at the training today, i used an old notebook.
i saw this scribbled on my handwriting in one of the pages.
"Work is two kinds; first, altering the position of matter at or near the earth's surface; second telling other people to do so. The first kind is unpleasant and ill paid, the second is pleasant and highly paid"..---Bertrand Russell.
i remember where i got it from, from one of the placement rotations i did last year.
it caught my eye obviously because i found the saying interesting and somewhat true, yet a little inadequate.
it obviously referred to manual work and managerial /higher position work.
what the respectable Mr. Russell did not mention that work has now evolved and that there is the third kind. the one that uses neither brute force nor verbal commandments to subordinates..but one that uses creativity and imagination, and that job satisfaction is highly important basing not on one's payment and currency exchange but instead, on self fulfillment after one's productivity output and good customer/client feedback.
i tell you what, Occupational Therapy is beautiful. it combines my creativity that i normally would utilise on my hobbies, and it uses academic grounding or whatever is left of my cerebral functions.
treatment of my clients are depending on how and what i think would suit their personality and their wishes, not because its what a medical book is advising me to. (obviously with adherance to clinical guidelines).
where else can a medical practitioner recommend "tap dancing and gardening" as client treatment, and "art appreciation" as part of their rehab programme?
only in my profession.
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alot of people i know can be very good Occupational Therapists.
(in fact, you my friends, who are planning to retrain for a new degree, try looking into OT).
Most friends i have think outside the box, are very creative, love the arts infused with medical and scientific knowledge (because we have to, all treatment are justified on why it is chosen) and throw in the interest of psychiatry and pyschology together, with an element of nurturing and caring quality, voila, an OT in the making.
Yes, you, can be an OT. Look into it. You just have to jump over the tedious studying hurdle. And if you are a studious person by any chance, you will love it even more. (Note the word 'studious', not 'bookish' as bookish types tend to be stick-in-mud,and have difficulty thinking-on-the-spot, a very important core skill in therapy).
And if you are also a lackadaisical person, you wouldnt be able to manage it too, as the sciences, are an important foundation to put a backbone to the profession. and yeah, the emphasis on it actually throws you off centre initially.
You just have to be the right sort of balance of a person. And from people i know and friendships i have formed: i just know, my friends are the sort of people who i know could work with my client group.
And run away at the end of the day, smiling (and blogging) about it=)
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i am just everyday humbled by the people i work with. they are such an interesting bunch.
and i wish you were there today to know what i mean.=)
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seriously, if you are planning on retraining for a degree, look into Occupational Therapy. (not to be confused with Occupational Health-- OH is not a profession, it is a department that deals with Work health concerns like back problems, stress at work, injury at work and safeguarding and regulation of diseases/illnesses at the workplace ).
Occupational Therapy is an allied medical degree that is currently still being debated as at the World Federation of OT conference whether it is Art or Science.
although you end up with a BSc degree, you end up nothing less but be creative.
you can email me too for questions if you are interested..x
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photo: the river thames, Maldon Estuary..
