OTs in the Community Setting

Hi!
It's been a while.

I have done lots of things since I last posted anything. I got engaged. I was accepted into a OSHA graduate training program. And I moved into an apartment with my finance. I only have one more semester left until I get my BS/MS in OT!

Before I celebrate, I have to survive this semester. Take the NBCOT exam. Get married. Find a Job. OR Apply for a doctoral program.

Just typing that creates some anxiety inside of me.

Enough about me. I wanted to talk about a course I'm taking this semester. OT 509 Community-Based Practice. OTs in the community? Of course! At first I thought this course was lame, and fairly "touchy feely." So far in the course, I've written 2 papers and had one intense open discourse on Cultural Competency. The discussion was based on a qualitative research study measuring the perceived cultural competency of AOTA members. It was a little insulting. In all fairness it was a well planned, and explained study. However, cultural competency is not measurable. It is not taught from books. It is only learned through open and free discussion of cultural differences, similarities, and misconceptions. This is actually what was discussed in class. So now our professors (two who teach the class) have changed the assignments for the rest of the semester to include discussion about our own cultures so we can learn from each other.

What a great idea! Well hopefully it works out. I'll let you know on Wednesday.

In the mean time I have to finish 4 chapters on Industrial Hygiene, one paper on an article discussion, and another paper on an observation. Good times!


See ya next time,

Be well,

Tim Dionne

University At Buffalo

BS/MS OT Class 2010


ps. GO USA! Watch the Olympics!

AOTPAC, VOTE!!!

Hello All!

Well I know I haven't been writing, but I have been super busy(BS/MS school does that to you). I just recieved an e-mail from AOTPAC listing the canidates that the AOTPAC supports.

Check out the supported canidates. For some reason there were no listings for OK canidates. I may have to look into this. We need to support our profession in everyway possible.

Whether or not you vote for these individuals, please vote in the coming election. Do you civic duty, and choose our next leader. See this site for more information on the presidential canidates' health care policies.

Be well and functional!
Tim Dionne
BS/MS Class of 2010

ps. I just applied to the graduate portion of my program! Awesome!

Apologies!

I apologize for not posting recently.  My excuse is finals and end of the year projects.  I also started a summer class that's fairly work intensive. 

So to report on the recent news in the occupational therapy world.  There is a blog that has come to my attention that discusses AOTA Board and Speciality Certification.   This is a good source of information on that topic.  

In news regarding advocacy of Occupational therapy, an article in Redbook, discusses the benefit of OT's intervention of children with autism.  This is another step forward of press and the public seeing the benefit of OT.   

I am starting to rethink this blog and my intentions with it.  I'm hoping to change the shape and feel of this blog because I'm unable to come up with different ideas to discuss.  So let me know some ideas of how I can continue.  

Thanks! 

Be well,

Tim Dionne

University At Buffalo

BS/MS OT Class 2010

The Centennial Vision

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the 2008 AOTA conference in Long Beach, CA, but I learned of the some of the new things that AOTA is coming up with. Primarily the Centennial Vision which is -

We envision that occupational therapy is a powerful, widely recognized, science-driven, and evidence-based profession with a globally connected and diverse workforce meeting society's occupational needs.

That is a well constructed sentence that sums up the previously posted 10 goals of OTs. I was asked in class to answer how I would fulfill the vision. Well my first step as a student to broaden my knowledge and learn all I can about the theories and evidence on various practice areas. I think it is very important to use and endorse evidence based practice. It makes the practice of OT more professional in the eyes of other professions and the consumers. Also it can help the profession to gain a non-referral status in the health community. Second I will advocate for my profession. I like to do things like point out to my friends that the characters on different television shows would benefit from OT intervention. Also this blog. I want to open the doors of the world to the wonders of occupational therapy. I applaud AOTA, and if I could afford to donate to the AOTPAC I would.

How would you contribute to the centennial vision? (please post how you would)

Be Well and post on my blog!
Tim Dionne
University At Buffalo
BS/MS OT Class 2010

Guidelines to my Blog

As I mentioned in an earlier blog I am doing this blog for an assignment. To meet all the qualification for the assignment I have to delineate the requirements and guidelines that I will follow throughout this blog.

The guidelines for Occupational Therapy and you! :

1. All blog posts will be written in a professional style comparable to a peer review journal (AJOT, etc.).

2. All blog posts will discuss topics and issues that relate to the service delivery of occupational therapy.

3. The target readership audience will be OT professionals or anyone who is interested in occupational therapy.

4. Anyone will be able to post comments, but I will moderate them. This means that I must moderate, and accept any comments that a person leaves.

5. I will try and keep my frequency of postings a least once a week, however optimally I would like to post twice a week.

I hope that everyone will read my blog, as often as I post.

Be well! And keep visiting!

Tim Dionne

University At Buffalo

BS/MS OT class of 2010

Another outrage! Well not outrage, but another bad presentation!

I can't believe it. It keeps happening. Maybe I am too sensitive to the lack of public knowledge and information being presented to the public. I watched Comedy Centrals night of too many stars. It was a benefit show for autism. Big named stars came out for this event. Some of my favorite comedians. It was nice to see this big show of support by all these people, but I felt like the information presented was so superficial. It was not informative, and all they mentioned about any professional role were teachers and a one word slip - 'therapist.' Bah! AOTA needs to make its own benefit with stars, promoting itself!!

At least there was a lot of money raised in the name autism. Hopefully, some of it goes towards scientific research. I'm not really sure why money needs to be raised to teach teachers how to teach kids with autism. Apparently, they didn't take classes similar to mine. Maybe OTs should take on that role. Take an active role in the classroom, "push in" and provide some support for the teachers. I felt a little disappointed with this. I guess this is the first step in bringing autism to the forefront of public consciousness. Wouldn't it be nice if we jumped on the ship and told people that we provide a part of the service of early intervention. I want to stress that I don't make the assumption that OT is the only profession that does early intervention. It is a team process and should be a team process, that includes the student, the parent, the teacher, the OT, the Speech language Pathologist, psychologist, social worker, and nurse. Each child is different and has different needs.

My next problem with this Comedy Central Show was they had some clips, like I mentioned above, that showed the emotional upheaval and the issues that face people who experience this disorder. It was effective. I wrote some quotes directly from these clips down as soon as I heard them. I'm not sure many people would catch what was said because of the distressing nature of the images presented, but if you listened you would have caught this....

"who is going to help my child?" and " I don't think the health system is set up right"


WHOA! WHAT?! Maybe the system isn't set up right, but if these parents are on a TV show about their child don't you think that they would have googled "ways to help kids with autism"?

After typing this I thought, maybe I should try this. Google Search
Would that help you? I think this is an issue that we as a profession need to address.

Be Well! And tell someone about AUTISM!
Tim Dionne
University At Buffalo
BS/MS OT class of 2010

The Potential of OT and What you can do about it!

I apologize for my absence and my lack of posting. I have been very busy with my literature review, but I finished. The literature review was on an issue/topic that discussed the history of the issue, the current situation of that issue, and a recommendation of a feasible plan for the future. My topic was the role of OT in the public, and the lack of public awareness regarding OT. My final conclusions were for every OT to join AOTA and actively participate in its process. Your membership can improve the field, by providing valuable practice information for practitioners, providing vital funding for the OT PAC, and to fund media campaigns for public awareness.

Wouldn't it be nice if "individuals, policy makers, and society as a whole will recognize, value, and promote occupational therapy as the preeminent profession that facilitates safe, independent, and full participation in life through engagement in meaningful occupation, in a broad array of contexts and environments, tailored to meet the needs of individuals, populations, and society" (Kornblau, 2004, p.11).


Well if this were true, OTs would secure a practice area in almost all occupations of life. I believe that occupational therapy can have an impact on everyone in every capacity. I think it has the potential of becoming a household name, as common as the bi-annual dentist check-up. I imagine occupational therapy reshaping the medical field and the medical community. I do not want to encroach on another field's service.
However, I'm a optimist. So for now, I will settle for achieving goals 1-4 on the top ten goals for the future of OT.

Be well! And join AOTA, if you aren't already a member!!
Tim Dionne
University At Buffalo
BS/MS OT class of 2010