Kwaku Agyemang about his journey

Occupational therapy was not my first-choice career when I was growing up, in fact I did not even know of the profession until I was 22 years old. Growing up, I always had this innate feeling of wanting to do a job which helped people. I was drawn towards becoming a doctor which was encouraged by my parents. During my secondary school years however, sports began to play a large part in my life, and I developed a passion for football and wanted to follow in the footsteps of my brother who had become a professional footballer. On reaching a certain age, I recognised that my footballing skills and abilities would not take me that far but I still wanted to remain in the game. With this, I set my sights on becoming a Sports Scientist in order to help footballers be the best that they could be. On completion of a Sports & Exercise Science degree, my plans changed. I decided to use my newfound knowledge to work in the healthcare field. The next 8 years were spent engaging people experiencing severe mental illness and/or learning disabilities.

Venturing into healthcare introduced me to the world occupational therapy. Although I began to gain a better understanding of occupational therapy, I was sceptical about entering the profession due to the lack of diversity in relation to both gender and ethnic background. I recall the only Black female occupational therapist I knew at the time telling me about how often people would be shocked in meetings when she would introduce herself as the occupational therapist. She expressed that people would often assume she was a mental health nurse or a social worker. This still unfortunately continues; I have experienced this myself. I can often see the surprise in people’s face when I introduce myself. Of course, there were Black male occupational therapist in the UK, but I did not know any so from my worldview, I wanted to be a trailblazer and break the mould. Motivated by fantastic occupational therapists who felt my values would align with that of the profession, I took the leap to return to university so undertake the 4-year in-service route to training to become an occupational therapist. It is such a shame that this route into the profession has been stopped. I wonder if the stoppage of this has proved a barrier to a wide range of people entering the profession at the later age. I am aware of the apprentice route currently available and perhaps the further development of this can remove certain barriers some face when considering training.

For me, having the opportunity to train over 4 years whilst being financially supported not only allowed me to look after my young family but allowed time for me to really gain a good understanding and experience in occupational therapy. The ability to put theory in practice and discuss it during regular supervision sessions broadened my knowledge and enhanced my passion for the profession.

This passion for the profession, wanting to gain more knowledge and the desire to pave the way for more diversity in the profession led me to be involved in the Occupational Therapy Society at London South Bank University. I took an active role in many of the activities organised by the society in my first year before taking on a committee role in the following two years. During this time, we were able to organise award winning student conferences. Being part of the committee meant that I was often representing the profession at all different events and making sure my voice was heard. Ultimately representation matters and that is what I felt I was doing, representing Black people and encouraging them to enter the profession. If I inspired even one person from a minoritized group to join the profession, I will be happy, but the work does stop there.

Having left university, I wanted another way to continue learning and increasing representation. I made the decision to start an occupational therapy podcast “OT & Chill’ back in 2019. I have had the privilege of speaking to some very passionate and knowledge guests who have not only increased my knowledge but have raised important questions for the profession to think about. I have been pleasantly surprised by the reach of the podcast across the world and how well it has been received. The feedback I receive from prospective students especially those from a minoritized group has been truly amazing. The conversation around the time of the George Floyd murder will thrust inequity and justice to the forefront of the world. This led to BAMEOTUK being founded by myself and other equally passionate occupational therapist from minoritized groups. BAMEOTUK has not only increased representation of minoritized groups but had advocated for several changes to occur in the profession.

Reflecting on the theme of Black History Month this year, all the different activities and events I have been part of during my journey in the profession so far has been action. Action to increase representation, to break stereotypes and to advocate. Every action brings a reaction and hopefully continued positive, progressive changes to the profession.

Kwaku Agyemang

Occupational Therapist
OT & Chill Podcast Host
BAMEOTUK