Hello Ann; Maybe you and your associates do practice occupation based therapy. But, in my experience, you are exceptions to the general rule. I wish that I had more observations and experiences with therapists such as yourself!!
I am not degrading any specific therapist. I am degrading our profession in general. My gosh, our profession is nearly 100 years old (older than PT) and we still can't open a home health case. It seems that somewhere along the line something has happened to make OT lose creditability with other health care providers and payers. This loss is caused by any one therapist but it was and still is being cause by a general lack of practice and apathy by OT's towards occupation. While it's very nice that the AOTA has generated a framework based on occupation, it's too bad that it took them this long to do it. In December, I visited the old rehab hospital where I used to work. I haven't been there in about 3 years. You know what, nothing has changed. The OT's were still stuck in the corner having clients standing at the table doing the restorator (i.e. Upper extremity bike). I bet if you ask the department head and maybe even the leading OT, they both would say that OT addresses ADL's, life roles, etc. And yes, they even do home evaluations!! Howerver, I know from experience that that is just a bunch of lip service. Because what they really do is UE strengthening, cognitive re-training, endurance training, fine motor control, balance training, etc. Sure they probably do ADL's in the AM, the occasional cooking group and even community outings. But my experience with this rehab facility and ALL other rehabs that I have been to is that on a day to day basis, occupation is NOT what they do! What do I hope to accomplish?? Good question. I hope that one day, OT will do what OT says it does. Granted there will always been room for individual practitioners to see things differently than the mainstream but I hope that by bringing my experience and opinion to the forefront that one day there will be continuity among our profession. Additionally, I want to better understand my profession's practices, not practices like NDT, but like how does our profession work as a whole. Finally, I hope that by stimulating conversation, some of which can be negative, that readers will at least consider their day to day practice of OT. To me, what is happening in our profession is like a dirty secret or the elephant in the room. It is my feeling that most people know that in general, many OT's don't practice the way we advertise. But they either don't want to or don't know how to say anything about it. Over the years, I have gotten into many tirades over the way we practice. During each one, I receive both negative and positive responses. If nothing else there has been conversation about what I perceive to be a problem. I started OT school in 1994. Over the past ten years, I have had numerous roles relating to OT. I have been everything from an OT student to an OT educator and have had two private practices. I have worked in rehab, long term care and hospice. With very few exceptions, I have never ran into a situations where people around me understood the role of OT. In my opinion, there are reasons why people don't understand OT. As far as I can tell, the primary reasons are because OT's don't understand it and don't practice it and yet they call themselves occupational therapists. Something somewhere has got to give. With the PT profession coming on strong, NOW is the time for OT's to identify a common treatment outcome that is unique and sophisticated enough to be reimbursed by insurance. I've said it before so this isn't news, but OCCUPATION is that treatment outcome. Thanks for writing and sharing your opinion. I am enjoy being challenged and hope that YOU will not find anything I have written to be directed personally towards yourself. Ron ======================================================= On Saturday, February 14, 2004, @ 9:31 PM, you wrote: Dac> In a message dated 2/14/2004 8:19:29 PM Eastern Standard Time, Dac> [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: >> I really don't think that there are a lot of practitioners who >> practice >> occupational therapy in a way our profession advertises itself. One of >> AOTA's greatest slogans is that OT "Teaches skills for the job of living". >> Personally, I have met very few OT's who address the job of living. By far, >> most are addressing skills needed to move arms and then leaving it up to >> clients to figure out how to put their lives back together. >> >> You know, I think that as a profession we need to get our ducks lined up. I >> have been an OT since 1997 and I have never once felt that our professional >> organization, academicians and clinicians were ever on the same page or >> even >> in the same book. >> >> I don't think my displeasure with OT is about being a good or bad >> therapist. I have met OT's who were good at what they did but what they were >> doing was NOT OT. A person can be good at something but it doesn't >> necessarily mean that it is something that they should be good at. >> >> Ron >> Dac> How many clinics, OT depts. in hospitals, etc. have you visited, Ron? You Dac> are *once again* making sweeping generalizations about the entire profession. Dac> While I'm sure there are OTs only working on upper extremities in any vicinity, Dac> I doubt the majority of OTs make it their sole mission. I manage a Dac> department, and every OT that works for me, as well as every OT I've ever interviewed Dac> for a job(over the last 17 years) has been able to articulate and/or Dac> demonstrate an approach that addresses the patient's needs and interests in ADL's, Dac> IADL's, and life roles. We have an apartment in our department that includes a Dac> kitchen, bath, bed and living room, and the folks in my department spend many Dac> hours with the patients working on activities that have nothing to do with upper Dac> extremity exercise. This is not to say they never address UE strengthening, Dac> just that it is secondary to the primary goals they have established with their Dac> patients. We have a community re-entry program, working with the patient on Dac> buying groceries, going out to lunch, etc. We have a driver assessment Dac> program, to address an occupation that is very relevant to any person with limited Dac> access to public transportation. We occasionally do home visits, to assess and Dac> assure that the patient will be able to function in their home environment Dac> safely and as independently as possible. We are not alone in these programs - Dac> there are other rehab. hospitals in the region who address the same issues we Dac> do, as do the therapists working in the local home care agencies. Dac> I'm not sure what you are hoping to accomplish by continually denigrating the Dac> rest of the people who happen to have chosen the same profession you have, Dac> but I can't envision anything constructive emerging from it. I'd much rather Dac> see OT's work together to build on our unique, holistic approach to our Dac> patients, and figure out how to make the reimbursement entities better recognize our Dac> vital role in the rehabilitation process. Dac> Ann Dac> _______________________________________________ Dac> To unsubscribe, visit: Dac> http://otnow.com/mailman/listinfo/otlist_otnow.com Dac> The OTnow Mail Archive: Dac> www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] Dac> =============================================== _______________________________________________ To unsubscribe, visit: http://otnow.com/mailman/listinfo/otlist_otnow.com The OTnow Mail Archive: www.mail-archive.com/[EMAIL PROTECTED] ===============================================
