Hi @claire6! It is such an honor to have you as part of our community, as you prepare for the big transition back to SA! We love our mental health OTs here in the Club. We just looked at a super helpful article on Dementia care, which spent quite a bit of time discussing addressing their mental health needs.
And, in the next few weeks, our current plan is to look at the article: Sensory characteristics of youth at clinical high risk for psychosis.
So, hopefully you will find some helpful topics. And we welcome your insights whenever you have time!! Especially here in the US not enough OTs get to work in mental health, so we really value hearing from those who do!
Hi everybody, I’m an OT in Houston working in acute care and currently assisting with the set up of new trauma ICU unit. I’ve also just started taking FW students. I figured these are some of the best ways to support EBP and the portrayal of OT as an equal and competent part of health care (the struggle is real!).
Hey Kate!! I’ve never done this before when a Club member joined, but I looked up your pic on FB, and then of course remembered talking to you! But, my favorite surprise was how we have the NICEST group of mutual friends. You definitely have some good people in your life
Anyways, back to OT. I’m feeling very motivated after the NOTA conference. OTs are not getting reimbursed like they should be in the state of NE. Which, just so happens to mean that we can’t align with best practices according to the research. We need to convince our policy makers to help us do what is best for our patients.
Hi @sarah15! It is so great to have a future ICU therapist in here!! The conversation around ICU care (and especially early mobilization) is something that has come up several times in the Club. I frequently think of this article, which seemed to a support a trend we are seeing in the Club— that you gain what you train… if you just practice walking short distances in the hallway, the patient will improve at that specific skill, but it doesn’t appear to transfer to longer functional gains in the long-term. So, from what I’m seeing in research, your OT work in the ICU is extremely important, because of your holistic OT lens, and because OTs are inherently focused on long-term functional impact.
Here’s a link to all of our ICU topics (and we have several more ICU-related topics coming up this year that I’m looking forward to.) https://club.otpotential.com/search?q=ICU
Thank you. I have been working in the ICU for a long time and look forward to further conversation on the matter. I love being involved from the start of a patients journey.
I want to introduce my name is Heather Balusek, OTR. I have been in this filed for 20 years, in the hospital setting, school setting and currently I am working in pediatrics, home health setting.
Hi @heather2, it is great to have you! It sounds like your wealth of experience will be valuable as we all try to navigate unprecedented times. Please let us know how we can support you!
My name is Susan Blair and I thought I would check the site out and I’m glad I did. I am a 33 year clinician who went back to school at 54, got my PPOTD and transitioned to academia. I’m also AITA board certified in geriatrics and physical disabilities.
Hello I am brand new here. My name is Micah and I am an OT working in private practice in Brisbane QLD Australia. Looking to branch out quickly into telehealth amidst COVID-19 and also as a way forward for my own consultancy in the future.
Hi! I am Marine a French OT. I graduated in June 2019. I am currently working in a private practice (mainly pediatrics). I looking for ideas and innovations in OT. Can’t wait to discuss and debate with all of you.
Good luck to everyone in this difficult time
Hi, Sarah,
Just discovered this amazing club and I am excited to have this support group of OTs! I own a private pediatric OT practice in Wilmington, NC, Coastal Kids Therapy. As we navigate COVID 19, I am investigating Telehealth as are so many others. Hoping to find answers and support here! Thanks so much!
Looking forward to learning as much as possible!
Hi- I am Ann Mary from San Marcos, TX and am excited to be a new OTR, in spite of the uncertainties at this time for employment as an OT. My previous work was in dance- ballet, modern dance, improv, choreography and also yoga therapy. I am a C-IAYT, which is a certified yoga therapist. So, I will be bringing a unique set of skills to my OT work. I look forward to the conversations and learning from the members.
My name is Tina-Marie Martirano and I am the Occupational Therapy Supervisor of NYT Kids Sensory Gym & Speech and Language Center located in Port Jefferson, New York. I am a licensed occupational therapist specializing in pediatrics who has worked extensively in center based programs, and home-based services to children of all ages with a variety of diagnosis and special needs. My early intervention population also includes working with the medically fragile child. I am an authorized provider of the clinically proven approach of Therapeutic Listening Program. I have a clinical background including training in Sensory Integration, Handwriting Without Tears program, outpatient rehabilitation and treatment of the hand and wrist.
Welcome @susan6!! I always SO ADMIRE anyone who is board certified, so it is especially great to have you in here! We also love our members who work in academia, and hope you will be able to get connected with some of our fabulous professors!
Hi @micahemperez! It is so great to have another OT from Australia in here. It is amazing how around the globe OTs are suddenly all facing the same challenges- I’m so hopeful we will be able to band together and tackle them together.
On a research note, I always love the OT research that we get to look at that comes out of Australia! I think we here in the US have a lot to learn from you
Hi @ann3! What an exciting skillset you bring to OT! (I’m a huge improv fan!) Your holistic skillset will definitely be need as you head into the workforce at such a unique moment in time. I’ll be really curious to hear what you find in the job market. Each area of practice is going through crazy transitions right now, I can see jobs opening in certain areas, while other practices become really difficult to get into.
Overall for OT the fact that we are being included as essential personnel seems to be good news for our profession, and validates what we see in research in the Club- that we we play a valuable role in helping to keep people as safe and healthy as possible:
Thanks so much @SarahLyon I know we can learn a lot from each other. Thank you for supporting us with your passion and expertise! It is much appreciated:)
Thank you, Sarah for the response! I’m curious….what settings are you seeing that are actually hiring OT’s at this time? My clinical judgement says its acute care/ inpatient rehab.
Hello, my name is Lani Beattie and I am a hand therapist working in Durango CO. I am looking forward to connecting with so many OTs and particularly interested in this week’s topic of tele rehabilitation. We are a small town surrounded by some very rural communities, and like many this week, we are providing very little in-clinic sessions.
I work in outpatient and inpatient settings.