Your questions are good and actually are similar to ones I have had through the years. To me physical therapists....traditionally...and I acknowledge that this is changing...might work on components needed to complete a task ie. Strengthening specific leg muscles needed to walk....and might practice walking and transfers out of context ie. Walking x number of feet with support. Occupational therapists...in best case scenario...see the entire task process in context. I call this a functional perspective. For example...my best friend broke her ankle and had it pinned on a Friday night. She was ill from the spinal and missed a few PT appointments. Monday morning I called prior to picking her up. I was to be her primary assist at home, and I have chronic pain/fatigue. I asked PT if she could get out of the chair herself. Yes. Could she walk to and from the bathroom. Yes she can walk x number of feet. I asked if I could count on her being able to do this for the 11th time in a given day. Hmmmm.....they didn’t know. Could she stand at the kitchen counter and prepare a meal. I would have to talk with OT about that. I knew she hadn't had OT. I could picture her apartment and had already cleared pathways and arranged "work areas" for her. She is a large person and has numerous health problems. She lives alone and is totally responsible for all aspects of her life. An accessible bathroom on first floor was great, but sleeping arrangements needed to be made on this level. As an OTR I ran through a mental list of motivational level, experience, meaning attached to being dependent (and the need to preserve our friendship above all), routine, essential tasks, how to encourage as much independence as possible, durable medical equipment available from local loan closet, preferences, health considerations (shortness of breathe, high blood pressure, depression)...in a nutshell I tried to take into account every little detail involved in her daily life and recovery. In a clinic setting, there is often no time to do this. Good OT's can get to the heart of the matter and prioritized factors. For instance there is no point in coming up with a picture perfect treatment plan if the patient doesn't buy it or won't follow through with it. Our background in psychology, sociology, anatomy, physiology...etc. gives us a rich resource pool for analyzing every aspect of a task. We can help people do the things they need or want to do ie. To be functional, to function, to work on functioning better. It gels for me this way at age 52 as an intuitive thinker, wife, and mother. My patients have included celebrities, the homeless, and many profiles in between.
There is more to be addressed, but I need to make supper now. Will get back to this when I have time. I would say that I have had many experiences being part of a team. We allowed each other to pursue our area of precise skill/interest within our profession. Soo....when someone entered the industrial rehab center with psych issues they usually were headed my way. When filling in on rehab in a small hospital, if I was working with someone on feeding themselves and noted weak trunk muscles I would mention it to PT. They were better equipped to work on that in this particular setting. Speech worked on the facial muscle control as that was not an area I was experienced in at all. I worked on alerting and patterning as well as educating dietary, nursing, and family on ways to focus the person's attention, provide utensils and set-up to compensate for impairments, and initiate the feeding patterns if they did not happen spontaneously. More later. Deb -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jimmie Arceneaux Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 1:45 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [OTlist] RE: [Outlist] Long Rant about OT Deb, Please take these questions not as a personal attack, but as an attempt to explore the issue further. I am not trying to hurt anyone's feelings, but I don't want to be called a functional therapist. I think the term is ambiguous and sacrifices the founding principles of a profession for an easy attempt at definition. Based on your previous post would you answer the following: How then do you differentiate your self from other rehab disciplines? When a PT works on the mechanics of gait is this not functional? When an ST works on swallowing is this not functional? What makes OT a distinct profession in your view? Jimmie -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Behalf Of Deb Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 1:00 PM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [OTlist] Long Rant about OT I have wished that occupational therapy COULD be called functional therapy. After over 25 years of practice this IS the term that means something to the patients, physicians, other healthcare providers, employers, human service agencies, and general public with whom I have been involved. In a two part television program that I helped make for our local community channel, the public feedback supported this also. Deb (Experience in nursing homes, a visiting nurse service, a community support program, for profit and non-profit home health, day treatment, establishment of an OT program in a half-way house, industrial rehabilitation, in-patient rehab., and out-patient services in various capacities including staff therapist and director (full, part-time, on-call, fill-in in Arizona, Minnesota, and Wisconsin). Also child of the 70's. -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Jimmie Arceneaux Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2005 8:05 AM To: [email protected] Subject: RE: [OTlist] Long Rant about OT Hey Ron, An equally long and possibly offensive rant: I hate the term function! What exactly does that denote? You see a multitude of people now harping on such terms as "functional ambulation", "functional memory", functional mobility". functional range of motion, etc. It is silly. If there is such a thing as functional ambulation, would someone care to take a stab at defining non-functional ambulation? -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.308 / Virus Database: 266.6.4 - Release Date: 3/7/2005 -- Unsubscribe? [EMAIL PROTECTED] Change options? www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com Archive? www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] Help? [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** NOTICE--The attached communication contains privileged and confidential information. If you are not the intended recipient, DO NOT read, copy, or disseminate this communication. Non-intended recipients are hereby placed on notice that any unauthorized disclosure, duplication, distribution, or taking of any action in reliance on the contents of these materials is expressly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please delete this information in its entirety and contact the Amedisys Privacy Hotline at 1-866-518-6684. 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