Jeanette Appleton - Nottingham 1964 - 1974

Paediatric Occupational Therapy

During my school days in Nottingham, I had always been interested in a career in the health service.  I was looking for something different, a career where I would have the opportunity to develop skills and work with a certain amount of independence and initiative; I found this in Occupational Therapy. The three-year degree training includes hospital placements as well as lecture based learning.  The training covers physical and psychiatric medicine and graduates can work in a wide range of areas that include Social services, medical legal, learning difficulties and the area I eventually chose, paediatrics.

As with all careers, it is best to first obtain a good grounding in the basics professional skills before specialising.  My first post was at Charing Cross Hospital where I was able to rotate through various specialities such as cardiac rehabilitation and neurology.
It was here that I met therapists working in the child development centre and knew that this was my niche.  In paediatric occupational therapy you cover all the adult specialist areas of neurology, orthopaedics, and a wide range of medical conditions in the one age group.  I am fascinated in the way a child develops and the positive impact that therapy can have in enabling a child to fulfil their potential.

I obtained a senior post the National Hospital of Neurological Disease to further increase my knowledge base in neurology and then moved to Northwick Park Child Development Centre.  I have moved around the country and gained experience in a variety of children’s units.  I am currently working on the Wirral in a large district general hospital.  My role at present is to provide a service to the children’s wards and that includes treating children with head injuries, fractures and a range of medical conditions.  I have, over the last seven years, developed a service to the neonatal unit providing a developmental programme to the sick and premature infants.  This has involved training in specialist developmental assessments of the new born and premature infants.  I now lecture nationally on this topic and have been carrying our research into the benefits of early intervention.  In conjunction with local voluntary agencies, I have also set up a family support group for the parents of babies on the neonatal unit.  This group has been so successful that I am involved in assisting other neonatal units in the region to run similar programmes.

Each day is completely different and this is one of the aspects I enjoy.  I organised my day to day work, decide where the priorities lie and plan the development of the service.  I am currently submitting a job proposal for a therapist consultant post for the neonatal unit.  To succeed in this career you need to have good team skills as well as the ability to work in a self directed manner.  Good interpersonal skills and plenty of initiative are essential.  One work that sums up my role is that of a catalyst, occupational therapists make things happen and I find that very rewarding.

I am happy to be contacted via Minerva, so please forward your queries to the Minerva Network Development Office. I can offer work experience but it will not include visiting the neonatal unit as the babies are too fragile. I could assist in arranging a general work placement that would include all areas of work in the hospital.