We asked Aaron, an Apprentice Occupational Therapist about his role, what it involves and why he is proud about what he does.
My job involves…
Current role as an equipment officer involves assessing people in their homes to recommend equipment and adaptations to support daily living tasks and signpost to other services available. I am working towards becoming a qualified Occupational Therapist which will require me to work on more complex cases and support team members.
The best thing about my job is…
- Providing people with the tools and information to live their life to the fullest.
- A sense of pride and satisfaction, working with people to find solutions to the challenges they face in their day to day lives.
- The opportunity to progress and become qualified professional with fantastic team support.
The thing that I am most proud of in my role is…
- The trust given by the team in recognising and supporting me to undertake the Occupational Therapy course and developing my career.
- Good outcomes where I have made a real difference to a person’s daily living.
I like working in this team because...
The team is friendly and supportive with a good range of roles and relationships, with excellent training and development opportunities.
Three words I would use to describe my role would be…
Challenging, Enjoyable & Busy
I chose to pursue a career at SMBC/team because…
I felt supported and encouraged to develop and be a valued member of team. There are opportunities to progress as a mature individual and feel happy in the team.
A note from Aaron's Manager
Aaron started in our service in 2018 as an Equipment Assessment Officer and has gained a considerable amount of experience carrying out assessments in the community for Stockport Council’s residents, carers, and families. Aaron expressed an interest in becoming a qualified Occupational Therapist and had demonstrated his commitment to further learning and career progression which he felt ready to embark on. Aaron began his degree course in Occupational Therapy in January 2021 at Sheffield Hallam University and embraced this challenge with enthusiasm, resilience, and dedication during a difficult pandemic time.
Aaron has been able to expand on his knowledge of Occupational Therapy supported by his colleagues and our Therapists within the Equipment Adaptations and Sensory Loss Service. Aaron has already completed various clinical placements as part of his university degree such as inpatient hospice setting, in patient acute mental health unit and more recently his role emerging placement within the private sector. Aaron’s confidence has grown along with his professionalism, knowledge and skills to manage more complex casework and clinical decision making as part of his workplace learning.
The Equipment, Adaptations and Sensory Loss Service provides many opportunities for non-qualified and qualified staff who want to pursue a career in adult social care. Our service covers a broad range of clinical roles such as Occupational Therapists, Physiotherapists, Rehabilitation Officers for Visual Impairment and Sensory Loss and Equipment and Adaptations Officers. Our client group is very varied ranging from adults and older people, transition and learning disabilities, moving and handling, people with complex health conditions, blue badge assessments and people with Sensory loss. Our staff are experts in the provision of disability equipment, major adaptations, moving and handling, care, support and signposting to assist adults, family members and carers in the community.
We actively promote opportunities to specialise within the team whereby staff can become involved with champion roles contributing to regular in house CPD and training to keep therapists and team members up to date and confident in their roles. For those considering career progression we have been fortunate in being able to pursue degree apprenticeship training opportunities for staff qualifying as state registered Occupational Therapists. It is hoped that these opportunities will continue in the future to assist in recruitment to high demand services.
Within the management structure of our service we have been able to offer senior level posts to more experienced therapists wanting to pursue leadership managerial roles supporting staff and service development projects.