I've been reading the various comments in this discussion. My initial instinct after reading the 1st message was indignation... Ha! How could he say something like that! I decided to take a step back and have a bit of a think about this 'long rant'. I agree with some of the statements that have been made... Function does leave room for interpretation but so does Occupation. When I first heard about 'Occupational' Therapists my first question was similar to that of most people I've met who've had no input from OT in the past... 'So are you going to help me find work?' The term Occupation does seem to lend itself to the 'work' sphere. But the amazing thing was that by making this statement it provided the opportunity for me to go off on one of my favourite hobby horses - what is OT? Part of the difficulty that we face as a profession is the wide diversity available within our career. What other profession allows you to work with anyone from child to adult, with physical to psychosocial difficulties, hospital to work sector, etc... I do however agree that OT's need to know what (and why) they are doing and be able to define themselves clearly in order to clarify to others what it is that we do. A while ago there was a similar debate going (on this same site if I'm not mistaken!) and we discussed how OT's tend to define themselves by comparing themselves to physios. I can't tell you how many times I've heard the description 'OT's are like Physios except they work with...' When I was a student one of the first things we did was define 'Occupation' and what OT is. We really need to go back to our old student notes and reaffirm who we as a profession are and what we have to offer the community. If evidence-based practise is the way forward then more OT's need to put on their academic hats for a while and grab the opportunity to progress our career. Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth... Veronica
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