Five tell-tale signs that you’re an OT geek
So, you think you're an occupational therapy geek?
Spot 5 tell-tale signs as our Neuro OT, Anna O'Shaughnessy, shows why it's good to be geeky in independent practice ...
"I wanted to carry on with my training, but my lead said, 'Well, we've never done this before.' But because I was part-time and such a geek, they agreed to support me."
It was initially viewed as the domain of oddball human characters with obsessive interests - and, no, we're not describing occupational therapy here.
We're talking geekdom, a social realm now seen in a more positive light as a place inhabited by anyone obsessed with any interest.
But if either description resonates with the occupational therapists (OTs) or student or would-be OTs out there, there are no raised eyebrows here.
Meet one of our newest recruits, Northampton Neuro OT, Anna O'Shaughnessy. A self-confessed swot, Anna is also a geek and proud of it.
And she has a few pointers for others interested in identifying their geeky characteristics.
Because being a geek, as Anna has discovered, is ideal if you are thinking of a career in independent neuro occupational therapy practice.
So, how did Anna, 44, confirm her status as an OT geek? As with many journeys of self-discovery, hindsight is a great aid.
Using her lived experience evidence to back them up then, here are five tips from Anna to finding out how high you score on the OT geek-o-meter.
1. OT is your big, big love!
OT was the route I wanted to go down. […] So that's what I did, and I absolutely loved it. 
OT Geek alert
Your ears prick up and your eyes widen at the slightest hint of a fresh snippet of occupational therapy info.
Passion for the object of your obsession is the essential geek characteristic, and Anna's passion for occupational therapy is profuse.
Indeed, it pre-dates her entry into the profession by over a decade, when her mother first sensed it.
"I first knew about occupational therapy as a teenager because my mother was a teacher, and she had always worked with children with special needs," Anna recalls.
"At one point, she worked in the young disabled unit, so she'd always be talking about the OTs there. Then I met a few of them through going into work with Mum.
"She would always say to me, even though she was a teacher, that she thought I would love OT.
"And then I did some work experience when I was I about 15 or so in a rehabilitation centre with shadowing physios and OTs, and I loved it."
However, as time passed, Anna explored other career paths too, opting in the end for a degree course majoring in business administration, which led her to a job with an information technology company.
"I worked there for quite a while," she says. "It was quite a stressful environment, and I got to that point where I thought, this isn't what I want to do. I really want to have a rethink."
She considered careers around psychology and physiotherapy, but, in the end, occupational therapy, her 'school sweetheart,' enticed her back.
"I decided OT was the route I wanted to go down. I ended up doing a part-time course over four years so that I could still work since, by this point, I was about 26.
"So that's what I did, and I absolutely loved it."
2. OT is your driving force!
It was quite a lot to deal with at that time outside of my training, but it didn't stop my inspiration for what I wanted to do.
OT Geek alert
Even when times are tough, occupational therapy is an ever-present driving force in your life and relationships.
For Anna, it was two challenging experiences in a very short period in the very early days of her OT career that provided testimony of this.
"I had one life-changing experience during my occupational therapy course because my partner and I had a baby," she reveals.
"I really wanted to carry on with my training, but my lead said, 'Well, we've never done this before.' But because I was part-time and such a geek, they agreed to support me.
"So, my daughter was born in the Christmas holidays, and then I went back because it was part-time, so I was quite fortunate."
However, it wasn't long before another surprise event interrupted her studies.
"My partner and I split up, so I moved back in with my mum. It was quite a lot to deal with at that time outside of my training, but it didn't stop my inspiration for what I wanted to do.
"And I'm pleased I ended up doing well."
3. You're a wise old OT owl, whatever your age.
We were all so inspired by everything we were learning and by some fantastic lecturers. We were proper geeks!
OT Geek alert
You tend to be intuitive to the needs of others and recognise the link between wellbeing and living a full life, regardless of age or experience.
Being "old," Anna says, was undoubtedly an agreed sign of geekiness among her student OT peers.
"It was useful for me, at the time," she says, "going in as a slightly more mature student, especially on a part-time route.
"I was 26, and I was in a very small cohort with some ladies who have become some of my best friends. The support network we had was great.
"We were all so inspired by everything we were learning, and we had some fantastic lecturers.
"We loved it, and I think if I'd done it when I was 18, I'm not sure I would have had the same spark.
"About ten to 13 of us ended up completing the course, and I was the youngest.
"There was a whole range of ages, but it just goes to show, we were all the same - we were all geeks!"
4. You can't (and don't want to) escape OT!
By the time I finished my course, I had a job set up. It was being in the right place at the right time, really.
OT Geek alert
You know lots about occupational therapy, but it keeps challenging you and your curiosity to find out more is unending.
For Anna, an occupational therapy work experience placement towards the end of her university course piqued her curiosity about neurorehabilitation in the private sector.
And that, in turn, opened a door of opportunity that would lead her, eventually, to specialising as a neuro OT.
"I was doing a role emerging placement with the Motor Neurone Disease Association, and I was fortunate enough to meet a lovely lady working there who originally trained as a nurse," she explains.
"Her husband owned a private neurorehabilitation company locally, and she said they might be looking for more OTs.
"One thing led to another, and, eventually, I got a job with them.
"So, by the time I actually finished my course, I had a job set up. It was being the right place at the right time, really."
5. You put the 'I' in conscientious
I knew I wanted to do something clinical again, and then I found you guys, and I haven't looked back. I absolutely love it. I'm so happy I've made the change.
OT Geek alert
You put loads of effort into your work, whether it is the study of occupational therapy or exploring pathways into the profession or developing your OT role.
Anna earned a first in her occupational therapy honours course at Northampton University in 2007 - which says it all about her painstaking efforts to excel.
Her conscientiousness was also recognised by her previous employer, the private neurorehabilitation provider whose wife she met during her work experience placement.
She went on to work there for 13 years, gaining experience in a wide range of clinical settings before being promoted to therapy team manager.
"The company was really quite small when I first started," she recalls. "In fact, it only had one main unit and one very new unit.
"But, by the time I left, there were several on the main site and then various community houses, so it was expanding hugely, and it was nice to grow with them."
Anna led the therapy multi-disciplinary team (MDT) for two years, a responsibility she relished, not least for the opportunities to learn more about the other allied health professions in the team.
"I was managing the therapy team, and that was quite full-on," she recalls.
"It was quite a large team of 18 to 20, and there was a lot of organising as opposed to doing anything really clinical.
"I really wanted to be able to have a bit of a more of a split so I could keep my oar in with the clinical side, but, in reality, that wasn't possible because there were too many people to organise.
"I had some great support, and they are a fantastic MDT team. I learned so much."
Anna's passion for clinical practice – working 'hands on' with people with neurological conditions – finally won over, however, and she began exploring new career paths.
And then, in 2020, covid struck the UK.
The pandemic and resulting lockdown caused Anna, like many of us, to reflect on life which, for her, also meant revisiting her true vocational desires.
And so, in the Spring of 2021, at a time when some covid restrictions were being relaxed, Anna moved into independent neuro OT practice with Krysalis.
"The time was right, I think, to make a work change," she says, "especially going through, as everybody has, a tough time with covid. It makes you re-evaluate.
"I knew I wanted to do something clinical again, and then I found you guys, and I haven't looked back. I absolutely love it. I'm so happy I've made the change."
Anna on Krysalis
I'm so glad that I made the jump into independent practice. Krysalis have been nothing but supportive in every way since I started.
Anna's work since joining Krysalis has been wide-ranging, but here, she outlines some of the current clients benefitting from her neuro occupational therapy expertise.
"I have a client who had quite a significant road traffic accident, presenting a range of neurological difficulties – physical, cognitive and psychological. It has also affected her vision," she says.
"There is a whole range of difficulties to consider, but there are lots I can do to help this particular client. It's fantastic work, and I absolutely love it.
"I'm also working at a care provider one day a week, but it's got so busy that I've actually been doing two days a week there.
"It's a lovely setting and it's nice because it's almost like going back to what I kind of grew up doing, if you like, at the neurorehabilitation unit.
"There's a small MDT, and I'm working with a whole range of injuries."
Anna also supports a fellow OT with clients in another residential care setting and, in a separate case, has recently been called in to assess another survivor of a road accident.
But she appreciates the "fantastic" support offered by Krysalis's head office team following her move into independent practice.
"I am working independently, but I know that there's someone at the end of the phone whenever I need them," she says.
"It's nice to be able to bounce ideas off others sometimes and keep up with your colleagues.
"So, yes, I'm so glad that I made the jump into independent practice. Krysalis have been nothing but supportive in every way since I started."
