So around seven months ago, I decided to change my job role.

I went ahead and I applied for this ‘Occupational Therapist Assistant’ role and, in total shock, I got the job. I won’t lie, I was truly and utterly in the dark about exactly what my job role was but excited and enthusiastic to get started.

However questions crossed my mind ‘could I change someone’s life?’, and ‘would I improve someone’s life’? This was me; the newbie, the little young assistant who was slightly clueless.

After my first day I answered my very own questions “YES!” I could change and improve lives, I proved myself wrong and I actually knew what I was doing. I felt very comfortable and happy; this was the job I had waited for!

Now after seven months in the role, I can explain what I do every day. I work within the general medicine team, and we cover wards, with patients with various chronic conditions, and every patient we meet faces different challenges.

As an Occupational Therapist Assistant my role is to empower patients to participate in full daily activities, working under close supervision and collaboration with the senior OT, and also alongside other health professionals.

I enjoy spending time with every one of my patients, seeing how their motivation and confidence grows with each contact.

Each assessments enables me to highlight equipment needs, what support they might need at home, mobility improvements and offer guidance to family members that feel their loved one is at a loss and struggling at home.

As much as I love being an assistant, I decided to enrol on an access course to start my exciting journey to becoming a qualified OT. So now this previously clueless assistant is now going into the big world with the skills and motivation to always improve someone’s life.

Jodie is writing as part of the #WeCare2 campaign that will be running across our Trust communications. Look out for more from Occupational Therapy, and their AHP and HCS colleagues, on our social media pages, Trust screensavers, Daily Email, Vital Signs and much more.