Üsküdar Üniversitesi, the 20th session of the "Corona Diaries: Occupational Therapy Interventions" program, organized under the leadership of Prof. Dr. Sevda Asqarova, Head of the Occupational Therapy Department at the Faculty of Health Sciences, was held.
In her opening speech, Sevda Asqarova informed prospective students who choose the Occupational Therapy department about topics such as ''Why Üsküdar, Why Occupational Therapy'', ''Job Opportunities and Future of Occupational Therapy'', ''The Occupational Therapy Department from an Occupational Therapist's Perspective'', and ''Occupational Therapy in Turkey from Past to Future'', together with graduates who successfully represent our university and department in their professional lives.
OT and Clin. Psk. Cahit Burak Çebi: “Üsküdar Üniversitesi is a pioneering university in the field of positive psychology”
“While studying in the Occupational Therapy department at Üsküdar Üniversitesi, I also started the Psychology department at the end of my first year thanks to our school's double major opportunities. I graduated from both Occupational Therapy and Psychology departments simultaneously. Afterwards, I completed my master's degree in Clinical Psychology at Üsküdar Üniversitesi. Currently, I work as an occupational therapist at NP Feneryolu Medical Center. Üsküdar Üniversitesi's central location and being a city university is an advantage for us students. Our school provides internship opportunities for students in quality institutions and diverse fields. Occupational therapy is a client-centered health profession that promotes health and well-being through meaningful and purposeful activities. Its main goal is to enable individuals to be independent in daily life. Since Üsküdar Üniversitesi is a pioneering university in the field of positive psychology, our department courses also included positive psychology. I am currently utilizing positive psychology in my profession. I am proud to be a part of the Üsküdar Üniversitesi family with its strong academic staff, and we welcome all prospective friends who will join this family and love their profession.” he stated.
OT Hazal Pural: “The main goal of Occupational Therapy is to enable individuals to participate in daily living activities.”
“Occupational therapy is a client-centered health profession that promotes health and well-being through meaningful and purposeful activities. The main goal of Occupational Therapy is to enable individuals to participate in daily living activities. Occupational therapists can work in areas such as pediatric rehabilitation, psychiatric rehabilitation, hand rehabilitation, vocational rehabilitation, community-based rehabilitation, oncological rehabilitation, cognitive rehabilitation, geriatric rehabilitation, neurological rehabilitation, and military rehabilitation. Military rehabilitation ensures the individual's reintegration with family and society, allowing them to maintain their functions at an optimal level. Military rehabilitation is a general concept that encompasses all necessary stages and efforts to help veterans who have been injured during military service or have lost some physical abilities to readjust to life, improve their quality of life, and live as a whole with their families and society. Through military rehabilitation, occupational therapy aims for the independence of veterans in daily living activities and all transfers, enabling them to become self-sufficient.” she said.
OT Amine Kalkan: “The most important perspective of the occupational therapy profession is its ability to view the individual holistically.”
“Being able to view an individual holistically is the unique perspective that makes the occupational therapy profession special. I chose occupational therapy because of the profession's goal of holistic viewing. Pediatrics is one of the areas that has gained momentum in the occupational therapy profession. I chose to work in pediatrics because I enjoy working with children and because we can achieve better development in children in a shorter time. After we graduate, we carry our Üsküdar Üniversitesi identity with us. This identity opens beautiful and different doors for us in our professional lives.” she stated.
OT Esra Pekel: “We are like a family in the Üsküdar Üniversitesi Occupational Therapy department”
“The occupational therapy profession has many areas, but they are all integrated. I, myself, work in the field of hand rehabilitation, which was what I wanted most during my student life. There is a factory in the city where I work, and unfortunately, many work accidents occur there. As occupational therapists, we work for the independence of these individuals and focus on things that will make them happy. We are like a family in the Üsküdar Üniversitesi Occupational Therapy department. We are in contact with both our senior and junior students. Our school offers us internship opportunities in diverse fields and quality institutions. I'm glad I studied in the Üsküdar Üniversitesi Occupational Therapy department.“ she stated.
OT Ali Rıza Anteplioğlu: “Üsküdar Üniversitesi supports students with multiple scholarship opportunities”
“I studied in the Occupational Therapy department at Üsküdar Üniversitesi with a full scholarship. And there was no interruption in my scholarship throughout my academic life. On the contrary, our school offers extra scholarships such as work scholarships or meal scholarships. I work at a community mental health center in a state hospital. Psychiatric patients are illnesses that can be seen in every society and every country, and whose symptoms and course can vary from person to person. The abundance and complexity of problems arising from the illness require interdisciplinary work from various professionals. Psychiatrists, psychologists, occupational therapists, psychiatric nurses, social workers, and the family are members of the interdisciplinary team. Leisure time activities are one of the most important components of occupational therapy and one of the most important supporters of social well-being. In addition to medical treatment with my clients, leisure time activities are very critical for them to feel good, increase their self-confidence, improve their social skills, and avoid constantly dwelling on the effects of the illness." he said.
OT İsa Kör: “Üsküdar Üniversitesi supported me in every social responsibility project I undertook”
“I provide private home rehabilitation services. Thanks to the work scholarships available at our school, you can work during the university's preference promotion days and provide information about departments and the university to prospective students and their families. We have a family atmosphere at our university. After graduating from Üsküdar Üniversitesi, you feel a sense of belonging. As a department, we organize many events throughout the year, especially on October 27, Occupational Therapy Day. Thanks to these events, we get the opportunity to meet friends from every class in our department. I undertook multiple social responsibility projects during my student life, and our school always supported me in this regard. As an occupational therapist, I went to South America and participated in many volunteer activities there. I had the opportunity to meet multiple occupational therapists there. I observed that we perform similar tasks to occupational therapists abroad." he said.
OT Esra Alan: “The family atmosphere in the Üsküdar Üniversitesi Occupational Therapy department is very valuable to me”
“After graduating from Hacettepe Üniversitesi's occupational therapy department, I started my master's degree education in the Üsküdar Üniversitesi occupational therapy department. And I truly saw that there is a family atmosphere at Üsküdar Üniversitesi, and this family atmosphere is very valuable to me. I work in the field of psychiatric rehabilitation at a state hospital. In psychiatric rehabilitation, we occupational therapists work with patients who particularly have problems in social and occupational functioning, cannot regularly perform self-care, have low motivation levels, and struggle to chart a new path in their lives. Our aim is to support patients to be more active, gain insight into their existing problems, and maintain their lives independently. Substance use disorders are serious illnesses with genetic and neurobiological bases that disrupt an individual's physical and mental health, and their adaptation to family, society, and work. In the rehabilitation of substance use disorder, we can use cognitive and behavioral-oriented group therapies, individual interviews, group activities, reading hours, and sports activities." she said.
Prof. Dr. Sevda Asqarova: ‘’We are the university of firsts’’
Thanking the participants of the program, Prof. Dr. Sevda ASQAROVA said, “As our graduates mentioned, we, the Üsküdar Üniversitesi Occupational Therapy department, are like a family. Even after graduation, I remain in contact with all my students. The first occupational therapy student appointed to a state hospital was from our school. The first occupational therapist working in a brain hospital was from our school. We have graduates who combine dance therapy with occupational therapy. We are the university of firsts. We have students who continue their master's degree in occupational therapy at our school after graduating from bachelor's degree programs in occupational therapy at different universities. All my internship students are very valuable to me, and all our graduates are currently working in excellent positions. While studying, they also completed their internships in very high-quality and diverse fields.
We excitedly await all prospective students who will choose us.