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 article is a great article about professionalism during an interview for an occupational therapy position. Although this article is not about clinical professionalism I thought it would be great to share as it gives great advise to us students about obtaining an occupational therapist position after we graduate. The article gives tips and advise to new grads on how to present your self when applying for a position. the article also gives potential questions to ask the employers and potential questions that will be asked of you. The article mentions how you should act in the room and how you should dress to portray a professional demeanor. The article is extremely relevant to us students as we will have to go through the process of obtaining an OT position in a couple of months.

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.

This is a systematic review that looks at the evidence for the effects of exercise on ADL functioning of people with AD. This review also looked at the effects of exercise on cognition and mood and on physical performance. The initial search for articles for the systematic review began with over 2000 articles, and the reviewers narrowed it down to 6 articles. Overall, they found that exercise can, in fact improve ADL function in people with AD. Exercise can also improve physical performance, and may slow the decline in cognition and boost mood in those with AD.

This article used 6 other articles to review effects of exercise on ADL performance of those with Alzheimer's Disease. Occupational therapy intervention that includes aerobic and strengthening exercises may help improve independence in ADLs and improve physical performance in people with Alzheimer's. More research needs to done to identify specific components of intervention and optimal dosage to develop clinical guidelines. At my SNF placement, I have worked with many residents with Alzheimer's. We do use strength training with most patients is they are able to do it, and we also work to increase endurance as well. It is good to see evidence to back up treatment

This article is an example of what one would use if searching for evidenced based practice methods. My current fieldwork experience is in a skilled nursing facility and we frequently use the e-stim for strengthening and pain. Therefore for an article on evidence based practice i decided to search for an evidence based article that would prove what we are doing with the e-stim machine is beneficial. The article is a literature review and seeks to gather the evidence for e-stim and muscle strengthening. The results say that theoretically the e-stim is a complimentary tool for muscle strengthening. However, the e-stim still has little evidence for muscle strengthening and does not show that it is any better than traditional strengthening methods.

This article is a great read and discusses a multitude of strategies to teach technical skills while providing a foundation for clinical reasoning for students on fieldwork.

This article specifically relates to the importance of treating PTSD among veterans with appropriate psychotherapies. This article relates directly to the work I am currently involved in at the VA as many of the patients I see struggle daily with PTSD symptoms. In addition, an interdisciplinary team approach is used at the VA and pt's and staff work closely with psychologist and psychiatrists to ensure appropriate care. In looking at this article it is important to see that symptoms of PTSD are treated appropriately and with the best means available.

This article focusing on techniques that can be used to develop clinical reasoning for Occupational Therapy students and new practitioners, in which it argues is the basis of all occupational therapy treatment. The article presents that using case studies within the classroom setting provides the ability for students to clinically reason, problem solve and develop treatment skills in a controlled way. It suggests using guiding questions based on student weakness that will promote growth and creativity in developing clinical reasoning skills. This article must have some merit because case studies have been used and continue to be used in a variety of classroom settings to this day including our own.

this articles reviews the literature on interventions used for treating people who have had a stroke. The most typical approach for treating strokes is using NDT (nuerodevelopmental therapy). This approach includes electrical stimulation, EMG biofeedback, and motor learning approaches. This article discusses other therapy approaches that aren't so common, but do have literature on them. I am currently a neuro site and this article is very helpful.

This article briefly explains several evidence-based interventions for stroke, including more traditional types of interventions, newer treatment techniques, and complementary treatments. The article points out, however that the evidence is not pointing to one particular treatment that is superior to the others, and therefore, more rigorous research is needed.

This article discusses the current treatment approaches that are commonly used by occupational therapists to treat individuals with CVA. It provides an overview of the best available evidence for stroke intervention. This article also discusses some of the new treatment approaches that are being examined to help individuals with a CVA regain functional performance.

This article was beneficial to me concerning an ethical dilemma i experienced recently. The article also goes on to explain other common ethical dilemmas that Level II fieldwork students might experience. It also helps to explain that we can speak up in regards to breaches of code of ethics.

This article was beneficial to me concerning an ethical dilemma i experienced recently. The article also goes on to explain other common ethical dilemmas that Level II fieldwork students might experience. It also helps to explain that we can speak up in regards to breaches of code of ethics.

In this article, Arbesman, Lieberman, and Metzler discuss the importance of best practice through evidence in clinical decision making. The authors define the framework of EBP as requiring integration of information from clinical experience and reasoning, preferences of clients and their families, and findings of best available research. Also discussed in this article are AOTA Practice Guidelines, Critically Appraised Topics, interventions for health through living independently, and interventions for chronic care management.

This is an AJOT article, published in 2014, that discusses how OT practitioners should use evidence/research in order to promote the value of the profession of occupational therapy. The article discusses evidence-based practice and how it is emerging to become the norm of all major healthcare professions, including OT.

This article highlights the fact that it is the responsibility of occupational therapy practitioners to provide treatment that has sound evidence to support its use within the clinical setting. With continuous health care reforms, there is a great push for occupational therapist to utilize evidence-based practice when working with patients. In fact, the utilization of evidence in practice produces definable outcomes measures that will soon affect payment for services. By providing evidence-based services, occupational therapists are providing interventions that are both effective and cost-effective and reimbursable.

This article explores four of our Ethicall principles, autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence and justice. When included in the discharge process this article identified that OT practitioners are unintentionally breaching these principles in our code of ethics. The article goes on to clear up that OT's are having to scarifice their ethics to cooperate with a faster discharge date.

Ethics

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.

I chose this article because we use the Allen Cognitive level often in my setting and I continue to question the outcome at times yet everyone experienced that I work with fully believes that it is a great assessment. I like the idea in this article that there is more to be learned than the ACL can give you.