Occupational Therapy Student Gets Running Start on Meaningful Career

While Iván calls Puerto Rico home, he’s grateful for the support he found on the Bluff as he transferred to Duquesne and pivoted from nursing to occupational therapy. 
 
His first experience living in the United States was through a nursing internship in Bismarck, North Dakota. There, Iván discovered the field of occupational therapy.
 
“I worked with developmentally delayed children and it was such a beautiful opportunity seeing the occupational therapists help them,” he said.
 
Although Iván says progress may be slow at times, there is a great deal of satisfaction knowing that occupational therapists can help children adjust to their different abilities and start living more independently. 
 
“They have a smile on their face and they’re always glad to see you,” he said. “You go home with a smile on your face, too.”
 
Iván had the drive to dig deeper into his other interests as well, and he found support from Duquesne faculty and staff who trusted in his potential.
 
“I wanted to pursue other passions like philosophy and opera,” said Iván. “I was able to do that because Duquesne allowed me to explore and didn’t put me in a box. Instead, they said ‘we will help you get it and you will achieve it.’”
 
Iván is a philosophy minor and member of the Duquesne Opera Ensemble. The group performs on campus and at nursing homes.

Through the occupational therapy program, Iván worked at UPMC Magee-Women's Hospital as a rehabilitation aide, shadowing occupational therapists, interacting with patients and assisting with exercises.
 
“It's such an amazing thing about Pittsburgh and Duquesne being where it is. There are endless opportunities to get a job or internship,” he said.
 
Iván recently shadowed experts at the UPMC Vision Institute, a new facility within walking distance of campus. The Institute aims to prevent vision loss and restore eyesight, a mission that allowed Iván to embed himself in the community and work toward creating a future everyone can share. 
 
“It was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had,” he said. “I now want to focus on blind and low-vision rehabilitation as an occupational therapist.”
 
Iván is already working toward these bigger goals. In addition to earning his Occupational Therapy Doctorate in the John G. Rangos Sr. School of Health Sciences, he eventually plans to pursue a master’s or doctorate in counseling.
 
“I would love to be a university professor or dean,” he said. “There’s no accredited occupational therapy doctorate program in Puerto Rico. Maybe I’ll start the first one.”
 
As Iván looks to shape the future of higher education in Puerto Rico, he’s grateful to witness Duquesne’s growth with the opening of the College of Osteopathic Medicine. 
 
“We are a more interdisciplinary institution with more professionals coming into the workforce that show the Duquesne spirit,” he said. “It’s a chance for occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant, pharmacy students and more to work with each other sooner.”
 
Iván sees this as an opportunity to learn together and bring new knowledge to classmates. 
 
“I've had occasions where even doctors have asked about occupational therapy, and it’s so refreshing to help educate them,” he said. “Sometimes they say they have patients who would benefit from occupational therapy, and it helps to start that dialogue from the beginning in school–not just during clinical field work.”
 
Iván also looks forward to conducting interdisciplinary research alongside medical students and consulting one another on best practices in patient care. 
 
“My goal is to learn as much as possible about my own field, about my own career and about others,” he said. “I don't just want to be a great occupational therapist; I want to be a great health care provider.”