In the “Why I Chose OT” series, we highlight the motivations and career paths of OTs and OTAs in the field.
Winnie Tsui, OTR/L, CHT, MBA
I Chose OT…
…because of a family experience. My cousin was born with a congenital hand deformity, and my aunt wanted me to help translate when she took my cousin to occupational therapy at the children’s hospital. The pediatric occupational therapist at the children’s hospital got to play with babies and kiddos all day and was helping these children have their best lives.
Occupational therapy looked like a challenging and rewarding profession to my high school self. Looking back, the key factor may be because the OTs I saw got to wear sweatpants all day!
My Impactful Experience Working in OT
My experience as a hand therapy clinical specialist in OT allowed me to work with a very special case at NYU Langone Medical Center. NYU is where the world’s first bilateral hand and face transplant was completed. I was one of 4 certified hand therapists to treat this patient 3 hours per day for 6 weeks. It was a rewarding and humbling experience to be part of this patient’s surgical and rehab journey.
My Current Work in OT
I currently work at Squegg as product manager for hand therapy technology. I am also an adjunct professor of upper extremity orthopedics at Long Island University’s OT department.
Winnie enjoys exploring “where no OT has gone before.”
School:
University of Alberta for BSc in OT
New York University for MBA
Favorite Occupations:
Cooking, eating, spending time with family and friends.
Occupational therapy practitioners are needed everywhere! Want to find out how to join this amazing profession?
