How to Build an Award-Winning Career in OT, Advocacy, and Research

Message from Sachi

Hi friends,

I hope you’re having a lovely week. I’ve been diving into my Master’s research (dissertation) the past few days, reading about research on Work Integrated Social Enterprises (WISEs). A big inspiration for my dissertation is the same as Invite Health: learning how to remove barriers to employment, and close the talent-opportunity gap.

This summer, I’m hoping to do an interview series to highlight people who have been part of paid summer programs or received summer research grants (ex: NSERC). It can be in research, tech, consulting, etc. If you’re interested (or know someone that might be interested) and want to write an interview, please reach out to me. I have some past examples here: Invite Health interviews: Paid Summer Programs

This week, I invited Sara Emira to share her story. I came across her Instagram page, Egyptian.OT, a few months ago, and am now excited to share her interview! Sara completed her MSc in Occuptional Therapy at UofT, and has received several awards for her advocacy and research. Today you’ll learn:

• What inspired Sara to pursue Occupational Therapy (OT), and why she chose this over Physiotherapy (PT)

• Paid healthcare jobs & experiences that Sara did, and that you can pursue too

• Sara’s award-winning research and advocacy work, including the Eleanor B. Krangle Award in Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, and the 30 Under 30 by the Canadian Arab Institute

Enjoy today’s read,

Sachi 💌 

P.S. This newsletter may be clipped by your email, so press “read online” in the top right to read the full interview.

How to Build an Award-Winning Career in OT, Advocacy, and Research: Interview with Sara Emira

First off, tell us about your journey so far. Where do you study, what inspired you to pursue this, and what’s next? What else do you like to do outside of studying?

Hello! My name is Sara Emira (Sa-ra, not Se-ra; she/her) and I’m a few months shy of finishing my MSc in Occupational Therapy at the University of Toronto. It feels unreal to say that, but this chapter has been flying by faster than I can process it. 

My career journey began amidst a devastating health crisis in my teens that stripped me of my independence and opened my eyes to the many ways our healthcare system fails marginalized communities including - but not limited to - immigrants and refugees, indigenous communities,  people of colour, and those living with disabilities. This ignited my passion for promoting health equity on the frontlines. I started by completing my Honours BSc in kinesiology (with a minor in psychology) at McMaster University, which allowed me to really steep myself in my passions and build a strong foundation for my career in occupational therapy. However, due to the breadth of our field, people from any academic or professional background are welcome to apply to OT school. 

Occupational therapists (OTs) are rehabilitation professionals who help patients partake in all the activities they want or need to do - typically after a bout of illness, an injury, or disability - through physical, cognitive, and psychosocial interventions. This can be as simple as bathing yourself or getting dressed independently or as complex as driving, cooking a fancy meal, or crocheting! OTs can practice in hospitals, outpatient clinics, schools, or even patients’ homes! It’s a really flexible profession and I love how creative it can be. For a small snapshot of what our work can look like, check out my posts on pediatrics and hand therapy. 

Outside of school, I enjoy creating and consuming art in all its forms, spending time with loved ones, and advocacy work! As for my post-graduation plans, I honestly don’t know yet. All I know is that I’ll be taking a month off to celebrate before preparing for my licensing exam and hopefully starting my first job as an OT. 

Tell us about your experience as an OT student at the University of Toronto. Can you talk about what the application process/timeline was like, what your program format is like, and some highlights from the course? Did you apply to any other grad schools? 

As I was finishing up my undergrad, I was still undecided as to what I wanted to do. I applied (and was accepted to) the following programs: 

• Occupational therapy: University of Toronto, McMaster University, Queen’s University, Western University

• Physical therapy: University of Toronto, McMaster University, Queen’s University. 

While I loved (and still love) both professions, I felt that OT was the better fit for my interests and long-term goals. The “bread and butter” of physical therapy is consistent across any setting or population, whereas the work you do as an OT can vary drastically from one place to another. As someone who loves to be challenged and try new things, this was perfect for me. Furthermore, I have a strong interest in mental health, which is within the OT scope of practice, allowing me for a more holistic range of career options. 

The application process was quite similar across all the programs and you can check out the most up-to-date information on ORPAS (this is the website you’ll be using to apply!). Applications usually open in mid-October and close the first week of January, but you want to start as early as possible so that you can go through several rounds of edits on the written parts of your application. 

When I was applying, the process consisted of: 

• A 2 page resume highlighting your experience 

• 2 reference letters - One academic reference (must be a professor!) and one professional reference 

  • Can add an optional 3rd letter if you’d like 

• A statement of intent (~1 page) explaining why you think you would be a good fit for the program and the OT profession 

• A reflection essay demonstrating your knowledge of the OT profession in the current healthcare landscape 

• For McMaster, the application consisted only of a virtual interview! 

It was difficult to find resources to guide me through my application process, so I made an effort to create and distribute my own resources once I started grad school. Here are some posts I made: 

• CASPER Preparation tips 

• Admission interview tips 

• Campus selection for University of Toronto  

Now that I’m at U of T…I have to say the program has its strengths and weaknesses. It’s hard to create a one-size-fits-all curriculum, so grad school is really what you make of it. The first year of the program focuses heavily on scientific and theoretical foundations, and then starting in May, we alternate between academic and clinical terms. We complete 4 full-time clinical placements across different settings for a total of 1000 hours. In the summer of our first year, we also start our graduate research project. As someone who’s interested in research (and potentially a career in academia), this has been one of my favourite parts of the program. I’ve been working alongside one of my close friends to explore the experiences of racialized occupational therapists working in homecare. We recently got the chance to present our preliminary findings at the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists’ national conference in Halifax! Most other OT programs in Canada are not as research intensive so you would not get the same opportunities. If you’re not interested in research, don’t let this deter you! While my partner and I are both research nerds who jumped on this opportunity, you’re also able to join a professor’s existing project and take on a less-intensive research assistantship role to meet this course requirement.

You’ve won several awards: the Eleanor B. Krangle Award in Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, a 30 Under 30 by the Canadian Arab Institute, and more. Can you tell us what these awards are, what the nomination / award process was like, and what these mean to you? 

Like most immigrant families, my parents raised me with high expectations for success. But unlike most families in our community, where the only acceptable pathways to success are “doctor, lawyer, engineer”, my parents were a bit more flexible. I grew up with my father saying “I don’t care if you grow up to run a hotdog cart, as long as it’s the world’s best hotdog cart.”

In a similar vein, a core Islamic teaching that I strive to live by is 

"إن الله يحب إذا عمل أحدكم عملا أن يتقنه"

“Verily God loves for you to perfect a good deed when you perform it”

To me, these awards are a sign that I’ve truly committed to doing my best in my field and that I’m giving my all to the communities I serve. 

Most of the awards I received did not have an application process as I was automatically nominated due to my volunteer, academic, or work experiences that aligned with the award’s theme (such as social justice or supporting underserved communities). However, for the awards that did require an application - such as 30 Under 30 and the Eleanor B. Krangle award - the components tend to be fairly similar throughout: 

• A short essay explaining how you embody the core values of the awarding organization 

• A CV highlighting relevant achievements 

• How you plan on using the award money (if there is a monetary value attached) 

• 2 references who can vouch for your skills and character 

I recommend always having a master copy of your CV that includes everything you’ve done in the past 5 years or so and updating it at least a couple of times each year. That way when you’re applying for an award (or even a job), you can easily copy and paste the relevant sections. Having a personal statement template that you can modify for each opportunity is also good practice.

What types of experiential learning opportunities did you have in undergrad that you think were the most pivotal in getting you to where you are today? 

Unfortunately, a lot of experiential learning opportunities in healthcare are unpaid, so I had to supplement them with paid opportunities that also fit my interests. Here are some of my favourite paid opportunities that are virtual and accessible to students from across Canada: 

• As an avid writer and aspiring science communicator, I’m grateful for the Antarctic Institute of Canada’s writing internships. During the pandemic, I received a stipend to research and co-author two books alongside a group of fellow university students. While I don’t think our publications were groundbreaking by any means, this was a great way to dip my toes into the world of research, writing, and publication. 

• I also interned in the (virtual!) Innovation & Aging in Longterm Care program through Baycrest Health Sciences. This taught me so much about geriatric care, program design, and healthcare innovation. 

• Riipen’s LevelUp has been an incredible resource for virtual, micro-internships across all disciplines. I’ve had the pleasure of doing marketing and outreach work for startups through these programs.

How do you integrate all of your interests and experiences across writing, arts, content creator/educator, a researcher, and an OT MSc student? What advice do you have for students wanting to follow a similar path (i.e. pursuing + balancing multiple roles) 

A rule I set for myself when I started my undergrad was to only pursue opportunities because I enjoyed them and was genuinely passionate about them, not because I felt like I should be doing them. I’d heard from friends and mentors about how overwhelming the journey to grad school could be and I wanted to make sure that my extracurriculars helped me recharge and gain skills, rather than being an additional source of stress. This naturally meant not having some of the same experiences my peers had (for example, I never did an undergraduate thesis or NSERC project because I was very picky about what topics I would be willing to commit that much time and effort to. I ended up finding a volunteer research position with CAN HEAL that was less glamorous, but was a much better fit for my interests and long-term goals). While that concerned me at times and I found myself worrying about “falling behind”, I have no regrets and I look at my journey with so much gratitude. I loved all my experiences and learned so much from them! 

One way I’m able to integrate all my interests into my life is because they’re fairly interconnected. For example, content creation is a hobby and passion of mine but it’s also a networking tool, so I’m able to invest time and effort into it without feeling guilty. Research has been pretty important for my academic journey, but I only do research on topics I’m passionate about - so you’ll realize that all my work revolves around marginalized and underserved communities. 

My involvement in the arts doesn’t relate directly to my career and I think that’s very important. You need to create a safe space for yourself to just unplug and remember who you are as a person before you are a student/clinician/researcher. When I do something I’m passionate about, I genuinely give it my all and that can sometimes make it hard to prioritize hobbies that don’t relate to my work. I find that pitching to magazines or signing up for workshops helps me prioritize art to the same extent as my other work and once I start creating again, I usually have the momentum to keep making time for the things that spark joy. 

So in short -Let the things that bring you joy and fulfillment be your compass in life. Life’s too short to spend it doing things out of obligation!

Where can students go if they want to learn more about your experiences? 

Yes! In response to the non-existent representation of Canadian occupational therapy students online, I started an Instagram page (Egyptian.OT) to document my journey in the field. I share grad school application tips, disability advocacy initiatives, and resources on a myriad of topics that interest me and shape my clinical practice. I love connecting with people from all kinds of backgrounds, so please don’t hesitate to reach out. 

You can also find me on LinkedIn. (I recommend attaching a note to your connection request if you can!) 

Is there anything else that you would like to add for Invite Health readers? 

By far the best advice I was given was “focus on what you want to do, not what you want to be”. Too often we’re so focused on a specific title that we commit to a specific path very early on which limits our exploration of other possibilities. 

It’s perfectly normal to not have a dream job in mind as an undergrad (or even as a graduate student!) but your early years should focus on finding your core values and the things that bring you joy. Once you’ve identified those, let them guide your self-discovery and I promise it’ll be a rewarding journey. 

Next Up ⏭️ 

Our next interview will be posted at the start of June 💌 

Also, as mentioned at the start of this newsletter, I am looking to start a series to spotlight paid summer research programs & summer research grants. If you’re interested in writing an interview, please reach out!

Jobs, Opportunities & Resources 💻️ 

Most of these resources are reposted on Invite Health’s LinkedIn page

• 🇨🇦 Venture For Canada Intrapreneurship program (paid)

• 🇨🇦 NSERC - Undergraduate Student Research Awards (paid)

• 🇨🇦 2024 TELUS Diversity in Technology Scholarship Job Details | TELUS (paid)

• 🇨🇦 Research Internships - Vector Institute for Artificial Intelligence (paid)

• 🇨🇦 Fulbright Canada Student Award for Canadians | Fulbright Canada (paid)

• 🇨🇦 FluidAI Medical Job Board - Research & Development Engineering Associate (paid)

• 🌐 Research Fellow at DHT Labs (paid)

• 🇺🇸 Health Equity Research Analyst (paid)

• Read last week’s interview:

About Invite Health 💌 

I started Invite Health for my younger self who was trying to figure out what to do with my health sci degree that wasn’t a career in medicine.

Today, I’d say this quote is the primary reason I continue to build Invite Health:

The mission of Invite Health is to close this talent-opportunity gap for students in the life and health sciences.

Since 2022, we’re the leading resource for students figuring out what to do with a life sci / health sci degree. I interview students pursuing diverse careers in healthcare, and how they got there - no gatekeeping here. Every newsletter is rich with resources and insights.

Our main channel is this newsletter, and I occasionally share resources on social media (LinkedIn and Instagram).

You can read more about why I built Invite Health here

Get the most out of Invite Health 🫶

1. Connect with the interviewees: At the end of every newsletter, the interviewees leave their contact information for you to contact them. In your message, mention that you learned about their journey through Invite Health, and that you’re curious to learn more!

2. Share the word: Share Invite Health with your friends and networks. Start a conversation about something you learned- an opportunity, a piece of advice, or a recommendation that an interviewee made.

3. Bet on yourself: Apply to the opportunities that are shared in the newsletters. You have nothing to lose, and so much to gain. Circling back to point #1 - always reach out to the interviewees if you want advice!

You 🤝 Invite Health

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Made with 💝 & 🍵 by Sachi