Other OT-Related Information Most important quality of an OT?

[HopefulOT17]

Hey, everyone!

I know that there are many things that make a great occupational therapist. What I want to know is what everyone believes is the most important quality an occupational therapist can have?

There are lots of different opinions on here and I am interested to see how everyone responds.

Thanks

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[cb31]

Hey, everyone!

I know that there are many things that make a great occupational therapist. What I want to know is what everyone believes is the most important quality an occupational therapist can have?

There are lots of different opinions on here and I am interested to see how everyone responds.

Thanks

I would say patience... you need it no matter what specialty you go in to...

 

[hGmatureapp]

i would agree with cb31.
patience is a virtue, especially in OT

 

[prodigiousflame]

Patience is important. I would definitely add compassion to that list considering you're working with the patient during some of their toughest times.

 

[dobber]

Social skills, for sure. You need to be able to build rapport with/motivate the people you work with. That will maximize the success rates of your therapeutic interventions because your patient will be willing to work harder for you.

 

[aluan150]

Being an OT requires us to be multi-facteted but in my opinion the quality that comes very useful in OTs is You know how to solve problems- Thinking out of the box. Problem-solving skills are essential in the occupational therapy field. Problems may vary from one client to another, and some clients may have several different problems. Every moment of the day OTs are unconsciously or consciously responding to situations. These can be simple situations like how to lift something heavy or difficult situations like budgeting. With Kids, its the most important quality because one needs to be apt at developing therapy regimens and be able to do that creatively around kids.

 

[Bokonomy]

The school-based OT I shadowed emphasized being observant so that you can pick up on emotions and respond quickly. However, he might have told me this simply because I was OBSERVING. Anyway, he was able to quickly respond to situations creatively, and I think that's important in peds/possibly mental health. Creativity is important in all fields of OT, though.