皇家华人

OT student Oksana Tompkins has had a heart for helping people since her days as a child in a Russian orphanage.

Oksana Tompkins has always been one to jump into the unknown. Just this past summer, she and her husband hiked the entire Colorado Trail, a 486-mile stretch from Denver to Durango. Now she’s pursuing a career in occupational therapy as part of the first cohort of graduate OT students at 皇家华人 Fox. 

Oksana didn’t always plan to become an occupational therapist. In fact, she didn’t even know what OT was until she ended up working at the only hospital in a small rural town in 2023. 

“It was my work in that hospital that led me to occupational therapy,” Oksana says. “Prior to that, I’d never worked with an occupational therapist.”

In 2022, when she graduated from Willamette University with a bachelor’s degree in exercise and health science, she was intent on finding a physical therapy job in the Salem area. But after job hunting for months, things just weren’t working out.

That’s when an opportunity to be a therapy aide opened up in Enterprise, Oregon – a small rural community in northeastern Oregon with a population of fewer than 2,200 people. Oksana knew the adjustment would be a big one if she got the position, but she took the plunge and applied anyway. 

She ended up getting the job, and she and her husband moved 350 miles so she could work at Wallowa Memorial Hospital. That’s when everything began to change. 

Finding Joy in Occupational Therapy

As a therapy aide at Wallowa Hospital, Oksana worked alongside a physical therapist and an occupational therapist. In small communities like Enterprise, medical professionals work together closely. This environment of cooperation and collaboration allowed her to see occupational therapy up close. 

“I got some observation and hands-on experience there, and I fell in love with occupational therapy,” Oksana says. “I just saw how much these OTs were able to help the people around them. I was watching them work in a hospital setting and an outpatient setting, with older adults and kids, all in the context of one.”

Oksana quickly became integrated into the Enterprise community, and she was able to help conduct a balance class that the occupational therapy department put on each week. This experience in particular has stuck with her. 

“I got to help with the class and interact with different people, especially older adults within the community,” Oksana says. “Seeing their reactions and how much it helped them was really valuable to me. They would come in and have these assessments like, ‘OK, how many times can you stand up? How fast can you walk?’ By the end, they improved. And not only did they improve, but they made friends.”

During her time in Enterprise, Oksana saw the ways that occupational therapists build connections with and provide opportunities for their patients. She was able to see what true individual and holistic care looks like in action.   

“I saw the dedication and time that these therapists put into the community,” she says. “They also set up a walking group that met once a week, and I was able to be a part of that as well. Enterprise is really cold during the winter, and there aren’t a lot of gyms. These therapists were determined to provide a way for people to exercise.”

Although Oksana’s experience in Enterprise served as the catalyst for her interest in occupational therapy, it isn’t the only part of her story that has informed her passion. Before her parents adopted her at the age of 7, Oksana grew up in an orphanage in Russia. Her time there was difficult, but it ultimately led her to become interested in pediatric occupational therapy.

“One of the reasons I’m passionate about occupational therapy is to learn about child development and kind of piece together what I missed out on when I was growing up in the orphanage,” Oksana says. “Those first seven years are very crucial to child development, but those memories are all very blurred for me. I want to be able to help kids living in uncertainty.” 

Learning and Growing Together

Oksana had already graduated with a bachelor's degree in exercise and health science, but now she wanted more. In order to grow in her understanding of OT, Oksana knew that she needed to go back to school and get a graduate degree in occupational therapy. That’s when she found 皇家华人 Fox. 

“I liked that 皇家华人 Fox was a faith-based school, and I liked that it was a small private school,” Oksana says. “皇家华人 Fox allows you to have more one-on-one connections with professors, and I knew I wanted to pursue that. On top of that, 皇家华人 Fox is close to home, and being around family and friends is important to me.”

In many ways, 皇家华人 Fox feels like a second home. Oksana quickly formed connections with her peers, and the fact that they’re all in their first year of the OT program has brought them even closer together. 

“I definitely feel a sense of community at 皇家华人 Fox,” she says. “I haven’t interacted with a whole lot of people outside of class, but my classmates and my professors are all very approachable, and they’re really easy to talk to and work with.”

Oksana is excited to continue her educational journey with her cohort. She especially looks forward to participating in clinical rotations, where she will be able to gain hands-on experience with actual patients. Clinicals will give her the opportunity to build on what she has already learned in the classroom.

“I’m really excited about clinicals and service-based learning,” Oksana says. “I want to learn how I can help people not only in clinic settings, but also in the community.”

For Oksana, occupational therapy is all about helping others. It’s about stepping into difficult spaces and empowering her patients as she reminds them that they are more capable than they might think.

“It’s always rewarding to see the initial reaction a person has,” Oksana says. “Often it’s like, ‘Oh, I didn’t expect that,’ and that kind of response shows that it really meant something.”

Occupational therapy is a beautiful partnership between therapist and patient, where both parties work together. The patient’s wants and needs inform the occupational therapist’s actions.

“It’s about asking questions and really making sure the client is involved in their process of healing,” Oksana says. “Basically, you’re engaging them in the intervention process. You might ask them, ‘What do you want to do?’ You’re getting their input versus just saying, ‘OK, we’re going to do this.’”

Unlike many other medical professions, occupational therapy lends itself to the building of a relationship between therapist and patient. Patients meet and work with their OTs regularly, which allows OTs to get to know their patients holistically over time. This personal connection is what enables occupational therapists to best serve their patients. 

“You want to understand where they come from and what motivates them so you can be a better therapist to them,” Oksana says. “At the end of the day, it’s about helping them, treating them, and finding the best intervention for them, so you have to get to know the person.”

The Value of Serving in Rural Communities

Oksana first saw this kind of intentional, personal and holistic care in action during her time at Wallowa Hospital. The fact that Enterprise’s community is so small and tight-knit made the personal nature of occupational therapy that much more evident.

“Serving rural communities is great,” Oksana says. “It means you can branch out more, and you can make more meaningful connections because it’s a smaller community of people. You really get to know what it looks like to work in personalized care, and that’s beneficial.”

Oksana’s time at Wallowa Hospital permanently altered the way she views healthcare and occupational therapy. In many healthcare settings, numbers and statistics start to take center stage above actual people. At Wallowa Hospital, they went about things differently. 

One day while Oksana was at work, she noticed a piece of medical equipment that hadn't been used in a long time. In fact, this piece of equipment was so little used that Oksana questioned why they kept it around at all. 

“I made a comment like, ‘Hey, why didn’t we throw this away?’” Oksana says. “I was thinking in my head that we weren’t using this equipment all the time, and we weren’t using it for the majority of the patients. But what that therapist said in response sticks with me even now – she said, ‘Well, one patient needs it.’”

Oksana was used to thinking in 皇家华人 of numbers, statistics and efficiency. When she realized that particular piece of equipment wasn’t being used very often or for many people, she figured it was a waste of space. Her coworker saw the same thing as an opportunity to help someone.

“She was thinking about the one patient that would need it, not the majority,” Oksana says. “That’s really important in our profession.” 

Occupational therapy is about meeting individuals where they’re at, and enabling them to push forward. It’s about helping people do the little things in life, things that we might take for granted. OT isn’t just a profession – it’s a shift in perspective. 

“Think of those little things, like being able to put on a pair of pants or brush your hair,” Oksana says. “OT reminds me to celebrate those little things and everything that we are capable of doing.”