Emily Palmer is 29 years old and was brought up in the Cotswold's near Winchcombe. Emily is now living in Bristol with her boyfriend Andrew of 5 of years and is working as an Occupational Therapist for Bristol City Council.Emily qualified in June 2009 and currently works with Adults with physical disabilities, providing them with equipment and arranging major adaptations to support them to live independently in their own homes. Emily thoroughly enjoys her role and the challenge that it brings.
Emily is passionate about travelling and has been fortunate to have been able to travel as much as she could post leaving school. There was a trip around Europe for one month in 2002, followed by her third trip to Australia in 2003, lasting nine months. This trip involved buying a camper van and driving around the beautiful country for the whole duration.
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| Emily |
Emily completed her Open Water Diving certificate in the Australian Great Barrier Reef and the trip was then followed by three months in South East Asia. Emily became an Advanced Open water diver in Thailand and completed may dives there and in Malaysia. Since returning from the wonderful trip, Emily has dived in the Egyptian Red Sea and also with Manta Rays in the Maldives….which isn’t too far from Sri Lanka!
Emily’s interests include clay pigeon shooting, fishing, walks in the countryside, modeling, playing pool, playing her guitar and piano, reading, exercising and listening to music.......not forgetting rally driving!! Emily loves meeting new people, ‘taking on the boys’ and spending time with her friends and family.
Emily will literally eat anything – including new dishes she has never even heard of!! :)
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| Emily and her boyfriend Andrew fishing in Devon |
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| Emily taking up country sports in the Cotswolds |
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| Emily driving a Subaru rally car |
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| Emily with a red snapper in the Maldives (with Andrew) |
What I hope to gain professionally by participating in the program and how I intend to use the Group Study Exchange experience to enhance my long term career path.
I am a 29 year old Occupational Therapist and qualified in June 2009. I completed the degree whilst working as an Occupational Therapy Support Worker in a community mental health setting. I previously worked with adults with mental health problems to support them in carrying out meaningful occupations to increase their health and well being. I worked autonomously as well as along side the Occupational Therapists and gained a good knowledge of the profession whilst studying. During the degree I carried out placements of up to eight weeks in a variety of settings including a hospital, a therapeutic community, social services and elderly mental health day services. These experiences were extremely valuable and I gained a real understanding of how occupational therapy can enable individuals to carry out meaningful occupations to increase their independence, health and well being.
In October 2009 I was successful in obtaining a full time, permanent position as an Occupational Therapist for Bristol City Council. I work with adults with physical disabilities, providing a wide range of equipment and arranging for their homes to be adapted in order to support them to remain as independent as possible. My work is community-based and I am part of an Occupational Therapy Team based in Clifton. I work closely with other professionals in a variety of settings, as well as outside agencies. I consider myself to be an enthusiastic and motivated individual and enjoy being a member of a team. I am always keen and willing take on complex cases, as I see this as a way of enhancing my knowledge and skills.
The Group Study Exchange would be a fantastic opportunity for me to observe how my vocation is practised in another country and an opportunity to learn and develop professionally and personally. I am very interested in how institutions are run in other countries and I am extremely enthusiastic about how cultures can affect ways of living. I have previously travelled around South East Asia for 3 months in 2004 which was a fabulous cultural experience for me and I believe such experiences inspired me to train and practice as an Occupational Therapist. I was able to observe and consider how people have the same basic needs, however their spiritual and cultural needs have a powerful influence on their daily living. I have always been interested in people, and being an Occupational Therapist in Bristol enables me to work with a wide variety of service users from a variety of backgrounds and cultures.
My role as an Occupational Therapist involves continuous problem solving and I hope to gain a broader approach to problem solving during the exchange, as well as gaining a wider understanding of my vocation. I am interested in developing my repertoire of assessment skills when faced with a lack of resources and the creativity this will require from me. If chosen I would write reflective logs about the experiences I gain and consider how I will use the knowledge and skills on my return home to Bristol.
I would like to participate, contribute and exchange ideas about my vocation, as well as develop leadership skills and team building skills. I aim to practice long term and hope to undertake senior roles in the future. I would consider this exchange opportunity to be valuable for my development as an Occupational Therapist and would like to develop my skills set and be exposed to alternate methodologies. I appreciate that working for Bristol City Council involves carrying out occupational therapy interventions that I have been taught here in England and I would like to experience other ways of delivering interventions that are alternative to ours.
I understand that the Group Study Exchange provides a great public relations opportunity to promote awareness of our professions and I would be willing to undertake interviews, photos and articles about the exchange and how it has enabled me to develop as a young professional. I am a very co-operative individual and I am happy to accept direction from the Rotary team leader whilst in Sri Lanka and I would always inform them of my whereabouts. I will maintain a high standard of professional behaviour during my travels and I would be honoured to be an ambassador for the Rotary Foundation. I would like to think that I could promote and raise the profile of occupational therapy internationally.
On my return home, I would take every opportunity to discuss the Group Study Exchange with people I meet and share the experiences and benefits of taking part in such an opportunity. I am willing to participate in a debriefing and write a Group Study Exchange final report and send copies to the Group Study Exchange Chair, as well as consider Rotary membership if I am invited.
Personal Statement
I am a caring, friendly, motivated and enthusiastic individual. I thoroughly enjoy being an Occupational Therapist because I love working with people, problem solving and helping them to live as independently as possible. I would be very grateful if you would seriously consider me to take part in the Rotary Foundations Group Study Exchange as I feel passionate about people, cultures and travelling. I would like to think that I would be an asset to the exchange and would be able to offer a valuable contribution. My career as an Occupational Therapist would be considerably enhanced by this opportunity and I hope that my application has emphasised the strong desire I have to take part.
Testimonial from current Senior Occupational Therapist
“I have worked closely with Emily since October 2009. During this time I have been impressed by her natural affinity towards everyone she comes across and she has often been complimented for her approach and professionalism both from staff and service users alike.
Emily has shown that she is able to apply her knowledge and skills appropriately and sensitively in every situation she has come across and is keen to further her skills and knowledge.
I feel that the opportunity to practice Over seas can only enhance her skills and add to her extensive repertoire of skills. Something we will all benefit from here in Bristol city Council and in the Occupational Therapy profession.
It remains a pleasure to work alongside Emily. I cannot recommend her highly enough for this opportunity”
Helen Stonier
Dip COT
HPC reg.12818
