I've been sitting here on the side of my bed for ten minutes now. I really got to go. It must have taken me five minutes just to sit up. I've been so weak since my hip surgery and catching pneumonia. I really have to go, bad. I wonder what's taking the help so long to answer the light. Well, the portable commode is right here, I bet I could make ...

           Have you been at your job for a long time? Or have you been job hopping? No matter which one you are, do you feel that your position is secure?

            In today's market, jobs seem plentiful for therapists. Some of these jobs might be a position you don't want to take, but they are still ...

In 2004, we visited Peru, and spent a week at a lodge in the Amazon jungle. The staff at this lodge ran an informal animal rehab. ...

Unlike my previous blog titled "The "F-word: Function(al)", I'm easing in to telling you what my "R-word" is. That's because some people consider this word a profanity. It isn't on the list of the "usual suspects" in the English language; but plenty of Americans consider it obscene, especially in the context of health and human services. Some articles, advertisements and talk show hosts taking a stand against ...

           Do you ever have those patients that have an excuse for everything? Why they can't do this, why they can't do that. The ones who have more excuses than Fred Sammons has reachers?

            You probably know the type of person I'm talking about. They are usually the one who will say (the first ...

           As a COTA, I've always thought my job was to get people better so they can resume their life. What ever they need that I, as an OT, can offer to help them achieve that goal is what I want them to have.

            Of course with geriatric rehab, most of the patients' wishes are to be able to ...

There is something about working a full-time job for free that makes you realize the value of what you're doing - especially when you are at a facility like the one I'm currently fieldworking at. 

This can go two ways. 

On one hand, in acute rehab you begin to see first hand the incredibly important role of OT.  When you are able to teach a person to live their life again with only minor ...

The cover story for ADVANCE's June 22 issue will examine how occupational therapy in the U.S. is different from occupational therapy in other countries, such as Australia, Great Britain and Canada. I am looking for an OT who has practiced both in Canada and the states willing to discuss his/her experiences and the differences noted.

 If you're interested in setting up a phone interview at some point ...

          You've just got to love the residents of any long term facility. From their easy going pace to their outlook on life, most of them are just making the best of each and every day. Of course, there are always the few people who are more memorable. These are the few residents that you'll always remember long after their time. These are the ones who always had a ...

I haven't lost my mind. It's backed up on disk somewhere. - bumper sticker

I'm sure I'm not the only one who suffered through classes that had no apparent relevance to real life. But I found out that my seemingly "useless" Physics classes in both high school and college turned out to be valuable after all.

In general terms, Physics has helped me understand the biomechanical ...

Do you get any new ideas about OT practice from your recreational reading? Maybe doing this blog has made me more alert, but I've been seeing OT themes in many unexpected places. I say "themes" because not every idea I get is directly transferable to OT practice - that is, I'm not suggesting that OT practitioners can be all things to all people. But if anything I say helps you expand your thinking about how OT can ...

          When so many tasks pile up that require more time than a person has, setting a goal to complete them takes dedication and determination. I guess this would be the same thing for someone recovering from an illness; recovery is the goal, which takes determination and hard work to complete. Completing such goals bring about a sense of accomplishment for a person, ...

Recently, the American Occupational Therapy Association endorsed Boston University's Activity Measure for Post Acute Care (AM-PAC), a tool to measure client outcomes in three categories of function-mobility, daily activities and cognition. The assessment will play a critical role in the development of AOTA's outcomes database, a project identified by the AOTA Board of Directors as a high priority in achieving the ...

Thank you, Ed Kaine, for introducing me* to the organization ALOFT, and its trademarked titles "Registered Functional Therapist" (RFT) and "Registered Functional Therapy Associate" (RFTA). I'd like to start a discussion about this initiative. Please visit ALOFT, then use the comments section of this blog to express your opinions.

I admire the entrepreneurial ...

Working in the Birth-to-three population we work with a wide range of developmental disabilities and handicaps.  Autism is one of the most challenging because... well, Autism is a mystery in many ways.  There is no rhyme or reason right now which children will "get" Autism, nor why or how it happens.  There are theories and speculations but at this time ...

A reader, Linda, who commented on my 4/28/09 entry questions my characterization of case management as an advanced practice. She agrees with me that case management is an integral part of OT practice, and that OTs should "assert themselves as the excellent, well-rounded case manager that they already are." However, she also suggests that by referring to case management as an advanced practice, I will hold OTs ...

As a pediatric COTA I find it hard to locate seminars that will be inexpensive and informative.  I have had my fair share of ones that have promised to show me how to do this and that and help with a number of different strategies and objectives that have ultimately fallen short of those promises.  I have also attended workshops that have lived up to what they promise but rarely have I attended a seminar ...

The shrinking economy began hitting the association hard last year, and it continues to challenge AOTA's financial resources unrelentingly, according to Treasurer Saburi Imara, whose annual report at the national conference in Houston last week was sobering. Nevertheless, quick action in the past six months has helped to keep the wolf away from the doorstep.

"There is no doubt that we face one of the most ...

A ship in harbour is safe - but that is not what ships are for - Unknown

My favorite moment at the AOTA Conference this past week was when a student told me that she and one of her classmates are so excited about what they'd learned in school about case management, they're going to make sure their OT jobs prepare them for that advanced practice specialty.

I wish every OT practitioner had such enthusiasm ...

I have been studying the history and concept of occupational therapy for the past 21 years, mentored mostly by people like the late Helen Hopkins, the late Gail Fidler, ADVANCE columnist Jane Sorensen, and Texas educator Kitty Reed. The founders' names, the places, are inscribed on my brain. Their philosophies are by this time in my blood.

Yet I never understood the way it really was for the ...

On April 25, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared swine flu a "public health emergency of international concern." On April 26, the U.S. followed suit, declaring a national public health emergency, according to the New York Times.

Thus far, the CDC has documented 20 cases of swine flu in the U.S. -- in New York, Texas, California, Kansas and Ohio. Worldwide, cases have been reported in Mexico ...

No AOTA Conference is complete without its annual night to celebrate the best, brightest and most dedicated. Last night's awards ceremony honored dozens of OTs who have helped advance the profession through research, practice, education, scholarship, advocacy and more.

AOTA and the American Occupational Therapy Foundation handed out some of their highest awards. The AOTA Award of Merit went to former AOTA ...

That was AOTA President Penelope Moyers-Cleveland's question for her audience at the Presidential Address this year. Attendees received spider rings as they entered the hall to hear her speech, and Cleveland took the stage with a red cape that resembled interconnected spider webs.

"We need each other to implement the Centennial Vision," she told the audience. "We are all interconnected as we strive to meet ...