Informational Interview

Name: Anne Cahill

Position: Occupational Therapist
Employer: Clemson Sports & Rehab
Date Conducted: March 30, 2015
1. What training or education is required for this type of work?
There are different levels to start off. I a started out as a COTA
and I am currently working on my Masters Degree (OTR).
2. What personal qualities or abilities are important to being
successful?
You need to be flexible, non-judgmental, be able to think outside
the box, and express your therapeutic. Also, use your own
experiences to share with the patients and put yourself in their
shoes.
3. What areas of knowledge are most important for
advancement in this field?
Occupational therapy includes a lot of different areas of
knowledge, from physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual to
anatomy, physiology, and human behavior.
4. What do you do on a typical day in this position?
I specifically wok in a hand therapy setting, that sees patients
who have suffered upper extremity injuries. These usually involve
the hand, wrist, and elbow. I see a variety of diagnoses anywhere
from a wrist fracture to a tennis elbow.
5. What part of your job do you find most challenging or
satisfying?
The most challenging part would be that everyone is different; no
two cases are the same. Often patients will have a diagnosis but
there is more involved than just that. However, the most
satisfying part is when you figure out the exact problem and are
able to help them get better.
6. What are the hot issues in Occupational Therapy?
The hot issues are mental health and natural environment.
7. How many hours do you typically work each week? Do you
often work in the evenings or weekends?
With hand therapy, I usually work around nine hours a day and do
not have to work on the weekends. However, each environment is
different.

8. What ate some of the rewards of your occupation?

The greatest satisfaction is that at the end of the day you have
done something worthwhile with your life. You are always learning
something new and you meet a lot of people both patients and
other therapists.
9. Please tell me about your organization and its purposes?
Our purpose is to help people so they can be functional again in
the injured area that they have lost ability in. We are always
coming up with different strategies to use to help our patients.
10. What is unique about your organization?
We have highly skilled therapists here that are well known
throughout the Clemson community. Also, we are always
researching what is new in the field so we can stay up to date
about current information.
11. Would you rather work for a smaller or larger company?
I would prefer a smaller company because it is more intimate and
one-on- one with the patients.
12. What are the toughest challenges you face in the
organization?
The toughest part is that there is always something new to learn.
You never stop learning in this field.
13. What special advice would you give a person entering in
this field?
You have to be open and understand that you do not know it all.
Listening to the patient, peers, and mentors is important because
there is always something new to learn. In addition, you have to
be flexible.
14. What, if anything, do you wish you had known before you
entered this occupation?
I wish I would have known that there were so many different
environments that an occupational therapist can work in. Also,
knowing the impact that therapist make on their patients.