I have always enjoyed connecting with people and being involved in helping them achieve the goals that they find meaningful. Developing new skills and knowledge in order to be more effective in my use of time with patients is something that I continually strive to participate in actively. I initially started in the medical field as a CNA and enjoyed learning from every person that I was able to spend time helping as well as learning from the nurses, doctors, and therapists that I work alongside every day. I was lucky enough to attend occupational therapy school in El Paso, Texas which gave me the opportunity to cross the border and volunteer as a graduate student in Mexico to enrich my therapy background and to grow from seeing how occupational therapy is practiced outside of the United States.
Upon graduating I worked in a skilled nursing facility in St. George, Utah where I worked with the geriatric population to help them return to home and their desired ADLs and IADLs as effectively as possible. One of the things I did that I enjoyed most about the position is the chance that I had to teaching cooking group classes 1-2 times weekly to help patients improve fine motor skills, planning, cooperation, communication, and educate on nutritional benefits and how they relate to different diagnosis.
Next I worked at the St. George Regional Medical Center Pediatric Outpatient Facility. I worked with children ages birth-21. I developed a foundation for feeding skills here as well as worked with NICU graduates, children with Autism, cerebral palsy, ADHD, a variety of feeding difficulties, sensory processing deficits, and different genetic conditions.
Upon moving to Idaho to be closer to family, I began working at Connections. It is a pediatric outpatient facility where I continued to provide feeding therapy, address fine and gross motor concerns, help children reach meaningful milestones that they and their caregivers valued, and worked with a variety of different children of varying ages and diagnosis.
I chose to step away from therapy and Connections because I found out that I would be the father of triplets. My youngest son was born with Sotos syndrome and amniotic band syndrome which impacted the formation of his fingers on both hands. I have been working with him to develop proper feeding skills, improved mobility and coordination and have continued to practice my therapy skills in helping to take care of him. I would enjoy the opportunity to work as an occupational therapist once again and continue to help improve the lives of kids and their parents. I find value, meaning, and satisfaction in knowing that the work that I do helps others find happiness and success in what they want to do.
- Evaluated families medical situations, assessed their use of medical benefits, and communicated regularly, in English and Spanish, to understand the changing needs of families.
- Identified alternate resources outside of the group plan offered from employer that individuals would qualify for.
- Conducted research of formularies and networks.
- Create plan comparisons that outlined key differences in options that were available to different individuals.
- Educated individuals about all of the options available to them highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each option.
- Provided a detailed plan of next steps when individuals felt that a change would better serve their needs.
- Completed necessary documents and forms to assist individuals to enroll in Medicaid, Medicare, or other resource options.
- Helped improve training platform for new hires by refining processes and sharing experiences.
- Served as an interpreter on phone calls to help spanish speaking individuals have a clear understanding of medical benefits that were available to them.
- Obtained detailed patient histories through caregiver interviews.
- Administered standardized assessments to assess children’s functional abilities.
- Created patient care plans comprised of short- and long-term goals, caregiver concerns, strengths and deficits, standardized test scores, intervention frequency and length, and discharge plan.
- Provided one on one, skilled intervention to improve children’s abilities to perform functional activities.
- Documented progress made towards short and long-term goals in daily treatment notes in a timely and organized manner.
- Provided education and training to caregivers through demonstrations, emails, and printed handouts to equip them with information needed to implement therapeutic strategies at home.
- Demonstrated creativity and resourcefulness through the development of innovative solutions.
- Obtained relevant patient histories by speaking with caregivers prior to initial evaluations.
- Performed pediatric evaluations that included standardized and non-standardized methods of assessment.
- Developed meaningful long term and short-term patient goals while collaborating with clients’ family members and other members of the interdisciplinary team.
- Documented progress made towards short and long-term goals in daily treatment notesin a timely and organized manner. - Provided education and training to caregivers through demonstrations and printed handouts to equip them with information needed to progress therapy strategies from home.
- Trained other therapists in up to date, evidenced based treatment methods.
- Implemented behavioral strategies to improve functional performance in a variety of environments.
- Used strong analytical and problem-solving skills to develop effective solutions for challenging situations.
- Performed personal training consultations
- Created and led youth athlete training program
- Carried out standardized and non-standardized fitness assessments
- Explained how to correctly perform various exercises
- Provided detailed diet plans customized for individual clients. -Maintained gym safety and educated gym users of benefits and precautions of different machines and equipment.
- Trained clients during strength training, cardio vascular exercise, and stretching.
- Designed specific workout systems for individual clients based on performance ability and goals.
- Get Permission to Feeding
- SOS approach to Feeding
- DIR Floortime Level 1
- IASTM Rock Blade Certification