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

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

High Energy for OT!

The energy is high and the excitement of the annual conference was strong at the opening ceremonies last night! Conference attendees were maintaining the tradition of cheering and dancing in the aisles of the convention hall as well as a few tears as we acknowledge the passing of some of the leaders in our field in the past year and the tragic event at Virginia Tech this past week. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those in the Virginia Tech community!

Even though opening ceremonies were last night, the excitement was present here in St. Louis long before the opening ceremonies! The conference institutes began Thursday with lots of interest. I was able to attend the institute on building an academic career with a research training award. There were participants from all over the country with a wide range of experience to share and learn from! It was exciting to see the future of our professions research developing in the room! We learned about the importance of mentorship and value of grant funding to foster the research base for the future of our profession!

As participants we expressed questions about identifying mentors, when and if to do a post-doc, and other opportunities for growth as researchers while trying to maintain a balance between our lives as occupational therapists and personal responsibilities.

I have been able to attend some great sessions while here at the conference, including a presentation by Pam Toto on the Occupational therapy in home assessment program: meeting the needs of older adults. The room was packed with individuals interested in the older adult population and how we as occupational therapist can foster and develop community based services, a great area for Occupational therapists to shine!

As an individual in a graduate policy program in gerontology I have enjoyed attending the policy presentations. The session on Home Health Policy and Practice with Tim Nanof, Karen Vance, Carol Siebert, and Lisa Fagan was a great session. The session emphasized our need as practitioners and researchers to advocate for our profession! Policy at the National, state, local, and organizational level impacts how and what we do as practitioners.

So far the conference has been a great experience and the weather has been fabulous! It has been a great escape from the cold weather of New England.  We had a great morning for the SIS fun run walk along the Mississippi river and the gateway arch! A great way to get the body moving before a day of great sessions!

Have a good day!

Natalie Leland Wiatrowski

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

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 

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 

Make your Voice Heard!

Do you want to have a voice in the future of our profession? Are you interested in seeing productive aging and occupational therapy grow? Make your voice and experiences heard!

The RA has posted an AD Hoc report on aging which I encourage you to read! Thank you David Clark for posting the directions on how to find this report! If you want to read David’s directions, here they are:

One of the papers recently posted (3/22/07) on the RA Agenda in the AOTA web page, may be of interest to those that are interested in productive aging. Go to: www.aota.org click on the Members Only Section (on the left) and click Members Login. Put in your Login Name and Password, and then click Governance. Page down to the Representative Assembly, and click on Meeting Reports and Materials. The Agenda will come up and click on the Speakers Attachments. The last attachment is an Ad Hoc report. on Aging.

I encourage you all to read this report and the AOTA governance section of the website to see what actions are being proposed. If you prefer to read the reports on paper, look at your most recent OT Practice for the up-coming RA agenda.

Once you have read it, make your voice heard! Again, on the AOTA governance page, click on the Representative Assembly, scrolling down to the Feedback survey! Click on this and identify your state. You will be brought to a zoomerang survey where you can provide feedback to your state representative. Help your state representative, provide them with information for this years RA, so your rep can represent your ideas as an occupational therapist and someone interested in aging!

I also want to encourage you to comment on your own tips for a successful conference! I have enjoyed reading other’s tips for a successful conference, ranging from the use of business cards and printing address labels to save your hands from writing in the expo to bringing your OT water bottle and some snacks such as pretzels and granola bars to help us keep up our energy! I also wanted to share one tip that was given to me a few years ago! When you are networking and exchanging business cards make a note on the back of it to remind you of the conversation this will help you when you get home so you can follow-up with an email! I encourage you to send a quick email when you get home!

I also encourage you to click on the comment link immediately below this blog. You can provide your own ideas about productive aging and tips for a successful conference! I want to hear from you!

Have a safe trip to St. Louis!

Natalie Leland Wiatrowski

Board & Specialty Certification - What's in it for Me?

In the exhibit hall, there are so many things to look at, learn about, see and do. I've already mentioned the need for an extra suitcase and all the great people you'll get to meet. From a professional development perspective, I'd like to encourage OT's, OTA's and students to stop by the AOTA Member Resource Center in the exhibit hall and obtain information on board and specialty certification. Present at this booth will be current board and specialty certified practitioners. These individuals and AOTA staff members will be available to discuss the board and specialty certification process, benefits and answer your questions. I'm pleased to be board certified in mental health and strongly encourage other OT's, OTA's and students who are considering future mental health practice to consider learning more about board certification at conference.

So you may ask "board certification (or speciality certification)....what's in it for me?" Board Certification is a way for you to demonstrate your level of excellence in the area of mental health occupational therapy, to reflect on your past achievements and continue your professional development. It can provide a level of recognition among colleagues, referral sources, your employer, clients, your employer, and other important decision makers. Board Certification can affirm your involvement as an occupational therapist in mental health and possibly open new and different opportunities for your practice. Board certification can offer these things and more....want more information?, stop by the AOTA member resource center during the open exhibit hall times to find out more. Although I've focused on mental health, it is important to acknowledge all areas of board certification which include: gerontology, pediatrics and physical rehabilitation. Speciality Certification is available in Driving & Community Mobility, Feeding, Eating & Swallowing, Environmental Modification and Low Vision. Both board and specialty certification demonstrate a commitment to the profession of occupational therapy and to your own professional development. I look forward to seeing you at the member resource center and answering questions you have about board certification in mental health! Conference is right around the corner!

Christine Urish, PhD, OTR/L, BCMH

Opportunities to learn more about Productive Aging

When thinking about what to write this week. I kept going back to two questions: How do our ideas of productive aging connect with how we define our role as practitioners? and, Where do we see ourselves as practitioners in the future?......To get some ideas I went to the conference program to see what the latest is in OT research and practice for this year’s conference!

Regardless of where your interests lie, there are many opportunities to explore productive aging at the conference. Whether you are interested in checking out some posters that are looking at productive occupations or promoting behavior adaptations in the community there are many options in the area of productive aging. Think about attending a workshop, there are many to choose from whether you are interested in a discussion about facilitating occupation at the end of life or fostering occupation-centered environments for individuals with dementia.

I would like to hear your thoughts about productive aging!  Contact me directly with your ideas and/or suggestions for future topics in this blog at neleland@yahoo.com!

Natalie Leland Wiatrowski

Talking About Productive Aging

We are facing a unique experience in the United States as well as internationally, as our population demographics shift. For the first time in the United States, we are experiencing an aging population as well as an increasingly diverse older population. With changes in medical technology individuals are living longer with chronic conditions, challenging us as practitioners and as a profession to think outside the box. It is our hope that this blog can serve as a dialogue about productive aging within our field.

As practitioners and leaders we can use our knowledge and our expertise to assist this aging population to promote quality of life and productive aging. Addressing the needs of the aging population is multi-faceted and involves not only our clients, but their families, caregivers, the community, and policy makers. I believe there are so many opportunities for us as occupational therapists to demonstrate our abilities and our strengths in this area through our research and practice.

This year's conference is offering some great opportunities to expand our knowledge of gerontology and productive aging as well as network with our peers. I encourage you to search through the conference program for gerontology focused presentations. You can use these sessions to your advantage to expand your network connections and further your awareness of our potential in this area.

As you are planning your conference experience, check out the conference program at the following website:

http://precis.preciscentral.com/utils/ip/FindPresentation.asp?EventID=cedebb6e&bhcp=1.

Once on this website use the pull down menu to select " topic category: gerontology". After selecting gerontology you will be able to see that there are multiple sessions offered targeting practice, research, and policy. Whether you are interested in sharpening your practice skills in the area of cognition or learning about the latest research in our field there are so many opportunities to meet your expectations of the conference.

I look forward to having a dialogue with you about the opportunities we have as occupational therapists and as a profession to grow and develop as leaders in the area of productive aging. I have an interest in this area for many reasons. As a graduate student in the area of gerontology I understand the changes in this aging population and the impact policy can have on us as a population. As a practicing therapist I am experiencing the changes in our health care system as you are. I see this as an opportunity for us to identify opportunities, conduct research, and demonstrate our role in new areas.

I welcome you all to the blog and would love to have your input on potential topics, you can contact me directly at neleland@yahoo.com.

Natalie Leland