Area of Interest as an OT

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          Whenever I tell people that I am in OT school, an important question always follows: "what setting or area of OT are you interested in?" While I cannot answer this question with confidence, I have few areas in mind that spark my interest. Some of the settings OT's work in are hospitals, clinics, care facilities, home care, private practice, nursing homes, and various others. The two settings that I am intrigued by are clinics and private practices. To dive deeper, pediatrics and hand therapy are the two specialties I am considering.
          I have had an insightful experience as a patient with an outpatient hand therapy clinic due to an injury I sustained on my right wrist. I have had more extensive experience as an intern in a private practice outpatient pediatric clinic during my last semester of undergrad. I really enjoyed making connections with all the little friends that came in each day for therapy and felt satisfied leaving the clinic each day knowing that I had an impact on these children not only physically, but also mentally and emotionally. The outpatient hand therapy setting peaked my interest to possibly work with athletes who have sustained hand, wrist, or forearm injuries. I am passionate about sports so I would find great purpose and joy in being able to help athletes regain their abilities, enabling them to participate in the sports and activities they love. As OT school progresses and I get to see all these different settings first hand, I am excited to see what setting I ultimately pick.

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