Occupational Science 101 Guide

​Hello!

My name is Josie Jarvis and I have been a practicing OT in the United States since 2016. I've worked in traditional US settings across the lifespan including acute care, skilled nursing, outpatient pediatrics, and school-based practice. While exploring these settings, I found myself repeatedly discouraged, confused, and defeated by many systemic barriers and tensions with an ultimate lack of clarity and consensus on the role of OT in the US. I returned to school to obtain my Post-Professional Doctorate with the University of Utah in 2019. I did this hoping I could find and ground my relationship with OT with a more solid and optimistic foundation for the future.

I truly found what I was looking for by getting a more in-depth introduction to the field of Occupational Science (OS). I noticed that other countries, that were early to embrace Occupational Science over the past 30+ years were not having the same challenges US settings were having in overly restrictive practice and lack of clarity on the role of OT. Unfortunately​, for most US-based OTPs Occupational Science was not covered heavily in our OT education which leaves most of us out of the loop about what it has to offer field OTPs in the US today.

I am so excited to share with you how Occupational Science has the power to: transform your relationship to OT practice, affirm your distinct value, and build clarity in your role, and skillset in an interdisciplinary team as an OTP in the United States. By exploring these foundations, I have found how we can advocate for a more empowered future for OT and the holistic well-being of our clients in every traditional and emerging practice setting.

It is my goal to share with you the same restoration of purpose, and confidence I have gained in offering client-driven, occupation-centered, and holistic OT services practically in traditional settings since engaging more deeply in the established field of Occupational Science.

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