Patients refusing their occupational therapy can be one of the most challenging aspects of being an OT or COTA. We are constantly under pressure from the higher-ups to get our units in and maintain productivity. As a new OT, you may not be sure exactly how to make a call when you’re in this situation. At what […]
This is guest post written by Grant Mitchell, author of TheOTpreneur.com. Grant currently works in Acute Rehab and completed his Master’s thesis on using the Wii as a rehab intervention. We are happy to have him on the My OT Spot blog! ________________ Considering the rising cost of healthcare, consumer technology can often be an effective treatment […]
Adhering to sternal precautions following cardiac surgery can be quite a challenge. If you think about, how often do you automatically use your arms during daily activities like getting up from a low surface or carrying something? It can also be tough as a occupational therapist to remember what all of the sternal precautions are if […]
I’m excited to share with you all my first interview for My OT Spot with Isaac Bishof. Isaac is a PhD candidate at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and his focus is on Alzheimer’s disease research. Isaac is studying how a group of proteins influence Alzheimer’s disease. He and his team are looking at the molecular mechanism of […]
Lately, it seems like life’s stresses have been kicking into over drive. With work and life being extra crazy, I decided I needed to figure out ways to calm my mind and maintain a positive outlook, pronto! While meditation is awesome and definitely recommended (check out the free Calm app for this), I found that I just […]
Family education: One of the most important aspects of occupational therapy in the rehab setting. With such a high level of importance comes the big responsibility to remember everything. As a student or new grad, that can feel pretty scary. When I was new at family education, I would get super nervous around a patient’s family […]
Pretty frequently I’m asked by new occupational therapists and students what a typical day is like working as an occupational therapist in the inpatient rehab setting. While there’s not one simple way to answer this question, I think it will be valuable to at least lay out what happens in a “normal” day for me. This basic […]
When I started working in inpatient rehab, I felt totally clueless to all the conditions I was seeing. My favorite and most-used resource during that time was the Quick Reference Guide to Occupational Therapy by Kathlyn L. Reed. It has been massively useful at times when I need to look up something very specific fast. I use this book regularly and […]
Unless you’ve been living off the grid, you may have heard of this silly Pokemon Go game. If you haven’t, check out the first few minutes of this video on YouTube. You also may have even seen the news article about Occupational Therapists using Pokemon Go as an intervention in Oklahoma. After reading the article, […]
Caregiver burnout, caregiver stress, and caregiver exhaustion. Whatever you choose to call it, caregiver burnout among all settings and diagnoses is unfortunately a very real and very common phenomenon. It not only affects caregivers’ mental health but their physical health as well. Studies show that at this time, 43.5 million people (or 18%) of the U.S. […]