During our last site visit, we heard about a few of the specialty programs that Queen Mary’s University offers. One of the program coordinators/instructors for the OT program had been there to share some information with us. Although I know I want to pursue OT, that’s really the only direction I’m certain about at the moment. I’m still a little ways away from deciding where I want to go or even what region of the US/world I’d like to study in. That being said, hearing about how Queen Margaret’s program is structured in comparison to the information I know about graduate programs in the US was very helpful.

Much of the program’s emphasis aligned with Scotland’s perspective on the social and legal rights of people with disabilities. While this of course made sense that professionals are shaped by the programs they are trained under, the importance of these curriculums resonated with me. If we want to change health care (or really any field for that matter) it’s imperative that we first examine the manner in which these professionals are trained: through thoughtfully-planned curricula, relevant experiences and instructor/peer attitudes— all of which play a heavy role in the way we learn.

For example, healthcare in Scotland, and in the greater U.K., is considered a social issue and is meant to be dealt with by members of the community whom are trained to ensure equal and quality care for all people. That means that healthcare professionals, such as Occupational Therapists, are responsible in caring for the social aspects of an individual while also offering supports to maintain a person’s physical well-being and overall health. As the OT said it: “people are more than just their parts”. By working in the community, with the community, OT’s are able to fully support all aspects of an individual’s life. While this concept is advertised as part of an OTs roles and responsibilities in the US, I think we still have a lot more to work on if we are truly going to fully support all of our clients’/patients’/students’ social identities.

In comparison, because of the heavy emphasis on social work in OT curricula, Scotland does a phenomenal job of distributing these roles to many more community settings than the U.S. , such as in substance abuse groups and incarcerated populations.

I was extremely impressed by Scotland’s take on this up-and-coming field and I’m hopeful that the U.S. will take the next step further in implementing a social model of disability in its schooling and training for healthcare professionals.