Transferrable Occupational Therapy Skills

Transferrable skills are those you have gained within your years studying and the experiences you have during practical placements. By understanding and being competent in these areas, the ‘non-traditional’ OT role can very much become OT specific.    
It is important for students to understand that what they are learning in is going to be transferable throughout their professional careers. These skills can be used in a variety of workplaces, though to different extents. In an Indigenous community and in a rehabilitation setting the same goals apply, to promote the greatest level of independence and engagement for the patient to live their life to the fullest in their current circumstance. Occupational therapy is a profession that can be transferred into many different fields and definitely has the potential to expand in the future.
Through a literature search, the following skills were defined as being required by occupational therapists to ensure they were delivering adequate care to their patients within their ‘non-traditional’ settings. These settings included rural/remote areas, health promotion positions, emergency departments of public hospitals, within Indigenous and non-Australian population. Each area, though not commonly practiced within the OT community had very similar skill bases. These include:
-       Clinical reasoning

-       Client-centered practice

-       Family-centered practice

-       Observational skills

-       Time management and organisation

-       Reflective practice

-       Thinking and planning

-       Holistic approaches (looking beyond the person into the culture, environment and occupation)

-       Ability to deliver education to patients

Sound familiar? All of these areas are taught throughout your university careers and although you may not get that hospital position you’ve been thinking about in order to enhance your skills, it does not mean you won’t use them or enhance them in a non-traditional setting! The non-traditional role is becoming more and more common as the years progress. Occupational therapy is a profession that is only expanding.

References: (Cusick et.al 2009; Pidgeon, 2015; McAuliffe & Barnett, 2009; Smith et. al, 2014; Wood et. al, 2013 & Dancza et. al, 2013)