Marion Wilm

Once again, I am getting ready to send an occupational therapy student on her way to becoming a full-fledged occupational therapist after her 3 month internship with me.  During these 3 months, I have provided the opportunities and support for her to learn the day to day practical aspects of being a therapist.  She now has the confidence and knowledge of performing evaluations, treatment planning, behavior management with children, report writing, and problem solving skills.  But I have also gained a lot from this experience. 

I have now worked in the field of pediatric occupational therapy for 26 years.  When you have worked in the same field for so long, it might be easy to get in a routine and not think outside the box anymore.  But I get excited each time a new student enters my world.  I love being an occupational therapist and I love to share my knowledge with others.  However, the field of therapy is always changing and I glean a lot of up to date information on occupational therapy theory from these students.  We are learning from each other.   Also, I am constantly having to explain my reasoning and actions to the student so I am forced to rethink whether this is the best possible treatment approach for my clients. 

I also get to watch how my clients interact with another person and am often surprised that they will show new skills to the student because there are new expectations for them.  My clients and I learn flexibility and I learn that my way of doing things is not the only way and sometimes not even the best way.  So as I say farewell to one student, I am already looking forward to the next opportunity to mentor a young occupational therapist.