I have been an occupational therapy assistant for more than five years in the community older people’s team in West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership. Before this I was a home carer and then home care organiser for a year while I was waiting to start a full-time nursing course. I’ve never got to nursing as I love my current job so much and wish to qualify as an occupational therapist. However, there are a number of barriers to me achieving this.
The Higher National Certificate (HNC) for occupational therapy studies is available at Glasgow Clyde College and encouraged in Scotland. However, as it’s a two-year part-time course, I believe the time could be better utilised, e.g. as a master’s degree for a full occupational therapy qualification.
I have looked at the two current routes in Scotland to becoming an occupational therapist: a four-year undergraduate degree and a two-year master’s course. I would not be able to fund either of these options. I have tried to calculate education, living and also course time requirements; the two ends do not meet sadly, and neither option is viable by a significant margin for me.
Currently ‘earn as you learn’ part time schemes exist and operate in England through several universities and employers. In Scotland there are courses for both social work four-year undergraduate degree and two-year master’s, which are fully supported by the employer while being paid. There are also part-time undergraduate nursing courses that last four years, which are again employer-supported.
My dream is to become a fully-qualified occupational therapist. My team manager and I have asked everyone we can think of for support for a long time, with no success. I’m keen to progress my skills and help people improve their health, independence and safety within a community setting.
Given increased waiting lists, recruitment and retention issues and a growing ageing population, I feel strongly that all types of occupational therapy apprenticeships should be explored. I believe they should be fully supported, as they are in England and as apprenticeships for other professions in Scotland are. Many current occupational therapy assistants already carry a large amount of occupational therapy-based knowledge and skills. From an employer and services perspective, it would be a simple solution to several major existing problems.
Societal, organisational and political solutions all point to treating and caring for people as locally and as close to their own homes as possible. Occupational therapy promotes and directly enables people to do this in real life, day to day, in a safe and as independent fashion as possible.