My name is Shannon and I am currently in my final year of my Masters of Occupational Therapy degree, and this is a day in my life as an Allied Health Assistant at De Silva Kids Clinic!
Given my background, I am assigned both clinical and administrative roles. My admin roles include; opening and closing the clinic, greeting families as they walk in, providing them assistance in regards to appointment times, required paperwork, listening to their issues and tending to their inquiries. The majority of my days are spent answering the phones to respond to peoples queries, whether that be from families at the clinic, new client inquiries, schools, kindergartens or doctors and other health professionals. Taking these calls and talking to families has helped me get an insight into the specific processes of a clinic, this will be very beneficial for my future career as an OT.
One of my Instagram stories!
I also run De Silva Kids Clinic’s posts on our website, Facebook and Instagram. Each week I like to post a blog from one of our therapists on the website, these have tips or advice in certain areas parents often ask for help with. On DSKC’s socials, I post a picture corresponding to this blog to let people know to check it out. I also post pictures of things happening around the clinic, and sometimes give a resource of the day! I love taking these photos and uploading blogs as I get a sneak-peek into each therapists session, and see how they connect with the clients through resources!
In terms of my clinical role, I assist by providing Occupational Therapy to clients in the capacity of an AHA in the clinic. I have supervision with the senior Occupational Therapist where we discuss and plan my client goals and how to achieve them, I then implement these interventions. After completing my sessions, I aim to write my own accurate client notes to reflect what we achieved and are continuing to work on. Getting the opportunity to run sessions as an AHA is invaluable to me, I feel as though I am constantly building my clinical skills!
I also get the opportunity to shadow the senior Occupational therapists to see how they run their sessions and achieve the client’s goals, this is very eye-opening for me as I am constantly learning new interventions and techniques to use with the children. I also assist with their admin which allows me to practice and develop my note-taking skills.
I am very grateful to have this opportunity as it gives me a really good insight into my future career. Running and observing sessions, seeing the behind the scenes admin work and simply being in the clinic environment gives me experience and prepares me for what is to come!
Our Sensory Gym where I run some sessions!
