Mag. Gabriele Ranftl BSc
Garbiele Ranftl advises graduates of the Occupational Therapy course to have fun in their work and to feel emotion towards their patients.
Key data
Job description: Occupational Therapist
Company: REHA Radkersburg | klinik maria theresia
I work in: Bad Radkersburg, Styria
I’ve worked here since: 2012
My contact
What I do:
- Occupational therapy for seriously affected and multimorbid patients
- Sub-team leader: organisation, process structuring and team leadership
- Advice and training for relatives
Why I love my job:
- Interdisciplinary approach
- Working with people
- Visible and sometimes rapid results
Important skills in my job:
- Flexibility
- High degree of independence
- Social skills
My biggest accomplishment so far:
Working intensively with others is fun. You submerse yourself in the life of the patient, support the patient and sometimes even become a part of the patient’s life. I once helped a patient choose an engagement ring, for example.
How I found my current job:
As part of my training to become a psychologist, I have already completed an internship at the rehabilitation clinic and gained a taster of life in occupational therapy. I really enjoyed the physical approach as a complement to my psychology studies.
What I learned for this job during my studies:
Resilience and presentation techniques.
Job prospects in my field:
The job prospects are excellent. I still receive lots of enquiries. Of course, it depends whether you want to go into a specific field. But if you are flexible, there should be no problem finding a job.
I am:
- empathetic
- enterprising
- conscientious
About my job:
I am working primarily with neurological patients at the moment. The interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary work involved is very exciting and educational. Sometimes it is very demanding, both emotionally and physically, to work with severely affected patients but good team solidarity and exchange make it easier. This mutual support is one of the things I value at the company. In future, I would like to better combine my psychology and occupational therapy expertise, perhaps in a freelance capacity. I think I will probably always work with people because it offers variety and you can help others. I would say to future graduates: enjoy your work, wherever or whatever it is. Others will be able to sense it.