Is it possible to care for a patient when you know they really do not need occupational therapy services? Unfortunately, this is a common ethical dilemma occupational therapists face on the job. There are times where you will find yourself torn between advocating for a patient but you know they are not appropriate for therapy. Typically, […]
To expand on our article covering the major orthopedic precautions following surgery, we decided to create a “Part Two” addressing home safety following orthopedic surgery. This post covers the biggest safety basics after discharge from a major orthopedic surgery. These home safety tips can be used for other surgeries or injuries/illness as well, and can […]
If you are an occupational therapist who works in stroke rehabilitation (no matter the setting), you know that you must constantly update your skills and educate yourself on the latest treatment techniques. There is so much research out there to advance the treatment of stroke patients! One treatment that is gaining attention in the field […]
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 […]
We’re really excited to feature this article written by school-based occupational therapist Devon Breithart, OTR/L. In the article, Devon shares what a day in the life is like for her working as an occupational therapist in the school system. When I first started OT school, I had a lot of questions. But the most persistent […]
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 […]