What is occupational therapy? What is its societal impact, and why is there an increasing demand for it? Anjali Parti, interim chair of UT Tyler’s Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, helps us understand the field of occupational therapy. She sheds light on its role in enhancing functional independence and safety in everyday life, particularly for the aging baby boomer population and those affected by COVID-induced social isolation.
Parti elaborates on the wide-ranging conditions occupational therapy can address and the crucial role played by occupational therapists in caregiver training. She even shares her personal transition into the field and her ambitious vision for expanding UT Tyler’s unique “bridge program.” If you’ve ever been curious about health care, psycholog, or occupational therapy, this conversation will answer many of your questions. Learn about the increasing role of occupational therapy assistants, explore the potential career paths in this field and uncover the profound impact of occupational therapy on individual lives and society as a whole.
MIKE LANDESS: There are nearly 10,500 actively licensed occupational therapists in Texas. That’s a 46% increase just over the last decade. You might not know that many of those OTs began their career at UT Tyler. I’m Mike Landess for UT Tyler Radio. Anjali Parti is a program director, clinical associate professor and interim chair of UT Tyler’s Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, and she’s our guest today. Welcome.
ANJALI PARTI: Thank you so much.
LANDESS: So how many students are there in the occupational therapy program, and what are their backgrounds?
ANJALI PARTI: Sure. So, we are the only program in the state of Texas, and one of about 20 in the whole country, that offer a bridge program. Our students’ background is certified OT assistance. They have to be practicing for one year, and they join our program, and we accept 24 per cohort.
LANDESS: And so, what is a cohort? I mean, for those of us not immersed in academia.
PARTI: Sure, a cohort is a group of students who are admitted once per year. And we accept 24, and they stay in our program for about 2 years. They do their didactics on the weekends — Fridays and Saturdays, twice per month, and they go into the field work, clinical world for level two, and then they graduate.
LANDESS: So, what drew them to this, do you suppose?
PARTI: So, they have been working in health care already. They’re working full time. Their backgrounds are health care workers in the OT field already. They’ve already gone to OTA school, so they have an associate of science in occupational therapy. And because we’re the only ones in the state of Texas, we have students traveling from all over the state as well as neighboring states such as Oklahoma, California, Utah and Louisiana.
LANDESS: I talked about the increase in OTs over the last decade. Has the need increased that much, or has there been a shortage for a while?
PARTI: That’s a very good question. The need is still there because of baby boomers aging. They are still very much in need of rehabilitation services. We have been integral in preventing falls and hospital re-admissions. So because of the climate, especially since COVID, with COVID social isolation, there is a huge demand for health care workers all over the map, but definitely for occupational therapy to improve self-care skills and functional independence and safety in living.
LANDESS: You’ve given a couple of examples there, but what would be a typical situation where someone would need an occupational therapist?
PARTI: Sure, so we like to call this our elevator speech of what is occupational therapy. A lot of people don’t know what it is. It’s often confused with physical therapy.
LANDESS: Maybe I should have asked you that first.
PARTI: So, I usually like to ask the person asking the question to give me a diagnosis, anything that they can think of.
LANDESS: In what way? I mean, I’m not sure that I understand.
PARTI: Any diagnosis that comes to mind and I can tell you where OT fits in.
LANDESS: And so, it’s a situation in which we’re talking about baby boomers getting older. Many baby boomers are taking care of their parents and in some cases, they’re taking care of their kids and their kids’ kids. It’s quite a different situation this day and age, and certainly that gives them more of an opportunity to be exposed to issues in which there’s a fall or there’s whatever. Is this something that a doctor will refer them to? How does that work?
PARTI: Absolutely, yes. Occupational therapy is called in by physician’s order, and we do an evaluation and a treatment and a plan of care. So, in the situation you’re describing, with individuals getting older, falls, caregiving is coming to mind. So, we do a lot of education for caregivers. How can you not burn out? How can you safely move a patient or a loved one without hurting yourself? So, we do a lot of caregiver training, we do a lot of fall prevention, and we do a lot of what we call “aging in place.” So, it’s exactly what it sounds like. Your loved one can live where they like, and we can help you make that happen. So, whatever your goal is in life, whatever your occupation. If it matters to you, it matters to us.
LANDESS: Let’s get personal. What drew you to this?
PARTI: So, I came to know about occupational therapy at Student Science Training Program at University of Florida. I was born and raised in Florida. And I did a project called “Constraint Induced Movement Therapy Post Stroke.” And I in high school got to help with research prove that occupational therapy can help with fine motor coordination after you have that stroke. And I just loved being able to see patients improve, bounce a ball four times on Monday and 12 times on Saturday, and it was just so rewarding. And then I had exposure to pediatrics as a college student, and I loved sensory integration. And I got into OT, and I never turned back. Born and raised in Florida, UT Tyler has so much growth that I moved my whole family from Florida here last year. And even during my interview, I had chills because there is just so much support for occupational therapy here. So that’s what drew me here.
LANDESS: Well, the program-what sort of goals do you have for the future for the program? Where would you like to be by the end of the year, and what are you looking for next year?
PARTI: Absolutely so. By the end of the year, I hope to be planning for an entry-level pathway. What that means is students who are not OT assistants already, who are local in the Tyler community, all throughout the state, can also join our program and become occupational therapists. So, this is going to open up an avenue for those who are interested in the profession to also be able to gain admission, and then in the future, also offering a post-professional OTD, a doctoral option for the alumni and those who are already master’s degree holders. And then in about the next, I would say, 3 to 5 years, we will be offering an entry-level OTD, which is entry level doctorate instead of master’s (degree).
LANDESS: What is involved in doing that? Is it required some sort of special certification, or how does that work?
PARTI: You need to know about accreditation, you need to follow the standards and the guidelines, and you need to prepare a lot of documents for approval. So, it’s a really fun process for those of us who are in academics to understand. You know, you work with your faculty and then you submit proposals that are approved both institutionally and externally.
LANDESS: So, for those of us who have heard the term “occupational therapy,” maybe we know someone who has actually gone through OT, but we really don’t have a real big grasp of it- what kind of final thoughts would you like to share with us about what it is that you do and why it’s important to our community?
PARTI: Very good question. Occupational therapy a lot of times is the best kept secret in health care. If you have an interest in psychology, if you have a lot of patience and compassion and don’t mind talking to patients about the personal things, such as, “Can you brush your teeth?” and “Can you take a shower on your own?” then this field should be for you. We have a lot of students who are interested in psychology and nursing and kinesiology who are drawn to our profession, people who are wanting to improve and motivate others to do their very best in life and to improve somebody’s quality of life.
LANDESS: And so, what would you say to someone who is thinking, “Wow, that sounds really exciting. I’d like to do that.” Where do they start?
PARTI: So, I encourage you to find a clinic where you can get some observation hours and just see what we do. Pediatrics is a very good place to start. You can see what we do with kids all the way up to skilled nursing facilities, assisted living and outpatient orthopedic clinics and hospitals. And start asking questions. Find your local schools and get your bachelor’s degree and apply to us pretty soon.
LANDESS: Our guest has been Anjali Parti, clinical associate professor and interim chair of UT Tyler’s Department of Rehabilitation Sciences. To hear this interview again or to share it, go to KVUT.org. I’m Mike Landess for UT Tyler Radio.
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