William Lotawa
Rotational Occupational Therapist, Te Whatu Ora – Waitemata
Bachelor of Health Science (Occupational Therapy)
He is proud to support the communities he lives in, says William Lotawa who is now a rotational occupational therapist for Te Whatu Ora – Waitemata, working across North Shore and Waitakere Hospitals.
“I enjoy working with diverse groups of people and continuously learning. In this role, I’m responsible for acute inpatient and rehabilitation services, assessing and planning interventions for an array of patients with varying medical conditions. We aim to support patients to discharge home safely, improve their quality of life and return to independence. I’m also constantly striving to provide education about the occupational therapist role to my extended teams to support and enhance our service delivery and the multidisciplinary approach.”
While he is still in the early stages of his career, he has already had a number of achievements he is especially proud of.
“In my new graduate year, I received the Occupational Therapist of the Year award for innovation in practice in my work in the rehabilitation service. Since commencing practice, I’ve also been asked to be a guest speaker for AUT occupational therapy students on clinical placement, and have supported students of my own.”
Finding his path
For William, finding his way to a career in occupational therapy was easy.
“I chose occupational therapy because of the unlimited opportunities it has for our day-to-day lives. I’m lucky to say that I was able to grow up in a household that already had an occupational therapist in it; my mum. Although she was a factor in my decision to pursue this career, I found my personal path to study by working with young people in various areas of outdoor education, private practice and group therapy programmes.”
He credits his mother with inspiring his passion for occupational therapy, as she showed him the profound impact of engaging in meaningful occupations.
“My mum used to say, ‘It’s what we do every day that makes the difference’. And in fairness that sums up occupational therapy pretty well. Doing, becoming and belonging are core values that humans need to be able to establish themselves as occupational beings. It informs how we build our daily routines, what we do on the weekend and even how we navigate difficult times in our lives. Being able to help other people find meaning or rediscover meaning is why I wanted to be an occupational therapist.”
Memories of AUT
William – who graduated from AUT with a Bachelor of Health Science (Occupational Therapy) with merit in 2022 and is proud of being awarded a place on the Waitemata DHB Health Scholarship programme – still has fond memories of his time at university.
“The student support services team was very helpful and supported me in reducing any barriers to my engagement with the coursework. At the time I had family members with some health difficulties as well as studying during the initial COVID shutdowns. Their guidance and support helped reassure me when times got tough. Kim Frenchman, Hayley Venn, Marlies Dorrestein and Dr Heleen Reid from the occupational therapy team particularly supported my passion for the degree, and I admired their teaching styles and articulation of the occupational therapy perspective.
“A highlight of studying at AUT was being able to make friends with both students in my chosen field but also with students in other programmes. I’ve found since graduating, that this aspect has helped me already have a familiarity with fellow colleagues, and it helps build the multidisciplinary approach to healthcare.”
Being able to work as a senior navigator on AUT’s UniPrep programme was a highpoint for him.
“One of my highlights was the opportunity to support my Pacific community through the AUT UniPrep programme. AUT’s communal and culturally embracing values gave me the opportunity to connect with this programme and support future AUT students. Through my work with UniPrep I was able to feel more connected to my Pacific identity, grow my leadership skills and support my faculty of health sciences.”
Advice for other students
William has some great advice for other students who are considering studying occupational therapy.
"Be prepared to reflect on yourself and others as well as remain open to the concepts that occupational therapy explores.
“If you're looking to make a positive impact on people's lives that allows for creativity and meaningful change then occupational therapy is for you.”
