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Guidelines to the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics This is a really handy resource that provides a quick glance at the different elements of the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics. It lists ten sections of professional behaviors under the code of ethics and each have a subset of behaviors which are appropriate under that section. The first professional behavior listed is honesty. "Professionals must be honest with themselves, must be honest with all whom they come in contact with, and must know their strengths and limitations" (AOTA, 2005). The second behavior listed is communication. "Communication is important in all aspects of occupational therapy. Individuals must be conscientious and truthful in all facets of written, verbal, and electronic communication" (AOTA, 2005). The third area of professional behavior is ensuring the common good. "Occupational therapy personnel are expected to increase awareness of the profession's social responsibilities to help ensure the common good" (AOTA, 2005). The fourth professional behavior is competence. "Occupational therapy personnel are expected to work within their areas of competence and to pursue opportunities to update, increase, and expand their competence" (AOTA, 2005). The fifth area of professional behavior is confidential and protected information. "Information that is confidential must remain confidential. This information cannot be shared verbally, electronically, or in writing without appropriate consent. Information must be shared on a need-to-know basis only with those having primary responsibilities for decision making" (AOTA, 2005). The sixth professional behavior area is conflict of interest. "Avoidance of real or perceived conflict of interest is imperative to maintaining the integrity of interactions" (AOTA, 2005). The seventh professional behavior area is impaired practitioner. "Occupational therapy personnel who cannot competently perform their duties after reasonable accommodati

This is an AOTA website outlining the role of the AOTA ethics commission. The AOTA Ethics Commission revises and reviews the occupational therapy code of ethics, educates members and the public about the code of ethics, Establishes procedures for code non-compliance, and informs members on code of ethics interpretations. The web page also has links and resources for members if you would ever run into an ethical dilemma and need guidance.

This article is the AOTA's position on how to set professional boundaries with patients. The article provides examples of ethical documents within the the profession of OT, such as the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics Standards. It then goes on to define professional boundaries and how to set them. Case study examples are provided for how to set professional boundaries, in a variety of contexts.

This is a great article pertaining directly to ethics of occupational therapy practitioners in skilled nursing facilities. The article clearly defines each ethical principal outlined in the AOTA code of ethics and how they relate to practice. The article then has several case studies that give specific ethical dilemmas and solve the dilemma with evidence from the AOTA ethical principals. One specif case study explained how it was unethical to treat a family member to do potential violations of justice and fairness.

This is a great article pertaining directly to ethics of occupational therapy practitioners in skilled nursing facilities. The article clearly defines each ethical principal outlined in the AOTA code of ethics and how they relate to practice. The article then has several case studies that give specific ethical dilemmas and solve the dilemma with evidence from the AOTA ethical principals. One specif case study explained how it was unethical to treat a family member to do potential violations of justice and fairness.

This is a fact sheet from AOTA which discusses OT's role in community mental health. This is an area in which OTs play an important role as mental health services shift from a a hospital based setting to more community based. It has been shown that OT interventions help to improve outcomes for those living in the community with serious mental illnesses. OT's can help to address the areas of education, work skills, health/wellness, and cognitive remediation and adaption. This document also discusses ways in which OT can help to address community barriers to functioning such as SES, stigma, safety, and housing options.

This resource provides information on how to submit an ethics complaint to AOTA if you believe that someone has violated the OT code of ethics. The complainant must submit supporting document that details the alleged violation including the relationship to violator, when the violation occurred, and what attempts to address the violation were taken. The ethics commission meets once a month to discuss and review ethics complaints. Once reviewed, a final decision can take several months up to a year to be made. During this time, the accused violator can request an appeal to the complaint.

Until now I had no clue about this helpful and very resourceful AOTA page concerning EBP. This webpage offers articles of effective occupation based practice in the following areas: Children and Youth Health and Wellness, Mental Health, Productive Aging, Rehabilitation Disability and Participation, as well as Work and Industry. In addition, after you click on a category AOTA offers subcategories. For example, after clicking on productive aging the category can be more strictly searched by clicking on one of the following Enabling Independent Living, Driving and Community Mobility, Low Vision, Alzheimer's and Related Dementias. I personally wish I would have known about this resource 2 years ago! I hope you all enjoy this as much as I did!!

This is a reference to find Evidence-based practice in the following areas: Children and Youth Health and Wellness Mental Health Productive Aging Rehabilitation, Disability and Participation Work and Industry - See more at: http://www.aota.org/Practice/Researchers/Evidence-based.aspx#sthash.gvXj8Wop.dpuf

This is a useful guideline from AOTA that discusses supervision requirements for OTRs, COTAs, and fieldwork students. It discusses general supervision, supervision requirements for OTRs and COTAs, and the differences in the roles of OTR and COTA as well.

This document, created by the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA), serves to provide a definition of supervision and outline the parameters concerning effective supervision in order to improve the delivery and quality of occupational therapy services. According to the AOTA, supervision is defined as a cooperative process where two or more people collaborate with one another in an effort to establish, maintain, and/or elevate an individual's competency and job performance. Upon proper certification, occupational therapists are independent practitioners; however, it is recommended that new practitioners seek mentorships in order to promote professional growth. This document further explains the various principles concerning an occupational therapist role in supervising an occupational therapy assistant, providing a brief overview. More specific requirements concerning occupational therapy supervision are outlined in state laws.

Documentation is extremely important in the OT profession, and is necessary whenever professional services are provided to a client. The AOTA standard's of practice state that, "an OT practitioner should document OT services and abide by the time frames, format, and standards established by practice settings, governmental agencies, payers, AOTA documents, and external accreditation agencies." This document is based on the AOTA framework and describes and defines the various components of documentation so that OT practitioners have a clearer idea of what documents are and how they can be used to document client services. I believe this document will be beneficial to us as we begin to start our jobs as practitioners and will assist us in the documentation process.

OT should be science driven and therapists should be able to apply the most up to date evidence to their practice and treatment plans. This resource provided by AOTA helps to breakdown evidence supported interventions that have been shown to improve client outcomes in a variety of different settings/populations. Evidence supported ideas are provided for pediatrics, specifically early childhood, mental health, sensory integration and sensory processing. It is also provided for gerontology, rehabilitation and disability, adults with serious mental illness, and work. This is a good resource if you need a starting point for a treatment plan to give general ideas of EBP.

This AOTA link provides resources for the upcoming backpack awareness day: September 20, 2017 including handouts, videos, and strategies for success.

This AOTA article discusses the importance and role of occupational therapy in coordination and provision of early intervention services.

This is an information sheet from AOTA that describes the benefits and possible uses for assistive technology. It goes into detail describing how to complete an activity analysis and find assistive technology that can help a client complete that occupation.

This document provides a guideline of ethical behavior that is expected of all certified occupational therapists. The document outlines standards of conduct, aspirational core values, and enforceable principles of standards of conduct that is expected of all AOTA members when working with various groups, families, organizations, communities, or populations. The document defines the core values of the profession which are Altruism, Equality, Freedom, Justice, Dignity, Truth, and Prudence. It then goes on to breakdown and provide examples of the professions principles and standards of conduct which include: Beneficence, Nonmaleficence, Autonomy, Justice, Veracity, and Fidelity. Principles and Standards of Conduct The Principles and Standards of Conduct that are enforceable for professional behavior include (1) Beneficence, (2) Nonmaleficence, (3) Autonomy, (4) Justice, (5) Veracity, and (6) Fidelity. Reflection on the historical foundations of occupational therapy and related professions resulted in the inclusion of Principles that are consistently referenced as a guideline for ethical decision making. This document will be useful when ethical dilemmas arise and provide the standards and expected course of actions that we should take when we become licensed, practicing OT's.

AOTA. Occupational Therapy Assistant Supervision Requirements. This AOTA document summarizes laws for supervision of COTAs by state. I compared some of the supervision laws of Ohio and Kentucky because I will most likely be working in one or both of these states. As I read through the specific laws for each of these states, I was surprised by the differences. For practitioners living near the border of multiple states, being well-versed in specific state laws will be essential for protecting our licensure. I summarized just a couple specific laws of these two states to give you a better idea of how they may differ state to state. This is a very important document to keep handy, and it goes into much more detail than what I've provided here. In Kentucky, supervising OTs must provide no less than 4 hours per month of general supervision for each COTA, which must include no less than 2 hours per month of face-to-face supervision. This law is more specific in Ohio. In Ohio, OTs must provide supervision at least once a week for all COTAs who are in their first year of practice. The OT must provide supervision at least once a month for COTAs beyond their first year of practice. Ohio law specifies that co-signing client documentation alone does not meet the minimum level of supervision. Supervision is specified as an interactive process that includes review of the following: client assessment, client reassessment, treatment/intervention plan, intervention, and discontinuation of treatment/intervention plan. In Kentucky, OTs may not have more than the equivalent of 3 full time COTAs under supervision at any 1 time. In Ohio, the number of COTAs an OT can supervise varies based upon the OTs job duties. If the OT performs evaluations, direct treatment, and supervision of OT personally, an OT may supervise up to 4 COTAs. However, if the OT does NOT provide direct treatment, the OT may supervise up to 6 COTAs.

This is an article from AOTA about the importance of state licensure renewal.