Q & A with Fatoumatta Tunkara, Occupational Therapist
Dr. Fatoumatta Tunkara graduated from UMD with a Kinesiology major in 2015, and then graduated from Howard University’s Occupational Therapy (OT) school. She then went on to get her clinical doctorate in OT, and has been working at an outpatient orthopedic clinic as a specialist in upper extremity rehab.
What made you want to pursue OT?
I had a background in sports growing up, and I also always knew I wanted to go into the healthcare field. When applying to college, I learned about UMD’s Kinesiology major, which I thought was the perfect blend between health and sports. After taking the Adapted Physical Activity course, I found myself being pulled between physical therapy and occupational therapy, but I really liked how occupational therapy used more “out of the box” methods to help patients and found that it just clicked with what I wanted to do in life.
What extracurricular activities do you think best prepared you for OT school?
I worked at the Children’s Developmental Clinic that the School of Public Health offered on Saturdays, which gave me really great exposure into what OT would like in practice.
What drew you to your particular school?
Howard was local and so I was able to get into contact with one of their faculty members, sit in on a class, and talk with current students. When I was accepted, I felt like going there made the most sense because I was the most familiar with their program, and the pieces just fell into place.
What are some challenges you faced in OT school?
The amount of material you’re expected to consume, understand, and apply in a short amount of time is definitely something that took time to get used to. However, I found a great support group within my classmates, who also took school seriously, and that really helped. Time management was also difficult because I was working while in OT school, but I went in with a game plan, and that made it less stressful.
What are some of the most rewarding aspects of working as an occupational therapist?
With hand OT, I get to be with the patient from start to end. Being able to see the patient all the way through and work through the bumps and hurdles they experience is very rewarding. I also get to help people get back to doing the things they enjoy in their day-to-day lives, which is unbelievably fulfilling.
What does your day-to-day life look like?
I work four 10-hour days per week, and I feel like that schedule works best for my ideal work-life balance because it lets me have long weekends. My days involve a lot of face-to-face interactions because hand-specialized OT is difficult to do via telehealth. I try not to, but some days I do end up having to take documentation work home with me.
What hobbies do you have outside of school/work and how do you balance them?
Working and being in school full-time didn’t leave me with a lot of time for hobbies, but I would pick up yoga and dance classes occasionally. Recently, I’ve been trying to do yoga more consistently, and also just finished playing in a flag football league!
What advice would you give your younger self, or one thing you wish you knew before applying to OT school?
First, I would say that you should be prepared to deal with people of different personalities and backgrounds and be able to accommodate and adjust to those things. In OT, we call this developing your therapeutic use of self to make sure that people can be comfortable around you and trust you with their care. Another piece of advice I would have is to be aware of the financial costs of OT school and plan in advance to minimize the loans that you need to take out. This can include reaching out and asking the school for aid or applying for private grants or scholarships.