OT 4 Lyfe

As occupational therapy clinicians, our jobs drastically shape our values and perspective on life. We share a unique outlook and approach to meaningful engagement in all of life’s occupations. Today is the first round table session in which Brock and Erika, a few OTs from different practice areas, come together to discuss topics within the field.

Guest Panelists:

• Brock Cook, BA OccThy - Lecturer - James Cook University - Mental Health
• Erika Downs, COTA/L, MSG - Geriatrics

We discuss the following topics:

• The beach
• Apps & social media: MySpace, Facebook, Marco Polo
• Structure of our jobs in per diem, home health, mental health, and academia
• Hardest parts of current jobs
• Limitations on our jobs as a therapist imposed from our healthcare systems
• Dealing with tough cases and death of a client
• What we wish more people knew about occupational therapy
• Why people do not know what occupational therapy is
• Our favorite/ last watched TV show
• Mental health as a practice area in the United States and Australia
• Our paths to the field of occupational therapy
• Importance of gaining exposure in numerous practice areas
• Best parts of being an occupational therapist

Sarah and Jenna discuss:

• Realizing that something needed to be done in dementia care
• Having hope with a progressive diagnosis
• Focusing on one client and one family
• Occupational deprivation and lack of balance
• Teepa Snow- Positive Approach to Care
• Relationship is top priority
• Hand-under-hand treatment technique
• Partnering with our clients and their caregivers
• Checking emotions at the door
• The professional and personal impacts of working in dementia care
• Importance of social supports
• Compassion fatigue
• Success stories
• Importance of life history for clients, especially those with dementia
• Advice for practitioners working in dementia care
• Advice for care partners
• Jerry video
• Dementia Resources
  • Gem States- Teepa Snow
  • My Past is Now My Future- Lanny Butler
  • Ensign Dementia Course- Gina Tucker-Roghi

Get in touch with Jenna:

• Website: https://www.connectedcareagingsolutions.com
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrJennaMele

Michelle and Sarah discuss:

• When did she notice that there was an issue with diversity and representation within our profession?
• The 3 V’s: Voice, Visability, and Validation
• Diversity extends beyond than just a person’s race
• Diversity includes ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, etc.
• Diversity is not just about validating the practitioner, but it also has a huge impact on our clients
• Ability to establish an immediate connection if you and your client are from similar backgrounds
• Negative impact on healthcare experiences when there is a difference in culture
• The power of connecting to our clients of the same background
• Health disparities because of diversity
• Health literacy when working with people to make sure they understand what you are trying to explain to them
• Super Duper Handouts: https://www.superduperinc.com/Handouts/Handout.aspx
• COTAD- Coalition of Occupational Therapists Advocates for Diversity: https://www.cotad.org/
• Minority Mentorship Program: https://www.cotad.org/minority-mentorship
• COTAD Chapters: https://www.cotad.org/about-cotad-chapters
• COTAD Advocacy & Outreach: https://www.cotad.org/community-outreach
• She Can Be Both: https://www.instagram.com/shecanbeboth/
• Embracing the differences in ourselves
• Promoting OT to people outside of our profession and to other professionals that we work with
• Perfecting our OT elevator speech
• #YouSee campaign: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/yousee/
• #DiverseOT: https://www.instagram.com/explore/tags/diverseot/
• Her experience with racism as an OT practitioner
• How she feels diversity in the occupational therapy profession has changed since becoming a practitioner
• LGBTQIA+ resources: https://therainbowot.com/
• What she hopes to see in the future in terms of diversity and representation within OT and heathcare

Contact Michelle:

Instagram: instagram.com/michelled_ot

Website: michelledot.com

Dave and Sarah discuss:

• Volunteering in Haiti
  • WFOT Haiti: https://www.wfot.org/member-organisations/haiti-haitian-association-of-occupational-therapists
  • Caribbean Occupational Therapy Association: http://www.caribbeanot.com/haiti.html
• Negativity associated with volunteering, especially abroad
• His personal experience with charity
• Empowering and educating others
• Student involvement in international volunteer work
• Conan Without Borders: https://www.netflix.com/title/81020868
• AOTA’s Leaders and Legacy Society: https://www.otleaders.org/
• Generativity
• His path occupational therapy
• OT/OTA Collaborative Workplace Model
• Non-traditional roles as an occupational therapy assistant
• AOTA Boardroom to Classroom: https://www.aota.org/AboutAOTA/Get-Involved/ASD/Boardroom-to-Classroom.aspx

To Connect with Dave:

• http://www.davidmerlo.com/

Sarah discusses:

• The difficulty we have describing our profession
• We don’t explain what it is that we do
• Reshaping how we talk about OT
• Bringin’ occupation back
• Stop using practice examples
• Rename the profession?
• Use occupational language
• #happyaprilfoolsday