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.

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.

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.

As individuals age, communication often times becomes more difficult due to loss of hearing and eye sight. This PDF document provides information in a classroom format, with learning objectives and simple follow-up questions, to help students and clinicians alike to better understand the psychosocial needs of older adults. The document discusses how our views on aging also impact the patient that we are encountering on a daily basis. It is our task to provide the resources needed to these individuals to gain satisfaction and a sense of wellbeing. Lastly, the document provides ideas and information of alternate ways of thinking, communicating, as well as myths both positive and negative to better assist us in our learning process.

This article can help those who work with elderly individuals to identify common psychosocial needs among this population, in hopes of providing better care.

This article can help those who work with elderly individuals to identify common psychosocial needs among this population, in hopes of providing better care.

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 document provides a definition for supervision: viewed as a cooperative process in which two or more people participate in a joint effort to establish, maintain and or elevate the level of competence and performance. The authors add that supervision is based on a mutual understanding between the supervisor and supervisee about each other's competence, experience, education and credentials. For me, it was interesting that the authors indicated that supervision is supposed to promote growth, encourage creativity and innovation. Thus, if your relationship with your supervisor does not reflect this then you may want to meet and discuss this document.

This article discusses the general supervision guidelines for OTs and OTAs. It is broken down into four sections which cover general supervision, supervision of OTs and OTAs, roles and responsibilities, and supervision of OT aides. Supervision is defined at a joint effort to establish, maintain, or elevate competence and performance. The article urges OTs to seek mentorship as supervision to maintain competency and increase knowledge. Delegation of tasks to OTAs by OTs should be done with regard to the complexity of the client's needs/the intervention technique, the practice setting, and state/agency requirements.

The findings of this article showed that those with CHF reported significant reductions in participation in all four domains. The main domain was activity retention (leisure, IADLs and social). Results for depression, cognition, and participation showed that those with CHF have functioning problems and depressive symptoms were present. However, there was no correlation between memory and attention performance. This study was limited to the sample size because it was less than 30. It also stated few participants did not complete the study because of fatigue and scheduling issues, but it never stated how many dropped out. This may affect population validity of the study because it is unknown if there was mortality. Also, the 27 subjects used were all from the same hospital (convenient sample) and this may also pose a threat to population validity. The results of the study suggest that management of CHF should expand in focus from physical functioning and physically demanding activities to consider cognitive and psychological functioning in the context of all life situations. Occupational therapy can play a vital role in helping those with CHF and their psychosocial impairments (decreasing depression), while getting them back into the community and functioning in their everyday tasks, which may also reduce symptoms of depression. I used this article because the facility I'm at now admits a lot of cardiac patients and many have depressive symptoms as they are recovering from their cardiac impairments and returning to their everyday lives in the community.

OTs are required ethically, legally, and professionally to evaluate deficits and meet the needs of their clients related to driving. It is the ethical responsibility of OTs to use current and accurate evaluation tools for data collection, and to work within our level of competence/expertise. We must strive to avoid harm; Driving may be a meaningful occupation, but it may cause heightened risk of harm for patients and the public. Identification of deficits that may effect safe driving obligates OTs to warn the patient and report their findings. In these cases, confidentiality is superseded by legal and ethical obligations.

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 article from AOTA discusses the role of OT in palliative care and relates to the psychosocial needs of clients in this area. It examines the occupational therapy approach in meaningful occupations as holistic and client-centered which "fosters a sense of independence and self-efficacy amidst the challenges of living with debilitating symptoms. The ability to carry out activities of daily living (ADL) is an important goal for patients with life threatening illness, and also has implications for work, social life, relationships, and family and home structure." The article provides examples of intervention for clients in palliative care including, ADLs, IADLs, rest and sleep, play, leisure, social participation, and interpersonal. I think the interpersonal, leisure, and social participation aspects of OT in palliative care going along with clients psychosocial needs. Engaging clients in discussion, coping strategies, and encouraging communication among family members are essential roles of an OT in palliative care.

This article was located on AOTA's website. It is about the role of occupational therapy in palliative care. The article defines palliative care, occupational therapy, and how the two are connective. The areas of occupation are outlined, and the role of OT in these occupations. The author discusses the importance in not only providing physical comfort to clients in delivering palliative care, but providing psychosocial comfort as well. The article highlights meeting psychosocial and emotional needs of clients as well as families of clients and their caregivers.