AOTA Annual Conference Blog

Until next year..

I hope you all enjoyed your time here in St. Louis.  Every year, conference seems to go by faster and faster.  Once you come to conference, your perspective of our profession will be changed forever.  I hope you left with that feeling.  Don't lose the motivation and inspiration that you gained for OT from conference throughout the year.  As I am sure you are now aware, a lot of work is on our horizon as we work toward the Centennial Vision.  I challenge all of us students, as well as practitioners and educators, to ask ourselves how we can help AOTA and the profession achieve the Centennial Vision.  Ten years will pass before we know it.  It is hard to believe that it has been 3 years since the Visioning process started.

As I side note, since I did not have an opportunity to blog during conference, I wanted to share with you my favorite session at conference-A panel presentation on the work of Gail Fidler.  I consider Gail a mentor to me through her words and her work even though I never met her.  Her perspective on OT is timeless and I encourage all students to read her work.  If there is an issue today in OT, I am sure she addressed at some point in her career.  This is a valuable lesson I have learned from AOTA and the profession...whenever things seem complicated and insurmountable, take a step back and learn from our past leaders.  Our history keeps all things in perspective. 

Best wishes to all and I look forward to seeing you next year in Long Beach.

Sincerely, Tim Wolf

Thank You St. Louis

I would just like to thank all of those involved in making this year's conference happen.  It was a great expreince filled with education, networking, and so much more.  Getting the chance to put faces with so many of the people I have communicated with was invaluable.  The knowledge and information I gained from the conference has already been applied to my practice.  I only wish I could have made it to more sessions.  I recommend that everyone who hasn't attended one become a first-timer like myself.  It was worth it.

Nathan

Inspired and Energized

Wow, what a great 2007 AOTA conference!  I want to first thank you all for reading our blogs, being a first time blogger it was a work in progress!  I appreciate the opportunity as well as the feedback!  I look forward to blogging again soon!

I set a goal for myself this conference to bring back something that each member of my team could benefit from and would enjoy.  Well, my cup ran over with ideas!  I brought back to my team the energy and pride I felt over the past few days.  The energy was running through me and had me inspired to maintain a high level of this energy.  The energy seems like such a simple description of what I got out of the conference, but it applies to everyone and everything I think.  The energy to increase my leadership activities, the energy to learn about EBP, the energy to sit down and study and grasp a research article, the energy to share my skills and passion with students.  So, while I was sitting in the airport waiting to fly back to Boston,  I put forth the challenge to my team and my peer's teams to come up with one word that describes them as a team. My goal was to share my word and then to get us all thinking about the wonderful skills we have and then to give each other a pat on the back.   My word of course was energy.  This challenge has been a hit so far!  Only 3 days into the work week and folks have shared their words, some of them included:  compassion, dedication, fun, flexible, patient and the list goes on!  What word describes your experience at conference?  And what word describes your team as practitioners?  I challenge you all, OTAs and OTs to come up with a word that describes your experience and a word that describes your team of clinician's.  And then share that word! 

My other goal at this conference was to meet two practitioners I have looked up to for some time now; Kathy Eberhardt and Kristi Voelkerding.  Success, I met them and shared with them.  Thank you both for a great leadership seminar, I have added to my to-do list new leadership adventures.  For the other OTAs who were there, let's share ideas and brainstorm right through conference 2008!  You can reach me at mxtilton@rehabcare.com  I look forward to hearing from you and moving forward!

Thank you AOTA volunteers, employees, members and presenters for an ENERGETIC conference!  I look forward to the next one!  Take Care, Melissa Tilton

Farewell from St. Louis

As a member of the Local Conference Committee I want to thank all the people who made this conference such a success. This conference was successful because of the all the hard work and effort made by the presenters, the energy and desire to learn demonstrated by the attendees and the dedication and courteousness demonstrated by all the volunteers and national office staff. After this experience I now know what it takes to make a conference like this successful. The answer is simply the volunteers. I was so impressed by the efforts demonstrated by so many therapists and students at this conference.

I encourage each of you to consider volunteering at the next AOTA conference you attend. I also want to share with all of you how much I enjoyed meeting so many of you. My primary job was answering questions at the Information Booth located at the front doors of the conference center. This job allowed me more than others to interact with a large number of you that attended this conference. I as finish this last posting I have to tell you that I am still very tired but very satisfied at having been part of a very successful national conference. I hope to see you all next year in Long Beach.

Bob Cunningham

Brainstorming about Aging!

This year’s conference ended for me with a high energy passionate presentation by Danielle Butin and Dr. Patricia Miller. This year's GSIS session was titled: Innovative models for building self-management and health promotion programs for older adults.

The session began by engaging the audience in a brainstorming session: What are the concerns of the well-elderly? Many topics all to familiar to those of working with this population were identified: grandparenting, aging in place, community accessibility, socialization and fear of social isolation, fear of being a burden on the family, being productive after retirement making a contribution to our community, managing in a culture of technology, caring for aging children with disabilities, fear of falling, and how to stay healthy. These are all issues we hear about in our daily interactions with our clients!

The session then highlighted several creative non-traditional community-based programs being designed by and facilitated by occupational therapist, students, and faculty. The session identified some of the inspired and powerful aspects of our profession that help older adults find quality and meaning in older adulthood when they are struggling with the concerns of aging!

I hope that everyone who attended the conference has a safe trip home! I hope to see you in Long Beach next year!

Natalie Leland Wiatrowski

Highlights from Day Three

The AOTA Annual Business today provided an opportunity for members to hear the current status of the association. New officiers were sworn in including Penny Moyers as the association's new president. We learned there are approximately 37K members in AOTA, heard about the progress the association is making in the area of advocacy and toward building awareness of occupational therapy. President Moyers indicated that she wants to grow the membership number to 60K during her tenure as AOTA President. We also learned that there were 5,000 people who attended Conference! Reports were provided from various officers and a motion was made from the floor to examine the accessibility of the AOTA building, products and services.

All occupational therapists who practice in mental health should be thrilled with our new AOTA President. She identified areas of her platform during her Presidential address specifically highlighting mental health. Hurrah! AOTA also provided an educational session today regarding mental health policy and the report and recommendations from AOTA Ad Hoc committee on mental health practice and the status of qualified mental health providers in each state.

This evening I enjoyed some Italian food, delicious! My students cannot wait for conference next year! So tomorrow is the last day, which is a good thing because I have to teach at 3 pm tomorrow afternoon! We say our good byes this evening and start planning for next year in Long Beach.

I've enjoyed blogging for you and thank you to Lisa Mahaffey and Audrey Rothstein for providing me this opportunity. Christine

As the conference continues

Having just left the Annual Business Meeting, I have now learned that the statement on Health and Wellness was adopted by the RA. I was able to briefly touch base with Marge Scaffa, one of the authors of the statement, in the conference center between sessions. Also, I was able to hear about the progress of the document from the RA task groups form NY Rep Gloria Lucker. As an AOTA member, it is important to me that the Association has begun to more closely align itself with Community Health and Public Health initiatives. Having also attended the Slagle Lecture given this year by Dr. Jim Hinojosa of New York, I am mindful of his message that we need to embrace changes in public policy as they happen. So, while the terrific leadership of the RA and collaborative work through COP has generated process in the form of the statement, I am also mindful of the message in the future we may need to streamline process to be more in the forefront of leadership and inclusion of Occupational Therapy in policy as it changes and before implementation has already occurred.

At this moment in time, I am sitting in the member service area, the AOTA booth in the center of the exhibit hall, pausing before I meet and greet friends for the last time this year, and depart from the great city of St Louis. I would be remiss, if I did not mention the wide variety of both printed materials, books and products I have seen while in the exhibits. At this conference, in particular, I have heard many therapists speak about caring for themselves and the need to 'live in the moment', to pause and reflect throughout our daily lives. We are an aging workforce with an average age over forty. We are also becoming members of the older workforce. It is strategic that we apply the principals we use to help others to support and sustain ourselves.

So, signing off from the conference, I will say 'see ya again next year' and I hope that some of you who may be reading hilights from home will have an opportunity to come to Long Beach in 2008.

Ann Burkhardt

A Day at Conference

Yesterday was a great day.  Between the farewell address, the workshop, short course and round table discussions I couldn't have asked for a better experience at the conference.  I was particullaly impressed with Matthew Dodson and Tim Wolf's presentations at the Work Programs Annual Program.  They are blending neuropsychology and OT assessments to create excellent tools.  They a prime examples of the OTD at its best. Nathan

Innovation!

Today at the Eleanor Clarke Slagle Lecture, Dr. Jim Hinojosa talked about occupational therapists being innovative. Dr. Hinojosa's lecture gave us all something to think critically about. I'm sure some didn't agree with his remarks, and others did....regardless he challenged us to reflect on where we are as professionals, where our profession is and what is needed to best serve our clients. So ends day two of the conference. As I sit here with my mental health colleagues and new friends, Michael, Lisa, and a new member, Rhonda (Brian took the night off) we are having a lively discussion about theory, frame of reference and assessments utilized in mental health. For more information, post your questions on the MHSIS listserve and Lisa will answer soon, once she gets home. I can't wait for the Presidential inaugration tomorrow of Dr. Penny Moyers....She's originally from Iowa! Christine Urish

It's catching ON!

Several years ago, saying the term "occupation-based treatment" was met with either a hush or a roll of the eye....now it is catching ON!  Especially in the world of hand therapy!  I am impressed by the sessions that I have attended that have this perspective as either the focus of the discussion or have integrated the concepts as part of the "best practice approach." From treating the hand, to the elbow, OT's really seem to be starting to understand that we cannot subdivide the body, the mind and the spirit.  To be an OT--you need to be an OT!

Another great talk that focused on a topic that needs a lot more attention in our therapuetic community was the PD-SIS workshop on "Addressing the IADl of Sexuality".  A very interesting presentation that caused me to begin thinking about how little this topic is discussed both in the clinic and with our students.  The presentation was also powerful for me because it was presented by a team that included OT's and an OTA.  Seeing such mutual respect and collaboration was exciting and speaks to the many strides that are being made in OT with regards to professional understanding!

Well, tommorow is a big day, I will be presenting twice in the afternoon.                                                                                                                   By Monday the conference will come to an end and we will be heading home....   :-(

This is most likely my last post....I would like to thank all of our readers for tuning in for the past few weeks to see and hear what we had to say!  Enjoy the rest of your time in St. Louis and safe travels home!!!!!

See you in Long Beach!

Debbie Amini