Occupational Therapist: A Day in the Life

Your day starts at the hospital, teaching a man who suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident how to use a wheelchair. Next, you evaluate an older woman who suffered a stroke. In talking with her, it's clear that her priority is to look good again, so you develop a set of exercises that will help her brush her hair and take care of herself, in addition to helping her recover. You leave the hospital to visit the home of an older woman who is losing her vision. You've brought along some devices that will help, such as a software program you install on her computer that enlarges text automatically. Your next stop is your most difficult: the home of an Alzheimer's patient. His 90-year-old wife is mentally sharp but physically weak, so she can't help much. You discuss various social service options, from adult day-care centers to assisted-living facilities. By 5 p.m., you feel rewarded but exhausted.