It's been suggested that a occupation-based approach to evaluation, treatment and outcomes limits the practice of OT. I want to suggest that such an approach does just the opposite.
First, there is NO profession addressing occupation. There are some professions, namely PT, SLP, Aides, RN, OT, that address PARTS of occupation, but no profession sees the entire picture from start to finish. And because of this, many, many patients never truly achieve their highest potential! Second, facilitating occupation is excruciating difficult. But, because of this, it's wonderfully rewarding. Case in point, is "Martha". One of her goals is independently getting on/off the toilet. Over the course of her treatment, Martha has been able to transfer to/from the toilet. And she has even successfully used her OLD toilet. I say "old" because in an effort to make transfers easier, a higher toilet was installed. BUT, the new toilet has a different seat in which Martha sinks into. Thus, while she can easier sit on her new toilet, she can not TURN while sitting to allow her to grad installed hand rails. Thus, the new toilet seat doesn't work well. You know, who would think that the shape of a toilet seat is the difference between independence and dependence. So, the observation skills, problem solving, environmental awareness, biomechanics, and even common sense that goes into occupation-based practice is anything but limiting. And while occupation-based practice does exclude some practice areas, notably acute injury, there are many more areas and patients who benefit from these services. Sorry for typos/graphos; I'm typing about as fast as I'm thinking! Ron -- Ron Carson MHS, OT -- Options? www.otnow.com/mailman/options/otlist_otnow.com Archive? www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]
