This is an awesome website. It is a blog ran by an occupational therapist who is centering the whole site around providing information, education, and resources for other OTs, clients, and parents using Apple devices. He/She gives suggestions on Apps to download for the child's deficit and other technology that might be useful!

I am so glad I found this website before my next rotation! This website gives you the option of providing them with the skill you want to work on and the materials you have on hand, then it helps you formulate a therapeutic activity for your pediatric client! How awesome!

So much hope and insight provided by this OT student blog. This blog is open for student/entry-level clinicians to write about their school, clinical, or job hunting experiences. I feel that we can all become a little more hopeful and excited for the future by reading these other individual's postings who were in the same place we were not too long ago.

I feel that is an important document that all of us should look up, read, and study for our individual home states. In Kentucky, an OTR must provide at least 4 hours of supervision a month for each COTA. Within 14 days, an OTR must co-sign all documents. In addition, in Kentucky an OTR can only supervise 3 COTAs at one time.

This is a great tool that can enhance clinician's ability to more effectively use EBP within their practice. OTseeker.com contains abstracts of systematic reviews and randomized controlled trials as well as resources useful for OT interventions. Most evidence provided has been critically appraised.

Reading through the case example presented in this pdf about Stan was helpful to me in understand a psychosocial assessment. I appreciate how the example not only provides a "write-up" at the end but also provides help for writing Stan's goals.

This website provides quiz material in regards to clinical reasoning. The following concepts found on the website may also be found on the NBCOT, who knows?!? The quiz material includes: Process of Clinical Reasoning, Types of Clinical Reasoning, Scientific Reasoning, Process of Scientific Reasoning, Diagnostic Reasoning, Procedural Reasoning, Narrative Reasoning, Pragmatic Reasoning, Practice context, Personal context, Ethical Reasoning, Interactive & Conditional Reasoning, Development of Clinical Reasoning Skills.

This PowerPoint discusses multiple myths and facts that have evolved around the term Evidence Based Practice. The presentation also provides information regarding difficulties OT may face with EBP as well as questions regarding what is driving an OT treatment decision. In addition, the presentation discusses how to analyze and interpret the information gathered.

Occupational therapists are required, from superiors, to reach functional outcomes in shorter durations of rehab and use EBP. Many clinicians do not use EBP due to lack of motivation, the fear that it will make the profession "cookie cutter", and or limited time or resources to gain information. The following steps can assist clinicians with EBP: 1. Formulate a clinical question 2. Locate the best evidence 3. Appraise the evidence for validity and applicability 4. Integrate the evidence with clinical expertise into practice 5. Evaluate the performance of the intervention.

This column was written in response to an article written by Rosie O'Donnell after receiving CHT from an OT due to a flexor tendon repair. The column's author was disappointed in the CHT's inability to address O'Donnell's psychosocial issues after the injury. O'Donnell stated "place and hold and isolate and hook" is what she learned from CHT. The column's author believes the psychosocial issues that could have been addressed included learning one handed child caring techniques or interventions including one hand cooking; treatments that would impact O'Donnell's everyday life.

AOTA previously published fieldwork educators/clinical instructor's behaviors that we cited by students that assist with developing as an educator. To be a successful educator, OT students believe that one must be enthusiastic and believing fieldwork is an educational opportunitity as well as creating a foundation and expectations for the teaching-learning process. Fieldwork educators assists students in identifying and understanding what is important to learn during the rotation as well as having open and consistant communication regarding performance areas. To be successful, students believe clinical instructors need to encourage students to utilizing problem-solving strategies and clinical reasoning when developing intervention approaches. It is important to provide students with open communication which encourages students to ask questions and providing them with precise answers. Lastly, a successful clinical instructor will provide constructive feedback in a timely manner.

This article is answering the following question that I feel will be a topic area we will tackle many times within our career: I am a per-diem OTR in a nursing home. I work for an agency that also staffs OTAs. I don't see them because they come on different days. I do all the evaluations and co-sign their notes. I think the agency is being greedy by not having me treat some of the more complex cases. What are your thoughts? The article discusses the important role OTs play as supervisors who must remain in contact with as well as teach, instruct, and guide COTAs treatment. As the OT, we are responsible for all COTAs working under us, meaning that if any incident were to happen we would be named within the legal issue. The article provided knowledge on what a previously supervising therapist required from his/her COTAs, which was discussing their clinical reasoning, treatment plans or changes, and how each patient was progressing.

Although we are still students, I think it is important that we understand the difference in supervision and mentoring. Through supervision on has the ability to enhance their knowledge and skills in order to provide treatment to their clients as a professional clinician. Having supervision from a clinician who has more exposure to the field allows and entry-level practitioner to gain more knowledge and ideas concerning their clients, goals, treatments, and situations that may affect treatment. Unlike a supervisor, a mentor usually finds a mentee. A mentor often assists a mentee who is trying to reach higher levels that they have already achieved. In a mentoring relationship, it is for a longer duration and often conversation topics are broad and free-flowing without a goal in mind.

An occupational therapy student's fieldwork experience has the ability to affect their want to continue in the OT or question their career choice. Because fieldwork plays a major part in the student's future, this article discusses the roles the clinical instructor and students play in making the clinical experience successful. In order to be an effective clinical instructor all expectations must be clearly identified and discussed the first week of the rotation, as well as weekly debriefing with the student. Clinical instructors must communicate to their students the level of supervision that will be provided to them throughout the rotation as well as how and when it will change. If supervision expectations are not clearly defined, students are left to assume the wants and needs of their clinical instructor often causing them to fail due to the lack of communication. In addition, clinical instructors must provide students with their expectations for treatment, discuss the dress-code, and treat the student with the respect you would give your colleague. Lastly, to be a successful clinical instructor discuss with the student concerning goals that aren't being met and provide them with written general guidelines the assist with any miscommunications of the CI and student relationship. As students, we must provide professional behavior, be organized, and facilitate our own learning through research.

This article discusses the importance of following the Occupational Therapy Standards of Practice at all times, including long-term care. The author discusses how she often recognizes situations where therapists are being dishonest with their paperwork, time with patient, and hours worked in order to be reimbursed. Although, it is not all blamed on the therapists because many corporations are no longer concerned with how a patient's unit are obtained as long as there are received. In addition, corporations are becoming more lax on audits, discussing ethical standards, principles of practice, and or providing accurate documentation. In order to be free of worry, as clinicians we must be honest within our practice and live by the Occupational Therapy Standards of Practice.

An employer can have a direct impact on the effectiveness of an employee's performance, similar to our clinical instructors have an impact on our performance within the facility. This article discusses the importance of utilizing a departmental assessment system in practice for new employees and students that is composed of orientation, education, as well as assessment and evaluation. Through an orientation, students and new employees would complete a self-analysis of their known strengths and weaknesses as well as gain knowledge regarding the department's values and expectations. The educational portion of the departmental assessment not only reinforces the importance of CEUs, but also promotes seeking additional training and education in the employee or student's identified areas of weakness. Lastly, employees and students should be assessed and evaluated on their ability to obtain education in areas of weakness, exhibit good critical thinking skills, and make ethical decisions. Through promotion of ethics in the departmental assessment an employee and student will be able to comprehend that the facility not only cares about productivity, but also providing compassionate care.

In the role of fieldwork educator, it is essential to match a student's desired learning and skill development expectations with the student's capabilities. A professional development model, Situational Leadership (SL), is often utilized to assist the student's supervision by effectively matching the learning task to the student's capabilities. The SL model believes that supervising a student requires the ability to balance the demands of the situation with the motivation and skills of the student in order to maximize learning and support the desired performance outcomes. In order to be a successful clinical instructor, one must not be consistent in their supervising style, but rather be versatile and responsive to the learning in all situations.

In the field of occupational therapy, professionalism plays an important role on an everyday basis. As OTs, we will not only work with our clients but also their families and other therapists. Therefore, it is essential that we dress appropriately, be on time, and respect each individual we work with. In addition, as OTs we must be ethical including meeting our legal and moral obligations. As professionals, we must learn and abide by the standards and ethics set for us.

Being professional is about dressing to impress, having effective communication skills, having great clinical knowledge, and having effective time management. But are these the only qualities employers are looking for in a professional? Over a decade ago a survey was completed and it detailed nine essential workplace skills that employers are looking for: planning and priority-setting; organizing and time management; managing diversity; team-building; interpersonal savvy and peer relationships; organizational agility; conflict management; problem-solving, perspective and creativity; and dealing with paradox and learning on the fly.

Students, professors, and campus staff were asked the following question: What does professionalism mean to you? The answers were each unique to each individual and what they feel is most important. This video caught my attention as students with various cultural backgrounds, interests, and personalities shared their view and ideas around professionalism. Throughout the video there are also quotes from prominent individuals providing their idea of professionalism.