I don't know about the rest of you but I have trouble coming up with fun and purposeful activities for older adults. I came across this webpage that has ideas on activities for dressing, activities for cancer patients, arthritis patients, stroke victims, and more. Some of the "toolkit" you have to pay for but a lot of the handouts for home exercises are free and fairly simply to understand. I feel like there is something for almost every topic we have talked about his semester.

I am finding myself more interested in cardiopulmonary care as my grandma was in the hospital over 5 weeks and received NO occupational therapy. I think it would be beneficial to spread awareness that this is in fact within our scope of practice. This is a brief description of how OT can be involved as part of a treatment team within a hospital. It is just one example of how and who all is involved in care of cardiac/lung patients at a hospital.

This is another video about the firefighter that I just posted. It is pretty similar but I like this one better because it is a little more detailed and you get to hear from the burn survivor. It also lets you know how he is recovering.

While browsing through Facebook, this video popped up on my newsfeed. We talked a lot about the emotional side effects of burns and the long process of skin transplants. This firefighter was given a new face with functional eyelids. How incredible that surgeons were able to do this for him. It makes me optimistic for future burn victims.

I found this link to take you to courses that provide education on splint formation. I know that I could definitely use some extra practice, maybe in the future I will look into getting some extra training to make me feel more competent and prepared.

This article provides a quick fact list about helpful tips when forming a splint. This will be a handy resource if working in an orthopedic setting.

Another article discussing the importance of OT in burn recovery. It's shorter than others I found and discusses a few different areas.

The writer of this article does a great job exploring the different areas that occupational therapy care can impact a burn victim's recovery. Some of them are obvious but I admittedly forgot some aspects such as integration back into the community.

Many oncology patients also experience burns. OT works with these patients as well as other burn trauma patients. I'm finding that I really like this website as I have used it for several other bookmarks. In this article, an OT practitioner breaks down specific intervention techniques that an OT may do with a burn victim as well as planning for discharge. She also discusses how she co-treated with a PT practitioner on her first burn patient which was interesting to read about a treatment team working together.

Since many of the oncology patients an OT practitioner would treat experience fatigue, I thought it would be appropriate to post an article related to energy conservation. I found this one to be particularly interesting because the writer interviewed real people who are incorporating energy conservation techniques into their own lives. I realize it is naïve of me, but I never really thought about the resistance that a patient might have to slowing down and the emotional response this might create. This article gives an interesting perspective.

This article discusses the specific areas and goals that occupational therapists may address with cancer patients. I thought the writer did a great job explaining what occupational therapy is and why the field is so important. This would be a good resource for later on if I ever go on to interview for a job in oncology, would be a nice review of how impactful OT can be.

I found this article on the AOTA website. I didn't realize that occupational therapy is one of the only professions qualified to work with lymphedema. I thought it was really interesting how the writer pointed out that occupational therapy gives control back to patients who are in a very uncontrollable situation. Sometimes when working with patients, it is not about saving their lives but about helping them live their life with the most quality and happiness while they have life to live.

I found this article when I was making my marketing webpage for practice management. A lot of children who are effected with long term illness or disease fall behind in their development. Occupational therapy helps them catch up and reach important developmental milestones so that they may be more successful in play and learning. This pamphlet is for parents of children at St. Jude explaining what OT is and how it can help their children.

We have been debating a lot lately if it is okay to use heat with patients who have RA or not. I have found several articles on the subject, none indicating that you can NEVER use heat. This article does state that heat shouldn't be used when inflammation is already present but that heat is okay if the patient is not swollen, has extreme stiffness, and is in pain. The article talks about other techniques to try such as cold therapy and compression.

What you eat can trigger inflammation. I found this article and think it would be short and helpful when working with patients who have arthritis. It would be useful in having a conversation with a client about what foods to avoid and what ingredients might exacerbate inflammation and arthritic pain.

This article is written from the perspective of a patient. She talks about how she has worn both soft and working splints for various injuries. She recommends getting your splint fitted by an occupational therapists but also mentions tips that would be helpful to consider when providing a splint to a future patient (such as keeping a log of questions or problems).

Excuse some of the expletives in this article but I found it to be share-worthy. This is a Q&A article with five women who have had some sort of physical disability impact their lives. They are asked candid questions about how their disability affects their sexuality. I feel like looking back at this source will help me feel more comfortable speaking about sexuality with a client.

I pulled this from the AOTA website, you must log in to view. I thought this article reaffirms what we have been discussing in class about the role of the OT practitioner in treating patients with COPD. Our main focus is energy conservation (which may include task simplification, deep breathing techniques, and implementing adaptive equipment). This article is not very long and provides a nice WHY we are doing what we are doing.

I know I keep posting little kids with prosthetics but they are so inspirational. In class yesterday, Teri was talking about "fit to sit" meaning that the best time to introduce a child to a prosthetic device is when they are around 6 months old (when they begin sitting unsupported and are involving their hands to reach). This short video is a great example of a family who did this with their daughter. She is very active and doesn't let her missing arm affect her life.

This is a short video showing a little boy get a functional prosthetic arm. It transforms his life and what he is able to do. The part I like most is that it is an OT who is training him to use it!!! The OT works on bilateral hand involvement so that he may engage in play like other boys his age.