Group items tagged

This article focused on the importance of having your heart, mind, and soul behind you and your profession in order to present professionalism within the occupational therapy field. The heart of professionalism in occupational therapy, focuses on doing Good Work and/or ensuring that what we are doing is right for us as well as improving another's life. The mind of professionalism in occupational therapy, this idea is centered around working to broaden the scope of knowledge within occupational therapy as well as providing EVP to your clients because they deserve more than the routine BUE exercises. Lastly, the soul of professionalism within occupational therapy, this involves collaborating with other individuals within the profession, critically evaluating, and brainstorming to ensure that the highest standard of practice is being used within the clinics. These three components are interwoven. Therefore, if one piece, the heart, mind, or soul is missing then the level of professionalism you portray decreases.

As we engage our hearts to do Good Work, strive to nourish our minds, and to cultivate the authenticity of our souls we can help make the field of occupational therapy stand out and be a pillar of professionalism. Wendy Wood's article is inspiring and is a good read to give you a little boost.

The author's purpose of this article was to promote professionalism as heart, mind, and soul at all level so that all we do in the name of occupational therapy not only remains right for ourselves and good for the world, but also grows more so over time. He described professionalism as especially important for the well-being of individuals or of society at large, having a value so special that money cannot serve as its sole measure: it is also simply good work. The author was captured by the magic of occupational therapy as a counselor at a summer camp for autistic children, which was a truly inspiring story about how he fell in love with the profession. He emphasized how personal professionalism is; so personal, in fact, that he uses the metaphors of heart, mind, and soul to depict its most vital elements. Any field claiming professional stature must be just as dedicated to cultivating its mind as it is to nourishing its heart, as the two are wonderfully symbiotic. I loved this article, and it truly depicted the meaning of and what it means to be an occupational therapist at a personal level.

This test could be used in acute care. This assessment offers a hospital version (MET_HV) that would be appropriate in the VA setting. This test was developed for use with a wider range of participants than the original version; it has more concrete rules, simplification of task demands and space provided on the instruction sheet for the patient to record the information they were to collect. There are 12 separate subtasks within four sets of simple tasks. These four task sets are as follows: 1. The patient must complete six specific errands (purchase 3 items, use the phone, collect and envelope from reception and send a letter to an external address), 2. The patient must obtain and write down four items of designated information (e.g. the opening time of a shop on Saturday), 3. The patient must meet the assessor outside of the hospital reception in 20 minutes after the test had begun and state the time, 4. The client must inform the assessor when he/she finishes the test. The test cannot be administered to patients confined to bed due to the nature of the questions. The test would be difficult to complete on patients instructed to only get up with help as they would have to have a nurse available at the time they need to meet some of the task requirements. Both validity and reliability have been established for this test for various populations (see citation for specifics).

This blog is something that all clinicians and students need to read, think about, and discuss with others. The author discusses how she was taught a series of problem solving steps during her education and how they have caused her to become like many other therapists by jumping to solutions before knowing the real problem. Therefore, the therapists discusses all the things she has learned on her own through her various classes that she examines when screening/assessing a patient in order to determine the appropriate problem in order to generate an effective solution.

This posting describes an occupational therapists evolution of clinical reasoning skills as she developed as a practitioner. As an entry-level practitioner she followed the "problem solving process" she was taught in school. This process includes identifying the problems, identifying potential solutions, choosing one identified solution, implementing the solution, reviewing the satisfactoriness of the solution, and if unsatisfied completing the process over and over until a satisfactory solution is met. However, she explains that she quickly realized that too often we as occupational therapy practitioners jump in with various solutions before truly identifying the root of the problem. The author highlights numerous assumptions that can be made as to why we want to jump the gun, so to speak. Some of the top reasons mentioned include the patient lacks insight as to the root of the problem and may identify contributory problems and not the true source, there is no specific step to properly examine the source of the problem, and lastly we often view an individual's needs in terms of deficits rather than examining interactions between the individual concerning values and daily choices and their impact on the environment. The author concludes by providing guidance to upcoming practitioners so that they may not make the same mistakes she previously did. She explains that during the evaluation process she is looking not only at the client and what they define as problems, but also looking at strengths, possible explanations, and areas that can be explored in more detail in order to develop a stronger hypothesis as to the root of the problem. Otherwise she risks applying a solution that doesn't solve the problem, creates other problems, and/or prevents uncovering of deeper areas of concern that are impacting the individual's life.

This article highlights the increased pressure placed on occupational therapists to utilize evidence-based practice when working with patients. The main purpose of this article is to provide occupational therapy practitioners with the knowledge and skill sets to utilize evidence to support their treatment and provide the best possible care to their patients. According to the authors, evidence-based practice requires occupational therapy practitioners to synthesize their clinical expertise, with the best evidence available to them through systematic review, as well as considering their patients' values and preferences. This article presents a framework that occupational therapy practitioners can utilize in order to create a more evidence-based practice. The first step includes asking clinical questions and then searching the literature in order to discover answers to the question. When gathering research information the occupational therapists must then place the research in hierarchies, deciphering what studies are more reliable and valid and what studies will provide better support to answer your clinical questions. This part of the process includes critically appraising the research to decide which studies are strongest and have the most sound evidence to support the clinical question. Throughout the entire process it is important for the therapist to utilize their clinical judgment in order to make the best decisions, as evidence-based practice requires a collaboration between research, clinical expertise, and patient preferences.

Bennett, S., & Bennett, J. (2000). The process of evidence-based practice in occupational therapy: informing clinical decisions. Australian Therapy Journal. 47, 171-180 This is a very helpful article from the Australian Therapy Journal that describes the process of evidence-based practice in occupational therapy. It emphasizes the importance that our profession now has placed on building our foundation in evidence-based practice and how we must have "sound evidence" to back up our treatments and interventions. The article discusses the framework to use with evidence-based practice, clinical questions to ask in research and the types of evidence to focus on at this point in time for our profession. This is a very valuable resource for newcomers to the profession as well as individuals who graduated in the past without the research component who may be interested in research at this point in time. Bennett and Bennett (2000) walk the reader through how to search for evidence based practice articles and then how to critically appraise them. It addresses the clinical importance and validity and how to know when you have a good study. Finally, it helps you to gauge how to know when you can use the evidence for individual clinical decisions.

This article aims to use a qualitative descriptive study to describe occupational therapists experiences and improvements in work after adopting the Occupational Therapy Intervention Process Model (OTIPM). The OTIPM is a client-centered, top down, occupation-focused OT model of practice. The assumptions of the model are that every person is unique, has the will to engage in meaningful occupations, occupations are the primary therapeutic means and engagement in occupations in the central focus in OT. The study was conducted in an acute care hospital in Sweden starting in 2001. They were selected because the therapists wanted to improve OT services and promote evidence-practice in their hospital. The participants participated in a total of six semi-structured focus interviews in which the occupational therapists were asked to describe their experiences of the long-term improvements in work, attitudes toward improvements work and thoughts on how this improved work impacts the goal to change to a more sustainable and evidence-based OT practice in their setting. The first three interviews were in 2006 and the last three were in 2011. The interviews were analyzed and broken down into common themes among therapists. The first theme is that the therapists found their thoughts and actions were transformed on an individual and group level after adopting the OTIPM. The second theme discovered how the therapists dealt with conflicting feelings and attitudes toward change. The final theme describes a shared professional culture. In conclusion, the investigators discovered from the 10-year study and testimonies of Swedish therapists that the use of OTIPM can lead to the integration of evidence-based knowledge that has long-lasting achievements in practice.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/11038128.2013.872183?journalCode=iocc20 I found the article through a SSU library search. The content may not show up on this site, but if you log into the library and search the article you will have access. Here is another resource as well.

Home modifications aim to enhance safety and occupational performance in the home. However, given the complexity and unique meaning of the home, they can impact aspects other than function. This qualitative descriptive study aimed to explore the impact of home modifications on clients and their family's experience of home. The study found that home modifications impacted positively and negatively on five dimensions of the home environment, the personal, occupational, physical, temporal and social dimension. The outcomes of the modifications and the home modification process were influenced by three themes, workmanship, consultation or involvement in decision-making, and the societal dimension of the home environment. Conclusions: The negative outcomes and poor consultation experiences suggest the need for occupational therapists to understand their client's personal experience of home and to comprehensively follow-up and evaluate these following home modifications.

The study examined two assessments, one an occupation based assessment (AMPS) and body function assessment (LACL). 30 clients who recently experienced a stroke took both assessments at home. Two groups of participants were formed, one group took the AMPS first and the other group took the LACLS first. Subjects were allowed to choose tasks that were known to them from the AMPS. Data was analyzed to assess the ability for the AMPS and LACLS to predict independence with ADLs and subsequently IADLs. The results confirmed the hypothesis of this study: a moderate positive correlation was found between the LACL and both the motor and the process scales of the AMPS, suggesting that although correlations between the tests were found, they do not fully examine the same concepts. The results also indicated moderate positive correlation between the LACL and the AMPS, yet there were discrepancies between the two tools in the determination of independence in instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Clients who were found to be independent by one assessment were found to be dependent by the other. The authors suggest the use of these tools in conjuction with observation of ADLs and IADLs to predict independence levels. The authors also identified areas of each tool that was assessed in conjunction with predicting levels of independence with focus directed at judgement and comprehension to predict functional performance as supported by previous literature (Fong, Chan, and Au, 2001).

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

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore the factors influencing the clinical reasoning of occupational therapists and how they manage the decision-making process. Twelve occupational therapy practitioners working in mental and physical dysfunction fields participated in this study. The sampling method was purposeful and interviews were continued until data saturation. There were three main themes. The first theme: socio-cultural conditions included three subthemes: 1- client beliefs; 2- therapist values and beliefs; 3- social attitude to disability. The second theme: individual attributions included two subthemes 1- client attributions; 2- therapist attributions. The final theme was the workplace environment with the three subthemes: 1- knowledge of the managers of rehabilitation services, 2- working in an inter-professional team; 3- limited clinical facilities and resources. Research indicates that numerous complex factors can influence the clinical reasoning of occupational therapists. The knowledge and situation of the clients; the attributions of the therapists, social attitudes to disability and the workplace conditions of the therapists can positively or negatively influence reasoning and clinical decisions. In this study, the influence of the attitudes and beliefs upon reasoning was different to other studies. Understanding these factors, especially the socio-cultural basis can play a significant role in the quality of occupational therapy services and has a role in training occupational therapy students in clinical reasoning in this social context.

Individuals experiencing mental health disorders are susceptible to impairments in occupational functioning due to decreased concentration, memory, thought processes, insight, judgement, decision-making, reality orientation, regulating emotions, understanding perception, motivation, and psycho-motor activity. This is a quantitative study out of the South American Journal of Occupation Therapy that studied the effects of slow vs. fast tempo of music on symptoms of psychosis during occupation. There were 160 individuals with diagnosed psychological disorders in a psych hospital in South Africa. The subjects participated in a leatherwork activity while listening to either fast paced/upbeat music or low tempo/slow music. Attention/focus, ability to follow instructions, directedness towards the activity, and motivation were measured in groups of individuals who had psycho-motor agitation or psycho-motor inhibition psychosis. The study found that listening to music during an activity has the ability to improve all three variables in both agitation and inhibited-motor psychosis. Fast-paced tempo significantly improves attention in individuals with inhibited motor-psychosis. The ability to follow instructions improved in both fast and slow tempo music for both agitated and inhibited individuals. Directedness and motivation did not significantly improve in any of the groups. This study indicates that music can improve the ability to perform occupations and activities in individuals with mental health disorders. Music is very individualized and it may be difficult for OT practitioners to work with groups of individuals when introducing music. IT is important for an OT to gather a good understanding of a patient's preferences and determine if they would be a good candidate for the use of music during therapy. More research is recommended in this area to further determine the effects of music on occupation in this population.

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 systematic review of the effectiveness of interventions to prevent falls in people with the psychosocial disorders of Alzheimer's and dementia. I picked this article because my fieldwork is currently in a skilled nursing facility and I read about the many falls that happen that lead to the patients coming to the facility. The article focuses on three types of interventions including exercise, nursing staff interventions, and multidisciplinary interventions. the article mentioned that although all three intervention showed some data of effectiveness the studies used had many limitations. In addition, occupational therapy was seldom mentioned in the studies, the article mentions the big opportunity there is for occupational therapist to address this issue.