Occupational Therapy is a rewarding career

By Scott L. Homer, MS, OTR/L, ’95

Reflecting on my career in Occupational Therapy, I am so astounded by how rewarding and impactful it has been thus far. I have had the privilege of working with thousands of clients, from helping adults with devastating injuries regain independence to building essential life skills in children who were born with neurological differences. I began this journey as many of Maria College’s students do, with the simple yet fervent desire to help people in need.

Thirty years ago, I first walked on to the Maria College campus and was shown a path that has become my life’s work. I was a brand-new father, working second shift as a hospital transport aide, and between colleges. My grandmother had just passed away from a long illness, and I sought to better understand what she and our family had gone through in hopes of finding a way to help others. As I traversed the floors of the hospital, transporting patients, linens, and food trays, I always kept my eyes open for a place where I might fit in. I was drawn to the rehabilitation unit more than any other as it seemed to hold the most joy in a place that could be oppressively sad. I could imagine myself alongside the therapists, helping people walk and get stronger, and I talked with them about their work and asked the patients I transported about how they felt about their therapy.

Certain that physical therapy was the career for me, I followed the advice of one of the PTs and drove to Maria College to apply (we had no online applications in those days, or even a website!). I found, to my dismay, that the PTA program was full for the fall of 1993, and was told that I could be waitlisted or, in a moment that changed my life, I was asked if had I ever considered occupational therapy (OT). I had never even heard of OT, but I was determined to go back to school. So, I changed the major on my application paperwork to Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA.) Thankfully, when I had the opportunity to observe an OT session at the hospital, I found that this work was even better suited to my personality. Stunned that I had been unaware of this profession, I have since made it my mission to promote and share OT so that the public will know what we do.

The American Occupational Therapy Association, established in 1917, has long labored to communicate what OT is, particularly what we mean by ‘occupation’ and how that relates to our clients. That is an arduous task, as there are so many ways that we intervene with our clients, and such variety in our daily work. Their latest definition states that: “Occupational therapy is the only profession that helps people across the lifespan to do the things they want and need to do through the therapeutic use of daily activities (occupations). Occupational therapy practitioners enable people of all ages to live life to its fullest by helping them promote health, and prevent—or live better with—injury, illness, or disability.” (AOTA, 2023).

As the definition implies, the possibilities are endless within our profession. This is one of my favorite parts about OT, as I am driven to continue to push myself to learn and explore different practice settings. In my career, I’ve been honored to help people of all ages, from premature infants to hospice patients and everything in between. I’ve interned with or been employed by long-term care facilities, acute-care and rehabilitation hospitals, outpatient hand therapy clinics, a psychiatric hospital, community day programs for the developmentally disabled, elementary schools, a specialized educational program for preschoolers on the Autism spectrum, and a school for children with severe emotional disturbances. I’ve been able to treat clients with traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, stroke, cerebral palsy, cardiopulmonary conditions, orthopedic fractures and joint replacements, nerve damage, substance abuse, amputations, cancer, and many other developmental and degenerative diseases. Every OT interaction is individualized, purposeful, meaningful, and client-centered, so I feel like I’ve been an integral part of so many stories. While not every client story has a happy ending, they all have helped shape my life in unforgettable and fulfilling ways.

I enjoy presenting at local, state, and national conferences and continuing education events, and establishing new fieldwork sites for our future practitioners throughout the community by initiating interdisciplinary collaboration. Another powerful way I have found to promote our profession is through advocacy in our government at the state and federal level to ensure equity and accessibility for our clients through fair and just legislation.

I have also been able to move vertically in my professional growth. Fifteen years after becoming an occupational therapy assistant through Maria’s program, I completed a master’s degree in OT and became a licensed occupational therapist. The higher degree allowed me to become the Director of Maria’s OTA program, and give back to the College community that shaped my life. My first priorities were to reinstitute our dormant weekend option for OTA and create a curriculum for a BS program to help prepare OTAs for graduate school. Soon we were able to offer the Health and Occupational Sciences degree, and with years of effort and support from the College community, we are now a graduate institution with a weekend MSOT program!

In recent years, I have focused primarily on these academic efforts at Maria while keeping active in the field through the creation of a private practice with my fiancée Stephanie, On Track Occupational Therapy, PLLC. Through our company, we’ve been able to design and build sensory gyms and safe spaces for neurodiverse people and consult with equine-assisted therapy for adults and children with physical and developmental disabilities and veterans with PTSD. We offer personalized services combining OT and literacy to help children with dyslexia overcome reading challenges. We’ve even worked with an international company researching cutting-edge brain-computer interfaces for stroke survivors to rebuild neuromuscular pathways.

Perhaps the most rewarding part of my career, however, is educating future OT practitioners in our classrooms, labs and field sites. I am humbled by the passion, dedication, and care of the students who pass through the doors at Maria, and it always gives me great pleasure to see them graduate and transition into professional colleagues. If you are reading this blog as one of our current students or an OTA or MSOT alumni, I salute you for choosing OT as your career! If you stumbled upon this post wondering like I once did, thinking “what is OT?” then I hope I have sparked some interest, and I’d be happy to chat with you more about this unique healthcare profession. You can reach me at: shomer@mariacollege.edu.

To learn more about Maria College’s degrees in Occupational Therapy, including Occupational Therapy Assistant, AAS; Health and Occupational Sciences, BS; and Master of Science in Occupational Therapy (MSOT), please visit mariacollege.edu/academics/occupational-therapy.

Additionally, Maria College is hosting an upcoming MSOT information session on Wednesday, February 15, 6-7pm.