed from the value of service to others.

This core value led the profession to a holistic approach to practice, while encouraging its practitioners to bond with the clients, rather than just a "get them in, get them out" approach. Moving to emphasize the value of service is a mission in the field, versus increasing the volume of services. This also correlates with a top-down approach which allows practitioners to see the challenges of the client, who the person is as a whole, and what their role may be.

Many occupational therapists started their trade by serving military soldiers who were wounded in battle, and in today's time that extended service continues. This weekend in Memphis, two examples include occupational therapy students volunteering in community events that served people with disabilities and an event that was held to support homeless women in the community.

This shows that occupational therapists strive to be active in their community, as well as their workplace, by giving their HEART and service to people, even when the clients may not be in their everyday scope of practice.

Comments

Popular Posts