AOTA Annual Conference Blog

So Many Choices, So Little Time!

Well conference is next week! Next week at this time I will have attended many sessions, listened to the keynote speaker and be roaming the exhibit hall. So now it is time to get serious and develop my plan of what courses I will attend. As there are so many exceptional choices of sessions to attend  decision making is often quitedifficult!What a wonderful problem to have! A couple of sessions that I wanted to make sure you didn't miss out on are:

SC114 Photovoice: Advocacy Through Photography and Narrative. Catana Brown, PhD, OTR, FAOTA, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KS and Virginia Stoffel, PhD, OT, University of Wisconsin. I was able to speak with Ginny the last time we were at an AOTA meeting together. She shared information on this program and I can't wait to hear more!

SC120 The Occupational Needs of Students with Asperger's Syndrome and Autism in Higher Education. Theresa Schlabach, MA, OTR/L, BCP, St. Ambrose University. This is one of my colleagues and I'm not just trying to fill the room for her course, although I'm sure it will be packed regardless. As an educator, we are witnessing an increase in students with Autism and Asperger's on our campus. Terry is completing her dissertation on this topic and I feel is extremely knowledgable regarding this area.

There are several sessions addressing sensory needs and clients with mental illness. I want to attend them all, however I'm quite sure that isn't going to be possible. The sessions I'm considering in this area are

Friday

PO 152 Sensory Processing Disorders in Individuals with Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder

Saturday

SC 241 The effects of sensory based intervention on adults with mental illness or substance abuse

Monday

SC 406 Exploring the Safety and Effectiveness of the Use of Weighted Blankets with Adult Populations

I'm sure going to try to get to as many of these presentations and more. Look forward to my reports from conference in St. Louis and I hope to see you there! I'll be the one with the conference bag and water bottle, easy to pick me out of the crowd, right ;)

Christine Urish, PhD, OTR/L, BCMH

Finding Health and Wellness at Conference

Educational opportunities at conference abound with the posters, papers, short courses, workshops and institutes that offer information and experiences for increasing knowledge of health and wellness, but additional opportunities also are available in the form of activities. For those of us who like to walk or to run, on Saturday morning there is a SIS Fun Run and Walk. The event is planned to happen at the Jefferson Expansion Memorial where there is a 1.7 mile trail. There are beautiful views of the Mississippi and of the Gateway Arch. If you are interested in participating, meet at the corner of Washington Avenue and Memorial Drive at 6:45 am. The event is expected to last until 7:30 am. You can also always count on doing some dancing and foot stomping at conference, as well. There is a ‘Party in St. Louis’ event planned on Saturday evening to benefit a great cause, AOTPAC. AOTPAC events can always be counted on for some good foot stomping and for getting attendees ‘up and out of their seats’.

Many people in recent conferences have also joined in during opening ceremonies and danced in and around the hall to the musical offerings during the opening ceremony. Can you get up out of your seat and be a little wild? You'll find good company for dancing with delight at opening ceremony-that's a bet!

If you are weary sitting through session after session, get up out of your seat and meander through the poster presentations. Walking through, reading posters and having an opportunity to speak 1:1 with the presenters can broaden your knowledge while you can be ‘out of a seat’ and moving around. Going for an informative walk and earn CEUs in the process. Sounds pretty great, doesn’t it!

To expand your knowledge through learning a new model of occupation that can be related metaphorically to nature, why not sign up for the International Luncheon on Saturday. Dr. Michael Iwama will present on the Kawa Model. Broaden your conceptual understanding of occupation. Learn about this new framework and how it could change the way you approach the practice of our profession.

The countdown is in progress….many of you, like me, are now packing your bags to head to St. Louis early next week. It’s time to travel, to meet and greet, to open our minds, to teach and to learn, to network, to rediscover old friendships and make some new. Here’s wishing safe travels and stress free experiences to you all en route. Be healthy and well.

Ann

How many times have you heard: Show me the evidence?

How many OTs and OTA s who work in mental health (or any area of OT practice for that matter) have had to "justify" their practice within the last month, 3 months, 6 months, a year....Do you feel like you could use more knowledge and resources to enable you to effectively educate others regarding the evidence which exists to justify OT services? As occupational therapy practice in mental health is often provided with a comprehensive team of professionals including social workers, nurses, therapeutic recreation specialists, counselors, mental health technicians, at times our professional practice is challenged by other professionals who state they can do what we do. We all know OT practice in mental health has unique features. Do these other professionals clearly address engagement and limitations in engagement in occupation? Need some evidence to "prove" your services are effective?

I've got just the session for you to attend: Using AOTA’s EB Practice Products and Resources to Inform Practice, a short course (SC103) which is scheduled for Friday from 9-10:30 am will provide a new perspective on how to use evidence. The presentation will include a panel of AOTA staff, including Judy Thomas, Senior Policy Manager; Rob Black, Sr. Press Officer; Christine Metzler, Chief Public Affairs Officier; Sandy Schefkind, Pediatric Coordinator; and Deborah Lieberman, Program Director, Evidence Based Project. Marian Arbesman, consultant to the AOTA Evidence Based Project, also will participate. 

During the session, staff will discuss how to communicate evidence to multiple audiences (which could include: clients, payers, elected officials, colleagues).  In addition, audience members will have the opportunity to get experience developing this skill during a group activity. So whether you are speaking with a parent, client, payer, or legislator, join us at this session to learn how the experts use evidence to state their case persuasively.

I feel this will be a great benefit to new practitioners as well as experts in our practice area. All occupational therapy practitioners need to be aware of and able to utilize the best evidence to continue and advance occupational therapy practice. Conference is just around the corner! Happy OT month!

Christine Urish, PhD, OTR/L, BCMH

The Final Countdown

Good Morning OT practitioners!  How excited was I this weekend to receive my little white envelope from AOTA this weekend with my badge and final info for the 2007 conference!  The final countdown has begun and I am already calling friends and co-workers to see who all will be there, when they are flying in and where they are staying!  As I've said before, this is my first AOTA conference and I am already more excited than I ever thought I could be.  The excitement is contagious, each day I receive a post card in the mail to attend some booth and see the latest and greatest products out there.  In my mind I am developing a list of what ideas and items and resources can I bring back to my team.  In that list I am making are the clients we serve as well; who is struggling with sequencing tasks in the morning; who is experiencing more falls in the afternoon; who is looking for UE support to complete money management tasks.  What will I learn at AOTA from speakers, peers and vendors that will have a positive impact on someone back in New England?  Did you have an "Ah-Ha" moment at conference before?  that moment when you learned a new skill or saw a vendor with just the piece of equipment to make someone's life a little better?  I am looking forward to that moment, and looking forward to sharing it!  Take care and see you soon! Melissa Tilton

Need CEUs?

For all you soon to be or new practitioners out there, the thought of beginning to seek continuing education opportunites may not be high on your priority list; however, did you know of the CEU opportunites at conference?  If you attend the sessions at conference that offer CEU credit, you will fulfill your CEU requirements for the two year interval.  That means if you come to conference every other year you should not ever have to seek out additional CEU opportunities.  How else can you spend three or four days with friends and colleagues from around the country and get ALL of your CEUs?  Just something to keep in mind as you head to conference now and in the future. 

This is my last post before conference!  Safe travels to all and I hope to meet you here in St. Louis.

Tim Wolf

The Art of Conference Site Selection

How do you select a site for an AOTA Conference & Expo? According to Frank Gainer, AOTA’s conference and student programs manager, it’s a pretty complex process. The following are some of the things AOTA leaders take into account:

• Large enough space in the convention center for the exhibit hall and 22–24 concurrent sessions
• Room size for concurrent sessions to ensure there will be enough seats for the attendees
• Cost of renting the convention center
• Number of sleeping rooms available in each hotel
• Price of hotels rooms—AOTA tries to keep the cost below $200 per night per room
• Accessibility of all venues, including the convention center and hotels
• Density of AOTA members in a 500 mile radius—close to 50% of attendees at any given conference come from within 500 miles of the location
• Number of OT and OTA schools within 500 mile radius
• Weather considerations in the month of April
• Easily accessible location from the air—the city should be a hub for at least one airline

Although site selection is a very complex process, AOTA staff realizes how critical it is to the overall success of Conference. Long Beach, CA will serve as the site for the 2008 Conference, and staff is already working hard on selecting the site for the 2009!

Almost Here!!

I can hardly believe that it is April 8th ALREADY!  Conference will be starting in hours and days, not months and weeks anymore!  It seems like yesterday that I submitted my short course proposal through the AOTA on-line submission link...and now I am preparing to present....wow...time flies!

By now, everyone who pre-registered for conference should have received their Conference & Expo Onsite Program Guide.  If you have, but have not opened it yet, then you have quite a treat waiting for you.  This years program is full of rich and exciting educational and networking opportunities.  Unlike the previous publications that we received, this one has all of the events listed as well as detailed descriptions of all of the educational sessions (including days, times and room numbers) and special events.  So, if you have not yet, now is the time to start planning out your experience. 

There are many ways that you can go about planning your agenda.  You can determine a "track" to follow, such as phy/dys or peds and find courses being offered throughout the days that deal primarily with those topics.  You can also explore the guide day by day and hour by hour and chart out an eclectic path of events that strike your fancy.  Which ever method that you chose to plan out your conference, the end result will be the same; you will create a full agenda of workshops and events that will occupy you every hour of every day that you are in St. Louis. 

Of course, don't forget to plan out some time to visit the exhibitors. AOTA has scheduled unopposed exhibit hall time each day,  but these hours tend to be busy...if you can pull yourself away from sessions, you might consider visiting the exhibit hall during quieter program times.

One more thing that is important to remember, especially if this is your first conference experience.  In order to receive credit for session attendance, your name badge will be scanned when you enter a lecture room.  If you attempt to leave the talk before it is completed, your badge will be scanned again. You will only receive credit for the time that you were physically in the session.  Sounds fair, right?  It is a great system...no need to keep up with forms or signatures, your list of credit will arrive in your mailbox within a few short weeks after conference.

Well, I must get back to preparing my talk....by the way, if you are interested, I am presenting "Measurable Goal Writing for Occupation-Based Practice" on April 22.  Check it out in the conference guide!  :-)

See you soon!!!

Debbie Amini 

Two Weeks to Conference

This week’s weather update is not nearly as nice as the others I have posted to date. The weather here Easter weekend is simply awful. Darn cold is the best way to describe it. I and many other St. Louis residents are spending time covering our perennials which seem to think that spring is really here. We are anticipating temperatures as low as 20 the next two nights.

On a more positive note, an experience associated with this conference that I had not anticipated has been my involvement with students. One of the hats I wear in my role as professor is serving as the faculty sponsor for Maryville University’s Student Occupation Therapy Association chapter. The organization’s focus this year has been for members to attend the conference. To that end the students have had a number of social and fundraising and social activities to facilitate that objective. It is great to see the students excited about attending their first conference. Many are planning to attend and others will participate by serving as volunteers. The president of MUSOTA  is working with occupational therapy students at St. Louis University and Washington University to organize the first student forum at this year’s conference. Another of our students is serving as a page for the meetings of the Representative Assembly. As a former member of the Assembly, I have enjoyed the opportunity to meet with the student and discuss the nature of her role and the workings of the RA. Overall the students are very excited about this opportunity to meet other students and participate in all that the national conference has to offer. I am hoping that this experience will encourage the students to be regular conference attendees and members of AOTA. I encourage each of you to talk to students during this conference and get the fresh perspective they bring.

This postings tip regarding St. Louis is St. Louis style pizza. St. Louis style pizza is very thin and uses provel cheese instead of mozzarella and is cut into small squares. Be sure to try it when you are here. A final piece of information is that the weekend of conference there will be major construction/destruction occurring on Hwy 40/ I-64 which is one of the major arteries leading to downtown. It is being recommended you avoid the highway all together that weekend. For those of us living in St. Louis this is only the beginning of a very painful road construction project. Looking forward to seeing you in two weeks.

Bob Cunningham

Family Fun

For those of you that may be bringing your families to St. Louis to share in the excitement of the weekend I thought you might like to know that there are many attractions that your children would appreciate.  The City Museum and World Aquarium (inside the City Museum), Purina Farms (for animal lovers), and The Magic House (St. Louis Childrens Museum) all all great fun.  Starting April 28th the Saint Louis Science Center is have a Marvel Super Hereos exhibition as well.

On another note, I would like to remind/inform all of my fellow first-timers there is a "First-Timers' Orientation" from 7:30-8:15 on Friday which will be a great way to begin our conference experience.  I would also like to make mention of the SIS Roundtable Discussions from 12:00-1:30 on Saturday.

Nate

Have you read this yet?

"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"

First of all, I hope everyone has seen the 2017 Centennial Vision Statement prior to reading this blog.  If not, please go to the following link to read and learn more about the Centennial Vision Process.  Centennial Vision Home Page

The statement above may seem simple to you, but how do we make this a reality??  Many of our fellow colleagues, students, new practitioners, and seasoned therapists, have been working on this topic for years under the leadership of Chuck Christiansen, our current Vice President of AOTA. 

Many presentations and special events of the 2007 conference program will focus on the Centennial Vision. Your mission for the conference... is to find out how you can be involved in making the Centennial Vision Statement of 2017 a reality.  The visional statement represents not only the future of occupational therapy profession, but YOUR future as an occupational therapist. 

Kristen Lindeman