Interesting article about OT fieldwork students who completed fieldwork at an at-risk youth center. This study further proves the importance and influence that fieldwork placements have on future OT practitioners.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0164212X.2015.1088424

Oncology patients are one of the main populations at Dodd of patients receiving intensive inpatient rehabilitation. "Survivors who used occupational therapy within 1 yr before their cancer diagnosis were more likely to use occupational therapy after diagnosis but also experienced the highest levels of comorbidities. Survivors with Stage 4 cancers or lung cancer were less likely to use occupational therapy. These findings suggest possible disparities in utilization of occupational therapy by older adults with cancer."

https://ajot.aota.org/Article.aspx?articleid=1901063

The complex needs of brain injury patients require continued care following the initial rehabilitation process in order to prevent a decrease in patients' adjustment. Community-based rehabilitation can help with the continuity of care for these patients.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3109/02699052.2014.948067

Post-stroke patients face a lot of challenges throughout their recovery, including development of their new self and new roles. Rehabilitation interventions should involve self-management so these patients can adjust to their lives post-stroke.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003999313000324

Occupational therapists must be involved in the education for stroke survivors and all healthcare professionals must address psychosocial and emotional needs of these patients as well as caregivers.

https://academic.oup.com/fampra/article/23/1/131/554650

Another way to look at OT ethics and helps clarify items we may need to know for the NBCOT.

https://otconnections.aota.org/community_blogs/user_blogs/b/social_justice_blog/archive/2014/03/23/a-more-complete-approach-to-thinking-about-ethics.aspx

https://otconnections.aota.org/more_groups/public_groups/new_practitioners/f/7909/t/17398.aspx

An open forum that may relate to some of our upcoming experiences- new OTR grads supervising experiences COTAs. Biggest take away: as new grads, we will continue to learn from those we work with, no matter their position. Be open to learning new things and asking questions, but be confident in sharing your personal knowledge with others as well!

"There is no easy solution to the VA's mental health care crisis, but occupational therapists hold an important piece of the puzzle. As the only health profession focused on the living skills necessary to return to everyday life, occupational therapy is uniquely situated to help our returning veterans resume their lives.​"

An interesting blog with insight to OT's role with veterans!


https://otconnections.aota.org/aota_blogs/b/aota_federal_policy/archive/2014/07/11/the-veterans-mental-health-crisis.aspx

Information on the Therapy Cap bill and what we as students can do to support the repeal!

https://otconnections.aota.org/aota_blogs/b/aota_federal_policy/archive/2017/11/15/therapy-cap-repeal-bill-gains-support-from-majority-of-representatives.aspx

How has our outlook on use of frames of references changed from the first class to now, at then end of level II fieldwork? This article examines how OT students' perspectives of FoR's evolve over their coursework and how these perspectives are influenced.

https://ajot.aota.org/article.aspx?articleid=2646448

This article examines the feedback for OT students related to their professional behavior in order to determine the most effective way to help students develop professionalism. This study suggests to have open communication with students and for educators to provide as much feedback as possible in person, rather than written.

https://ajot.aota.org/Article.aspx?articleid=1869274

A reminder of the ethical responsibilities that occupational therapists and other rehab specialists have regarding the use of evidence based practice.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Charles_Christiansen/publication/11631736_Ethical_Considerations_Related_to_Evidence-Based_Practice/links/0deec538bf716e5c18000000/Ethical-Considerations-Related-to-Evidence-Based-Practice.pdf

This article views supervision and delegation of tasks to therapy aides, which may be a position within rehab clinics. Occupational therapy practitioners should determine how to work with the aides to maximize service delivery, while maintaining appropriate supervision standards.

https://ajot.aota.org/Article.aspx?articleid=1862508

A helpful resource for wound care, and starting on page 13 is Clinical Treatment Strategies in Amputee Care.

https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Luis_Fernandez63/publication/316628738_Acute_Compartment_Syndrome_The_Indications_and_Application_of_Negative_Pressure_Therapy/links/59089715a6fdcc496162db5b/Acute-Compartment-Syndrome-The-Indications-and-Application-of-Negative-Pressure-Therapy.pdf#page=13

Article: Contralaterally Controlled Functional Electrical Stimulation for Recovery of Elbow Extension and Hand Opening After Stroke

I've become interested in FES with CVA patients and continue to read up on these studies so I may be able to use these techniques in the future. This article focuses on FES with patients with chronic UE hemiplegia and their outcomes based on the Fugl Meyer and Wolf Motor Function Test. Although this is a pilot study, it concluded that FES can decrease UE impairment, and gives support for larger studies to be conducted.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4029922/

FES was used a lot at Dodd for patients with hemiparesis following a stroke. This study concluded that this method may help increase UE function when used with a functional task, as compared to treatment without FES. Function was determined by the Box and Blocks test as well as the Fugl-Meyer for hand and motor function.


http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1545968306297871

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WxoWefo7gQ&feature=youtu.be

I wanted to share this video that was made for students by students and therapists at Dodd!

Interesting article for me because I worked with two patients throughout my time at Dodd with a diagnosis of GBM; this article looks at functional outcomes for these patients after inpatient rehab.


http://journals.lww.com/ajpmr/Abstract/2006/07000/Rehabilitation_Outcomes_in_Patients_with_Brain.3.aspx

This was a scoping study published to determine how community occupational therapists use clinical reasoning and determine interventions.

Carrier, A., Levasseur, M., Bédard, D. and Desrosiers, J. (2010), Community occupational therapists' clinical reasoning: Identifying tacit knowledge. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 57: 356-365. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1630.2010.00875.x

http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/J003v18n01_04

A relevant study for all of us - researchers used the Self-Assessment of Clinical Reflection and Reasoning to determine the effect of the Level II experience and OT students' clinical reasoning. Spoiler alert: 24 weeks of full time level II fieldwork "can significantly facilitate the development of students' clinical reasoning skills"