Occupational therapists work in a variety of settings, including community, hospitals, rehabilitation units, schools, universities and reform centres. Examples of what occupational therapists do include:

• • Adapting the home of an elderly person to make it easier and safer for him/her to use.
  • Working with people with depression and schizophrenia using activities such as cooking a meal to foster a sense of achievement, develop personal skills and facilitate successful experiences.
  • Using play activities to improve the play and movement skills of children with cerebral palsy.
  • Running life-skills programmes that enable people with intellectual disabilities to develop skills such as budgeting so that they can live more independently in the community.
  • Advising community groups about ways to promote health and maintain activity in their lives.
  • Enabling people to select and effectively use equipment and appliances, including wheelchairs, dressing aids, computers and other assistive technology, to increase their independence.
  • Assessing the ability of someone with acquired brain injury to return to work and then modify that person?s work (the job itself and the workplace) to enable this, where possible, to happen.
• Occupational therapy interventions consider:
  • The individual person ? improving or maintaining their level of physical, cognitive (thinking), affective (emotional) and social ability.
  • The occupation ? examining the self-care, leisure and work-related activities that people value in their daily lives and making changes to these activities so that they better meet the individual?s abilities.
  • The environment ? manipulating or adapting the physical environment so that it does not impede but, if possible, enhances performance; and influencing the social, cultural and institutional environment in ways that enable people to live as independent a life as possible and reach their full potential.

• Is this the right course for you?

This is the right course for you if you are a creative thinker who is open to finding solutions to a multitude of problems and if working with people with diverse abilities is something you enjoy and find stimulating. Visiting an occupational therapy department will give you more understanding of what is involved in this profession.

• Why study Occupational Therapy at Trinity?

The course is the longest established university-based occupational therapy course in Ireland. It uses many innovative teaching methodologies, including peer education, problem-based learning, as well as more traditional methods. Students and staff collaborate on projects that involve both research and service delivery, in new areas of practice.

Occupational Therapy is based in the Trinity Centre for Health Sciences in a purpose-built complex in the grounds of St. James?s Hospital. There are state of the art teaching facilities at the Discipline of Occupational Therapy, including a capacity for tele-conferencing. The Trinity Centre houses other health sciences disciplines including Medicine, Physiotherapy, Therapeutic Radiography and Nursing. This gives a multidisciplinary dimension to studying and working with other health professionals. The centre is approximately 3 kilometres from the main campus, beside the Luas line running between Tallaght and the city centre. Some courses on the programme take place on the main campus including psychology, anatomy and social policy, which, in turn, exposes students to the wider facilities and amenities of Trinity.

• What will you study?

This four-year degree course incorporates a practical approach to solving problems and fosters a research-oriented and reflective attitude. It embraces evidence-based practice.