“I work as an Occupational Therapist (OT) in the Memory and Later Life team, based at the Carleton Clinic in Carlisle.
My role involves enabling people living with memory difficulties to take part in tasks that they need and want to do. These tasks can vary from making meals, going out in the community, and seeing friends and family, to taking part in hobbies like baking or walking the dog!
As an OT my job is to help problem solve to reduce risk and provide support for those who need it. I spend a lot of time getting to know service users and their families and carers to come up with strategies that work best for them. Recently, I have been able to accompany a service user to engage safely in his hobby of cycling, using adapted bicycles.
I’ve been in my role for just two months. Before becoming an Occupational Therapist, I trained as a teacher. I worked in schools and nurseries before deciding to retrain and do a Masters degree two years ago. My previous work has allowed me to develop some great transferrable skills that have been useful in my new role.
I’ve always known I wanted to work in a role that enabled me to help people. I was inspired by the person-centred approach of occupational therapy, and this led me to retrain.
I think the best part about working in this field is being able to help others. Every day can bring something different. My role is centred around what is meaningful to the people I work with, which gives me the opportunity use what is important to them in a therapeutic way.
As I’m new to this role, I’m still learning. Fortunately, I have a great team who I’m able to bounce ideas off and who always inspire me.”