Download Occupational Therapy Assistant

An Occupational Therapy Assistant treats
patients with injuries, illnesses, or
disabilities using the therapeutic use of
every day activities.
 They help their patients develop,
recover, and improve the skills they need
for daily living.
 Occupational Therapy Assistants work
under a certified Occupational
Therapist.
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Geriatric care involves the care of the aged or those
who live in a nursing home or hospital.
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OTA’s generally work with people who have suffered
both mental and physical impairment from issues
such as strokes, Alzheimer's disease or dementia. They
may re-teach patients speech, movement and
coping skills that are needed for everyday survival.
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For patients who act out in public environments, an
OTA may teach behavioral skills and show them how
to improve communication skills with nurses,
physicians, family members and other residents.
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I chose occupational therapy assistant as my
topic because that is what I’m going to
college for at Lake Area Technical Institute.
I feel deeply for this topic because this is what I
will be doing for the rest of my life after college.
My goal is to work with the elderly or
Alzheimer’s patients. The reason why I want to
work with Alzheimer’s patients is because of my
grandma. She has severe Alzheimer’s and I
want to be able to do more for her and others
suffering from the disease. I want to help them
recover from injuries or just be able to help
them with every day tasks.
I learned that OTA was the career for me by
the job I’ve had during my high school
years.
 I worked at Bethel Lutheran Nursing Home
as a Dietary Assistant for the past two and a
half years. I loved working with and helping
the residents and wanted to find a field
where I could keep doing that as well as
spend more time with them since I don’t
get that now.
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This process has taught me a lot about
myself. It has taught me the type of
people I have a soft spot in my heart for
and it has also taught me that soon this
will all come to reality.
 After researching and making a product
for this project, I have acquired new skills
such as knowing more about the career,
the Alzheimer’s disease, and my goals for
the future.
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After telling about OTA’s and what they do for their patients, I started to
research the Alzheimer’s disease.
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There are many symptoms of the disease such as being confused about
daily tasks, problems speaking, understanding, or writing, forgetting
words, or where they are. People affected by Alzheimer’s also have
poor judgment, misplace things, changed behavior, and lack of interest
in activities that they usually enjoy.
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I learned that if 4 million people have this disease, at least 200,000 get it
before the age of 65 which is horrible. There are medications Alzheimer’s
patients can take but they have different effects on different people
and sometimes have side effects that make the medication not worth it.
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Alzheimer’s is an incurable disease right now and if you have a loved
one suffering from it like I do, all you are able to do is go day by day and
try to make them comfortable, which is exactly what I want to do for
them.

Alzheimer’s patients may need help with
many things such as bathing, dressing,
communicating, eating, doing activities,
home safety, driving, visiting the doctor,
coping with holidays and many others.
There are caregivers that can help with
this and find ways to make your loved
one more comfortable and confident in
doing all of the activities I listed.

A person who has this disease should be under a
doctor’s care and might see a neurologist,
psychiatrist, family doctor, internist, or geriatrician.
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The medicines for Alzheimer’s are Donepezil,
rivastigmine, galantamine, and memantine. The side
effects of these medicines may include your stomach
getting upset, diarrhea, vomiting, muscle cramps,
fatigue, or anxiety. The benefit from these drugs
usually isn’t much. Sometimes, they don’t change a
thing. Before using the medicines, you need to ask
your doctor if it’s worth the risk and how often or
when the medicine needs to be taken.
Even though you can’t prevent the disease,
there are some things you can do in your
everyday life that would be worth doing
and could make a difference.
 If you consume a low fat diet, that would
make your body healthier. Eating cold
water fish such as tuna, salmon, or
mackerel are rich in omega 3 fatty acids
and it would help to eat them at least 2 to 3
times a week.
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Reducing how much butter, margarine,
and dairy products and increasing
antioxidants like carotenoids, vitamin E,
and vitamin C by eating dark colored
fruits and vegetables.
 Maintaining a normal blood pressure is
very important too. Staying mentally and
socially active every day can also make
a difference as well as taking drugs like
ibuprofen, sulindac, and indomethacin.
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When working with patients who have this
disease, you need to figure out what time
of the day your patient is the most alert and
energetic, what type of cueing strategies
your patient responds to, and will have to
wait until they adjust to the environment
most likely each time you work with them.
 Working with Alzheimer’s patients can be
difficult at times, but the activities you want
to do are activities that include memory,
vision, and hearing.
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I have job shadowed quite a bit within
the past year.
 Last year I followed an Occupational
Therapist at the Good Samaritan in Sioux
Falls and loved it! I felt like I fit right in and
it was easy for me to make a connection
with the residents we worked with which
was great!
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In the beginning of the year when I still
went to school in Madison, I interned for
a few weeks at the Madison Community
Hospital with a couple of the OT’s there.
 I found out that working in a hospital was
something I wasn’t too fond about
because the elderly weren’t always
involved so I realized a nursing home was
the place for me!
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When I transferred to Chester I job
shadowed with Natalie Olson, the
Chester, Tri-valley, and Baltic OT.
 I went with her to the Tri-Valley school
and worked with many elementary kids
and a couple middle school students
which was fun but also not my thing!
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My most recent job shadowing was the
best!
 I followed an OTA that works at the
hospital and the nursing home. We met
up at the nursing home and I followed
her for a few hours.
 Since I worked there, I already knew the
residents we worked with so it was really
fun for me.
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After working with two residents, she sat me
down and went through a therapy plan
and therapy notes. She showed me how
different things should be organized and
taught me what certain abbreviations that
she uses mean.
 I then started to make my own therapy plan
and notes from looking at her examples.
 I learned so much just from those three
hours and I really appreciate her working
with me and helping me with my product.
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For my product, I created a therapy plan
and therapy notes for an elderly woman
who had a hip replacement, so even
though I did not use an Alzheimer’s
patient as my example, I still used a type
of person I will be working with in my
future.
Occupational therapists use a technique
called “SOAP Notes.”
 All notes should be brief, to the point,
and concise, using positive findings.
 Notes should also be consistent.
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The “S” stands for what the patient tells
you; any complaints; brief pertinent
quotes; and what a patient talks about.
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The “O” stands for therapist’s
observation; reports from standardized
evaluations; % of accuracy; attendance;
participation; and objective information.
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The “A” stands for formulation of
assessment as to what is going on with
the patient; therapist’s reaction to
physical progress and functional skills of
the patient.
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The “P” stand for the method of
treatment or approach; state if shortterm goals/ long-term goals were met.
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After the patient is released from OT, she
will go back to her home and possibly
set up a caregiver or doctor coming to
check on her every once in a while
unless she feels she is well enough to not
need that help.
If I had to do this all over again, I would
possibly mix in the elderly with Alzheimer’s in
my research paper since I plan to work with
both now.
 I feel like I will take a lot of information from
this project with me to college. I believe
what benefited me the most was job
shadowing and learning how different
OTA’s do their jobs.
 What I learned about myself is that I can
see myself doing every part of the OTA
career and I’m so glad I found my calling!
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