According to The National Cancer Institute, the number of people living beyond a cancer diagnosis reached nearly 16.9 million in 2019 and this is expected to rise to almost 22 million by 2024. Additionally, the Institute estimates that 39.5% of men and women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in […]
If you’re a new occupational therapist (or you are physical therapist or speech therapist!) considering working in a skilled nursing facility (SNF), there are several important factors to look at before taking the job. While there are great skilled nursing facilities to work for, there are also many facilities that can challenge ethical boundaries and […]
Brain damage, no matter what the cause is, can have devastating consequences on an individual’s daily function and quality of life. Movement restrictions, emotional changes, behavioral problems, and communication deficits differ in severity but if present, drastically reshape a person’s life as well as those of their close family and friends. In this post, you’ll […]
Getting more involved in the occupational therapy world can be a lot of fun! Whether you’re just beginning to consider OT as a career or you’re knee-deep in a program and loving every minute of it, there are many occupational therapy volunteer opportunities that you can take advantage of to expand your knowledge. Occupational therapy […]
Unless you have a background in addressing mental illness, it’s common for occupational therapists to find the mental health field to be an intimidating realm of treatment, especially for US-based OTs. Those with a lack of familiarity with mental health as a whole tend to immediately concentrate only on the abnormally aggressive behaviors, while ignoring […]
If your occupational therapy program was anything like mine, the importance of occupation-based and evidence-based practice was drilled into your head on a near-daily basis. While a variety of interventions were discussed, ones that had hard data to support their efficacy were exalted, whereas other, older interventions may have fallen out of favor. So when […]
If you enjoy unique ways of learning about occupation and how to convey its importance to others, you will love the Kawa Model. Not unlike other occupational therapy frames of reference, the Kawa Model focuses on the intersection of person, occupation, and environment. But this model’s Eastern roots offer a unique approach to illustrate these […]
Oftentimes, there comes a moment in an occupational therapist’s career to switch things up. You have done your time in the clinical setting (or maybe you want to break up your consecutive clinical time), and you are starting to explore the world of academia. More specifically, you are developing a heightened interest in teaching prospective […]
Are you new to using physical agent modalities, also known as PAMs? The use of physical agent modalities was controversial in the profession of occupational therapy for many years. But, as professional roles and licensure acts were passed, the use of these modalities by OTs was clarified and approved by the American Occupational Therapy Association […]
Are you an occupational therapist or COTA new to the acute care setting wondering “What are the biggest acute care must-haves?” Well, we’ve got you covered, because I’ve compiled the top “must-haves” for the acute care setting in this article. I created this list from my favorite items along with suggestions from my acute care […]