Twenty-four years ago, an inquisitive young EMT would wheel patients through the hospital doors and wonder what happened next. What came after the emergency? Who helped these individuals reclaim their independence and dignity? These unanswered questions sparked a journey for Darcy Erickson, O.T., MAOL, ATP, that would touch countless lives. Erickson is now a highly skilled occupational therapist, a leader at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, and a passionate advocate for disability access and neurorehabilitation.
What inspired you to enter this profession?
I have been an occupational therapist for many years and have practiced through the full continuum of care, including acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, subacute rehab, long-term care, and home care over my career. I was an EMT in my early 20s and thought about a career as a paramedic. But when I would bring patients via ambulance to the hospital, I always wondered how they recovered and went home and felt there was so much more to each patient’s story. I did some shadowing with occupationala and physical therapists and determined that occupational therapy was the career for me, being part of the team to help patients recover and go home.
Tell us about your present work responsibilities.
I currently work at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, as a therapy supervisor in neurologic rehabilitation. I specialize in spinal cord injury and dysfunction through the continuum of acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, and outpatient. I also work with adults with acquired brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases. I am an ATP and supervise our outpatient wheelchair clinic. I am also an Assistant Director of our Occupational Therapy Neurorehabilitation Fellowship.
What is your favorite part of the work you do?
The people! I enjoy helping patients identify their goals and needs and helping to support them in recovery and getting back to their community. I also enjoy working with colleagues to develop new skills or problem-solve complex patient needs or scenarios.
Can you share one of your favorite moments where you really felt you made a difference in someone’s life?
There isn’t just one moment; there are many. My favorite part of my work is meeting previous or current patients out in the community with their families and friends – living their lives. It’s incredibly rewarding to meet the important people in a patient’s life for the first time and see the patient thriving.”
It is also great if the patient tells me that I had a role in helping them achieve their goals and/or that they want to come back to see me in outpatient if they have needs. This response is a powerful affirmation that my work is making the impact I strive for.
Is there an innovative approach or product in your field that you’re really excited about right now?
The powered and nonpowered add-on devices for manual wheelchairs can be a game changer for a patient. I love being outdoors, so anything that can help manual wheelchair users do the same is a win. It is vital to keep a small footprint on a manual wheelchair at home and work, making access and transfers to other surfaces as easy as possible. But those benefits are a liability on uneven terrain, inclines and declines, and over long distances. Adaptive devices enhance wheelchair stability and make navigating grass, gravel, hills, and other challenging terrain easier, helping users get the most out of their experience.
What keeps you engaged in your work?
My colleagues! I just cannot overstate how important a great team is in health care. Working in an academic medical center and a Level 1 trauma center can be very stressful; patients can be very sick, their medical journey complicated, and not everyone gets better. There is never enough time to help patients and their care partners prepare for life after hospital discharge. Working together as a team to get all perspectives on the table and identify patient and team priorities is necessary to have the best outcomes possible. We have a passion for our work that can make all the difference.
How has this career impacted your personal life?
I am, by nature, a curious person. Working in neurologic rehabilitation continually challenges me to think differently and to look beyond obvious issues and concerns to an underlying cause. This approach has helped me be more patient, understanding, and a better collaborator with my family and friends. It has also made me more aware of inequities in care and access, especially for persons with disabilities. This work has energized me to be a more vigorous advocate professionally in organizations I volunteer with and projects I am involved in.
Please tell us about your volunteer work.
Two organizations that are meaningful to me are the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals and the Clinicians Task Force. I have been a member of ASCIP for several years and am the incoming president of the Therapy Leadership Committee. The nonprofit organization is an excellent collaboration of therapists, providers, nurses, psychologists, social workers, researchers, and others committed to providing the best care after spinal cord injury. The CTF is another nonprofit organization dedicated to advocating for access to appropriate equipment. This group is an excellent resource for clinical expertise in seating and wheeled mobility. I have made great friendships and professional connections through both of these organizations. Being a member of ASCIP and CTF has positively impacted my clinical knowledge and care for patients and helped me make a greater impact than I could do alone. I also volunteer with the local sled hockey team, the Rochester Mustangs, specifically helping athletes with their seating and positioning in the sleds to prevent skin integrity issues that may keep them out of the game. I wish I could say my skating skills have improved, but alas, they haven’t. I am better as an off-ice resource.
Outside of your work what is important to you? What do you enjoy?
Family, being outdoors, and traveling are my loves. My husband, Steve, and I have been married for 22 years. We live close to our parents and siblings, so we spend much of our time as a group with our nieces and nephews and aunts, uncles, and cousins. We have two dogs, Kona and Zephyr, our fur babies. I always joke that I work so my dogs can have a better life. They are very active dogs, so we love being outside hiking, visiting state parks in Minnesota and taking them fishing at the lake, one of their favorite pastimes. We also love to travel, visit friends, and learn about different cultures and historic places. I had the opportunity to do education and training in Mongolia in 2023. That was such a great experience! 
At the end of the day what do you consider a success?
At the end of the day, success is knowing I gave my best to my patients, my team, and myself. And if I didn’t? Then I ask what I’ve learned and how to do better next time. That mindset – of curiosity, service, and constant improvement – has carried Erickson through more than two decades in health care and will take her forward as she lives her purpose.
Contact Darcy at Erickson.Darcy@mayo.edu. Darcy Erickson, O.T., MAOL, ATP is an occupational therapist at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota where she is a therapy supervisor in neurologic rehabilitation, specializing in spinal cord injury and dysfunction. She also supervises the outpatient wheelchair clinic and is an Assistant Director of the Mayo Occupational Therapy Neurorehabilitation Fellowship. Erickson is incoming president of the Therapy Leadership Committee of the Academy of Spinal Cord Injury Professionals, a member of the Clinician Task Force, and an individual Friend of iNRRTS.