Ending the week on a positive note…

Another week in the books! Last week, I was fortunate enough to present at the New York State Occupational Therapy Association Conference (nysota.org) on Telehealth across the lifespan collaborating with Corinne McLees from My Virtual OT – Virtual Occupational Therapy. This was a virtual presentation using Whova and it truly was one of the best conferences I “attended”. I think I am going local for all future conferences and focusing more on specific conferences (Education, Academic, Pediatric, etc.) at the national level. Last week due to conference preparation, I choose to not complete a Friday post. It feels good to be back!

Occupational Therapy

Congressional Therapy Champions Introduce Bill to Make Occupational Therapy Practitioners Permanent Telehealth Providers – AOTA  After presenting on telehealth, seeing this news was exciting. Representatives Mikie Sherrill (D-NJ) and David McKinley (R-WV) introduced the Expanded Telehealth Access Act (H.R. 8755) on November 16. This bill would enable occupational therapy practitioners to provide occupational therapy (OT) services to Medicare beneficiaries via telehealth after the current Public Health Emergency (PHE) expires. Without this legislation, the reimbursement structure for Medicare would revert to pre-COVID-19 status and occupational therapy services would not be covered by Medicare.  Please visit AOTA’s Legislative Action Center and ask your Representative to sponsor this legislation

Inclusive Fitness Opportunities for the Special Needs Population | Tara Simmons | TEDxMountPenn – YouTube  TedX  event of an occupational therapy assistant speaking on the importance of physical activity in the pediatric population. Tara is the founder and owner at All Abilities Fitness, a fitness center specializing in working with all ages, fitness levels, and abilities.

Festive foods for those with dysphagia – OT Magazine (ot-magazine.co.uk) I like the idea of this food during the holidays for individuals that have dysphagia. Having tasted thickened liquids and pureed foods during my affiliation, I can appreciate the difficulty of eating foods of modified consistency during the holidays while others at the table are consuming foods that look vastly different. I like that this looks like what others at the table are eating.

OT Student Gift Guide 2020 – CarolineB OT (carolineot.com) With the holidays coming up, I am always on the search for the perfect gift guide. I have even toyed with the idea of creating my own gift guide on this blog. But I can shelf that idea because I found this post from CarolineB OT! These gifts for OT/OTA students can also be perfect for the OTR or COTA in your life.

Research

American Journal of Occupational Therapy November/December 2020 (aota.org) As always each article can add to your practice. Finished this article:

Current Landscape of Teaching Diversity in Occupational Therapy Education: A Scoping Review | American Journal of Occupational Therapy (aota.org) The result of this article is a bit startling. Although current occupational therapy research demonstrates a focus towards criticism of current paradigms that address cultural competency, there are problematic cultural competency theories and a lack of criticism of the international service learning practices that are mainly used to teach diversity in occupational therapy education. This article points to the need to implement more effective pedagogies and approaches to address diversity in educational programs.

Social participation of seniors: Applying the Framework of Occupational Justice for healthy ageing and a new approach to policymaking (tandfonline.com) This article points to the importance of socialization of seniors and the implications for policy. The results of this article can also support budgets of programs that provide services to seniors.

Clients’ perspectives of spirituality in OT by Barbara E. Milliken (wmich.edu) Addressing spirituality can be difficult as an occupational therapy practitioner. While the results of this article does not point to one focused intervention plan with clients around spirituality, it does provide a variety of ways to address spirituality in clinical practice.

Potpourri

The 10 Best Books of 2010 – The New York Times (nytimes.com) I am waiting for this list of books. I know I will like them all!

Utterly apolitical podcasts are the perfect way to escape the emotional turmoil brought on by the election. I love it when I get good podcast suggestions. These. Are. Great!

Thanksgiving Recipe Ideas | minimalist baker recipes and 18 Easy Vegan Thanksgiving Mains | Minimalist Baker Minimalist Baker is by far one of my favorite food blogs. The premise of the blog is simple: 10 ingredients or less, 1-bowl, and 30 minutes or less to prepare. One added bonus is that most recipes are gluten free, vegan, dairy free and taste full! The other bonus, the food pictures are a work of art!

I wish you and your family a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!