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| CRP Mirpur OT Department! |
Hello All!
As I briefly mentioned in the previous post, I actually stayed in Dhaka a bit longer to complete an occupational therapy internship with the
Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP).
CRP was an incredible opportunity for some many reasons. First, let me tell you a little bit about who they are and what they do.
CRP is an organization that promotes an environment where people with disabilities within Bangladesh can have equal access to health care, rehabilitation, education, employment, and all other deserved rights. Due to the stigma of disability, many patients at CRP have been abandoned and neglected by society; CRP gives them hope for a brighter future. The organization runs projects which break down the barriers of prejudice and misunderstanding of people with disabilities. They provide a variety of medical services including occupational therapy (OT).
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| Stroke Rehab Centre |
For my purpose of my visit, I was serving as an occupational therapy intern to gain a broader insight of how occupational therapy is practiced within a developing country. I was only able to do my internship at CRP Mirpur which is withing Dhaka City. CRP's main headquarters is in Savaar which unfortunately due to illness I was unable to visit. During my time in India I had tried setting up an OT internship experience but for some reason it fell through. This felt like my golden opportunity to soak in as much as I could before going back to the US.
As a result of the internship I gained a few major insights about OT in Bangladesh:
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| Pediatric OT |
1 . Just as skilled as the West! The OT's at CRP were extremely skilled and wonderful! Everything that they did I have seen in other internships within the USA and have learned about in class. If anything I got more hands on experience (for a level I internship) here than I would have ever gotten in the USA! The OT's I worked with threw me right in and had me working with patients pretty independently. They would show me NDT techniques for their CVA patients and have me go right ahead and perform the treatment. The OT's said they felt it was like a treat for them because the patients were not used to working with an American so they complied with treatment a lot better! Also, the OT's treated me equally as a clinician which is something I was not used to. It was actually a little upsetting to me. For example, they felt like since I was from the USA that I would have a superior knowledge than them... which was not true at all!
2. High expectations.This is kind of segwaying off of the first point, but there were times where I was caught a little off guard from the OT's. For example, my internship at CRP only lasted 4 days and it was a level I experience. I thought that I would be mainly observing. After the first visit my supervisor asked me if I could prepare an hour long presentation for the entire department on occupational therapy practice within the United States... oh, and did I mention that she wanted the presentation for the next day! This is where my work at the WIN foundation in India came in handy. Oftentimes my supervisor at the organization would ask me to do similar things. Through that internship I learned that things in the subcontinent are much more relaxed and that I didn't have to put so much pressure on myself. I ended up talking to the department for 20 minutes about emerging practice areas and the rest of the time we had a conversation about the challenges/barriers that OT's face within Bangladesh. This cross-cultural dialog was an extremely powerful piece for me to engage in. These OT's were passionate and hungry to learn more in order to better their country.
3. Low pay. Despite the massive amount of skills that I saw from the OT's at CRP Mirpur I learned that OT's in Bangladesh get paid the same amount as maids. Yup, maids. This completely broke my heart. First, OT is a young profession within Bangladesh so I could see how it is still gaining steam. But in general, this type of work isn't respected or valued within Bangladesh. Granted, there is such a huge need for OT's! Despite the pay, the OT's are doing incredible work and our truly passionate about their jobs and improving their skills.
4. Cultural Competence... In action! The biggest thing I took away from the entire internship was how much culture can dictate the course of therapy. So there were two instances where this became extremely apparent to me. The first was when I was working with a female therapist who was providing care for a male who had sustained a stroke. Before the OT started her treatment she took the man's affected arm and began to wrap it up in a towel. I had never seen anything like this before, so I asked her why she decided to do that. I was thinking that it was some NDT principle I just hadn't learned yet. She told me that "it was for her protection". What she meant, was that while she was treating this man's arm it may get to close to her body. Since she is a women, this would be inappropriate, therefore the need to make the situation safe.
Another circumstance I observed was when an older woman came who had also sustained a stroke came to get treatment. This time, she had a male therapist. The women was in a full Burqa and we were unable to see her eyes. She was coming to be reassessed by the OT. Yet, she would only allow her eyes to show even once in a closed off area. For some reason this experience completely shocked me. In order to fully and truly assess this women, the OT needs to be able to see her body. I guess before this experience I did not fully realize how one's culture could change how OT services are given. In class we always talk about the importance of cultural competence, but I had never lived it so fully.
This internship with CRP Mirpur opened my eyes to the many different ways that OT can be practiced. It helped me grow as a clinician as well as a person. I believe as a result I will be a more culturally competent occupational therapist who is able to complete treatment in creative and meaningful ways that are focused around my client's needs and desires.
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| Saw this as I was leaving the airport :) |
Visiting the CRP was truly a integral part of my experience in Bangladesh. The staff at CRP Mirpur and CRP Savaar are very open and receptive to having students and clinicians come to work with them. They have expressed an interest in forming a reciprocal relationship so that we can come together to learn and grow from one another. I truly hope that I have a chance to return to this wonderful organization and would love the opportunity to visit the main headquarters in Savaar.
If you are an occupational therapy student CRP it isn't too dificult to set up a level I or level II experience with them.
Here is the website:
http://www.crp-bangladesh.org/
Seriously, working with CRP will give you will very well change your life :)
All the best,
Becca
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