Occupational Therapy Week provides student with perfect platform

An MSc Occupational Therapy student has cast any personal doubts to one side after starring at a recent panel event.

Second year student Rochelle Barrett represented occupational therapy students across the UK when she joined a select group of professionals, policy makers and researchers at the Breaking Barriers event.

Held as part of Occupational Therapy Week, the panel joined forces on 7 November to discuss the different barriers they’ve faced throughout their careers. Rochelle explained that she was delighted with the invitation to take part.

“I was contacted by Katrina Bannigan, who had been asked to invite a second year MSc Occupational Therapy to the panel event. I’d done a research placement with her and she really is just an inspiration to so many people within GCU and throughout the profession.

“I really wanted to get involved. Everyone has their own thoughts and opinions in their head, but you start to get real meaning when you openly discuss your viewpoints with others. It provides you with knowledge and a learning opportunity that you can’t really get from reading a book.”

The online event attracted more than 300 keen observers from a variety of different backgrounds. Despite some initial nerves, Rochelle made sure she got the most out of the opportunity.

Rochelle said: “I actually didn’t know I was going to be the only student when I was originally asked to be on the panel. The event consisted of an hour-long discussion and it was set into different areas. Everyone got to speak on two different sections and the whole thing was managed by the person chairing the event - who was really good at making sure everyone got the opportunity to share their thoughts. I felt very included throughout, which meant a lot to me as a student.”

She added: “I think it’s so easy to think that no-one wants to hear from you because you’re a student – I definitely fell into that trap at points during placement.

“This experience has made me realise that we do have a big role to play, especially in terms of providing that fresh perspective. There ended up being quite a lot of students on the call, so I was actually really glad to be the one representing that side of things.”

As well as getting the chance to reflect on her time as a student, Rochelle was also involved in the discussion around some of the challenges within the profession.

She said: “All six of us on the panel spoke passionately about occupational therapy in terms of what we do.

“There was also a live chat and a lot of questions asked around the practicalities of specific situations. For example, how to address the fact people get us mixed up with physiotherapists. I think everyone recognised that there are challenges but what we were speaking about was empowering people to feel comfortable and recognising occupation as our superpower.”

The Occupational Therapy Week event, which was organised by RCOT, has helped Rochelle realise that she made the right choice to return to University.

“The fact so many people were engaging with OT Week shows the importance of it,” explained Rochelle.

“You see everything getting shared on social media and it makes you realise that there are so many different experiences that we can all reflect on and learn from. It’s really nice to feel like you’re a part of a community and that’s something I’ve definitely felt since I started this degree.”

Rochelle, who’s due to Graduate in February next year, added: “I finished my Psychology and Sociology Undergraduate degree in 2014, so it was quite a while before I decided to do my Masters.

“It was a really proud moment for me to get to this point and be involved in something like this. I didn’t come out my last placement feeling very confident and there was a point where I was actually wondering if I’d made the right choice to return to education.

“I had a lot of doubts, but when I was invited to the discussion panel it made me realise that what I was doing as a student was really being recognised. The way I am as a person and professional was clearly enough for them to put me forward, and that’s been enough for me to realise I am appreciated within this profession.”

You can find out more about the MSc in Occupational Therapy (pre-registration) here

By Ross Clark      
Got an SHLS or GSBS story? Email me at Ross.Clark@gcu.ac.uk or message me on Twitter