Knowledge Check 2/1

For this knowledge check, I read the blog post Where to Go with an OT Degree? OT Certifications and Specialties. One certification that stuck out to me on this post, as well as throughout my observation hours, is the Certified Hand Therapist, or CHT. I have shadowed multiple hand therapists and it was originally an area of OT that peaked my interest. I worked in Kaiser Permanente's Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech Therapy department in Washington, D.C. for a year before beginning OT school. At this job, I worked directly with a CHT and because she knew I was interested in this field, she always came to me for help with patients rather than the other technicians. On the blog, the requirements for getting your CHT are listed and the prerequisite for obtaining your CHT is 3 years of OT work, and 4,000 hours of of direct hand therapy work, which I think is a reasonable amount of time to become comfortable with working as an OT and gaining experience before being able to apply for the certification. 

In Gross Anatomy, we just finished learning about the upper extremities. Every day, I would come home from lecture and lab expressing my amazement from the hand and forearm. There are so many different muscles that go into the organization and function of these areas, each one with a specific and unique role. Learning the ins and outs of the hand and forearm has only peaked my interest in pursuing hand therapy.