Welcome to your February issue of OTnews. A new year can often get people thinking about rebooting their careers and in this issue, we kick off with an inspiring chat with Jo Whiting, who retrained as an occupational therapist in her 40s.
Currently working with Sue Ryder in neurological care – it’s a far cry from her earlier career in sales and marketing in the software industry. She tells us how she first discovered occupational therapy and how she kept her dream of joining the profession alive for a decade, before she finally threw herself into life as a student OT.
On a similar subject, a group of students and lecturers from the University of Southampton share their experience of designing a student-led initiative to promote occupational therapy as a potential career to local young people considering their future academic and vocational choices.
Recognising that their students are best placed to design and deliver outreach to schools – having been through the selection and recruitment process themselves and being more relatable to young people – staff set second year learners the task of designing resources to support the initiative.
Then Rachael Harrison shares her own return to practice journey. Having been made redundant, after 23 years’ service, she took a career break that ‘lasted longer than intended’, and she tells us how she faced the challenge of carrying out supervised practice, aged 51, in part by joining RCOT as an intern.
That’s just a taste of what’s in this packed issue. If you would like to share your reflections, initiatives and service developments, contact us at editorial@rcot.co.uk. And don’t forget, all our issues are available online as well as in print.