Day in the Life

Katie Brereton Katie is currently studying occupational therapy at the University of Northampton following a role within a community neuro rehab team. A day in the life of... Each month... we talk to a different occupational therapist to see what a typical day is for them and explain a little more about their role. Brereton Katie

What is your current role?

I have been an assistant practitioner at a community neuro rehab team for ten years and I am also a second year OT student at the University of Northampton.

Describe a typical day...

A typical day includes seeing clients that have been passed onto me by the occupational therapists for ongoing intervention; these clients have been initially assessed by myself and an occupational therapist to support whether my experience and level of competence is suitable for me to work with our clients to promote occupational engagement and participation. During my day I will see clients to complete washing and dressing practice, meal prep practice, accessing the community, social opportunities, the use of adaptive equipment with clients with a long-term neurological condition as well as contributing to in-service training and service development. We use the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM) to offer a client-centred approach to work with clients to evaluate their intervention outcomes. I have taken a lead in exploring the apps and technology to support occupational therapists and our clients. I cofacilitate a fatigue management programme specifically designed for clients with multiple sclerosis put together with the support of the MS Society; on top of this we have adapted the programme to be appropriate with a range of clients with a long-term neurological condition to offer a holistic service and approach to supporting fatigue management with a variety of our client base.

What’s the hardest part of your role?

The hardest thing about my role is trying to let go at the end of a working day! It’s so easy for clients to remain on your mind, to lay awake considering intervention options and trying to be creative with therapy that is both personcentred to the client and also evidenced-based! It really helps to work with such a wonderful team at the Milton Keynes Neuro Rehab Service where I receive regular supervision, peer support and an MDT approach to our wonderful clients.

What’s the best part of your role?

The best thing about my role is having the time to build up rapport with clients, to learn about them and the occupations that really bring them to life and support those individuals to be able to participate in these occupations again when societal, psychological, environment and physical factors create barriers to engagement.

And all of the above is exactly why I chose to commit to university and to the practice of occupational therapy as my life aspiration.