OTD Students and Faculty Champion City of El Paso Proclamation Designating April as National OT Month

Published April 12, 2024
By Darlene Muguiro
UTEP College of Health Sciences

Earlier this week, a group of students and faculty from the Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD) Program successfully advocated for the City of El Paso to release a proclamation designating April as National Occupational Therapy (OT) Month in El Paso.

Dr. William Roberts, chair of the Department of Occupational Therapy, credits part-time faculty member Dr. Anderson Hicks with organizing the effort. Roberts and fellow OTD clinical faculty member Dr. Cecilia Fierro also participated, along with second-year OTD students Joshua Gartner and Miguel Duran, and first-year OTD students Diana Cadena and Desirae Gomez. In preparation for the meeting, students and faculty prepared statements regarding the importance of the OT profession in national health care, as well as the critical support provided by faculty and students locally through volunteer efforts with clinical and community partners.

Gartner shared his personal experience with Council members, having received OT services following his medical retirement from the Army.

“OT was life-changing for me, and receiving these services put me in a unique position to advocate for the profession,” he said. “OTs don’t look at people just to see how we can fix them; we put the client first and help them become the best version of themselves. We want to help them be able to do what they want and need to do, what makes them happy.”

Duran said that the experience of presenting to City Council was unlike anything he had done before. While there, he spoke about the multiple agencies that benefit from their partnership with the UTEP OTD program, including cross-border partner Fundacion Integra in Juarez, Mexico.

“We have been to NICUs to see premature babies in real time, we work with organizations like My Joyful Dance and Every Little Blessing that focus on children with Down’s syndrome, and Gigi’s Playhouse, where we assist adults with Down syndrome in safe meal preparation,” he said. “Through these experiences, we have been truly blessed, and will become professionals who are equipped to meet the specific needs of this beautiful community.”

In speaking to the Council, Cadena also addressed how OTs approach client needs on a systemic level.

“Occupational therapists not only treat the individual, but also focus on external factors, like their environment, culture, morals, and beliefs,” she said. “Occupational therapy extends beyond individual care by creating community resources, addressing systemic barriers, and promoting social justice to build more equitable and inclusive communities.” 

Cadena, Duran and Gartner all stated that the supportive environment provided by faculty, and the inclusion of Spanish classes in the curriculum – designed to facilitate better communication with clients and encourage cultural understanding – make the UTEP OTD program special.  Cadena added that she appreciates how the faculty challenge students to get out into the community and use their strengths to begin making an impact in people’s lives. Gartner said that his cohort has forged a particularly strong bond, which is well-noted by researchers as a critical factor in student retention.

“The environment within the classes has led to our cohort becoming so close we all consider each other family, and I don’t think I would have found that anywhere except here at UTEP,” he said.

All three students foresee a bright future for the field of occupational therapy, as more people become aware of the profession. Cadena says she hopes their efforts will help city administrators and the community in general better understand the field’s potential for growth.

“My growing passion for occupational therapy has led me to want to advocate for this field in the beautiful city of El Paso, and speaking at the city council meeting is only the beginning of this journey,” she said.

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Go Miners!

For more information about the Doctor of Occupational Therapy degree, please visit: https://www.utep.edu/chs/ot.

Photo courtesy of Dr. William Roberts