Let's Get Active

Purposeful activities are important intervention plans for our clients. Different activities can serve as a mean and as an end. While participation is certain activities, our client might be working on motor or sensory skills. Completing an activity analysis gives a break down and over view of a particular activity, and it allows us as OT practitioners to access how it may help a client by engagement. By completing this assignment, I realized that there are many steps in different activities that are often overlooks or not thought about because they might seem “easy” to someone who has full function. Nevertheless, activities can always be modified “just right” for the client!  By actively participating in activities, and a client can get back to doing occupations they enjoy or new activities that they learned to love!   

Keep It Together

Having a professional development portfolio allows occupational therapy practitioners to stay organized! It is a way that important documents can be easily accessed when needed. It is ideal to include items needed for licensure and reflection of life-long learning. As a currently student occupational therapist, my portfolio will look different due to my current level in the field. For example, my portfolio would consist of student records, fieldwork information, professional development, and ect. Nevertheless, the portfolio at any level serves the same purpose! Staying organized with documents is one less stress that a practitioner will have to worry about. Often times disorganization leads to destruction and missed opportunities. By having a current and effect professional development portfolio, we can seize opportunities that may come our way!    

Joni's Story

The story of Joni Eareckson Tada was interesting in showing how quickly one's life can change. She was living a typical teenage life before the spinal cord injury occurred. What she thought was going to be a fun swimming trip ended up being a life changing event. To me it shows the importance of making the most of your time because life can change in one minute! However, Joni did not let the injury distract her from living life. Joni along with her occupational therapist Chris came up with meaning for activities that Joni would enjoy. They used painting as a form of therapy! With the use of assistive devices Joni enjoys painting, singing, and traveling the world with her husband. She has visited 47 different countries! That's pretty amazing if you ask me! My biggest take away was that even though your life might change it is important to still move forward.

Keeping the Standard

As occupational therapy practitioners, we wear many hats and are in many different roles. We are therapist, friends, learners, support systems, and even sometimes mentors.  That is why it is important that we are upholding the standard of being professionally developed and ethical. It is key that we never stop being life-long learners. Throughout our profession science is always changing, there are advances in technology and research, and changes in health policy laws. Being aware of these changes provide our clients with the best service. In addition, we must also practice legally and ethically! Health care today is very complicated, and systems often place the practitioner in a position to deal with ethical dilemmas. We are often confronted daily with situations that require decisions. It is important that we know how to deal with these issues to keep everyone around us safe, including ourselves. Lucky for us, the AOTA provides a Code of Ethics to help us with decision-making! The Code of Ethics is based upon the core values of the profession.