maintained

iew research while on fieldwork. I will continue to actively participate in leadership roles after graduating from occupational therapy s

AOTF

By discussing with the client an appropriate outlet to deal with his emotional frustrations, we were empowering the client to attempt a new way to express his emotions in a more functional, acceptable, and appropriate manner. 

discussion board

ome

are

treatment plan

the use of it

to

has

has

has

ADHD

discussion board

addition

lanned

a diagnosis

daily.” -Sh

have

hroughout my time as a student, one situation that was difficulty to encounter was communicating to clients and family members that a client is not safe to drive after a traumatic brain injury at this time due to Tennessee State Law.

th the client. 

s wife

body part due to his ports

clients were not allowed family members to visit or stay the night

more confidence when speaking with patients and is able to use therapeutic use of self in order to engage her patients.” -Shelby Disler OTR

was provided

per, O

while being

Doing

is

ered.” -

streng

opportunities to gain in confidence when communicating

is

Rachel Runyan, OTR/L, Rachael Roper, OTR/L 

ion above

doesn’t

while I was a student in inpatient rehab.

I have enjoyed learning from the feedback I received from my fieldwork educators. I enjoyed learning through asking questions to gain knowledge from my educators, and seeking feedback on my performance.

have

to

had the opportunity to attend this continuing e

I also had the privilege of attendin

I had the privilege of listening to her and a speech therapist present on their findings

ee

upational therapy through mentoring, research, presenting, and publishin

gathered research with classmates in order to work together to write the Critically Appraised Topic regarding the use of splints in treating radial nerve palsy in adults

I provided information regarding safety modifications for their home environment such as removing rugs, increasing lighting, grab bars, and adaptive bathroom equipment based on available research regarding safety.

I was given the opportunity to chart rev

a decrease in his balance

and th

ons

ence bas

red trea

b

I had the opportunity to have many

iscuss

I had the opportunity to listen

S

are not

have f

SLP

ructions about the transfers steps, clients are able to assist with the transfer more and maintain saf

is

There is a balance is maintaining client safety, and also wanted to increase the independence of the client and their functional independence scores

Sometimes the decision has to be made if a second assist is needed when transferring a client in order for the client to transfer safely

for their needs

emain

ent

,

often

ance evaluation to serve as evidence for meeting this criteria along with the examples listed above.

Having two therapists working together helped when brainstorming ideas to increase the child’s motivation and participation in order to achieve desired outcomes

seen

if any other disciples (PT, SLP)

I had the opportunity to discuss the clients on my caseload during those meetings with the other disciplines

ysicians

logists

I am working to create client-centered interventions for all staff members to use in order to provide benefit to the clients

This was an organized way for clients to practice identifying dollar bills and coins as well as provide the appropriate amount of money when given an amount

Kroge

IADL

feel

ADL

hirty minutes later in the day, or we would save some evaluation items for the following day

When evaluating a client with a TBI, my educator and I would have to assess what to complete within the hour time frame in order to gather the most relevant data.

ecause some of the clients required more assistance in ADLs due to their traumatic brain injury diagnosis, I modified the evaluation process to help advocate for their needs to implement an appropriate evaluation to then provide the best level of care. 

nts.” -Shelb

e client’s primary goal during therapy to help incorporate their occupational goals into treatment sessions and adapt as needed

is

tional performance. 

Inspiring confidence is important in order to build a therapeutic relationship with clients and to help maximize function in cl

n excerpt from my final performance evaluation from my Level II A fieldwork educator as my evidence for meeting this standard. “Laurel is able to evaluate and analyze all aspects of a patient when completing an assessment in order to determine best course of treatments in order to fully achieve all that the patient needs to.” – Shelby Disler OTR/L

t is important to communicate effectively to clients, family members, and staff to help ensure that a client is safe to return home and to increase carryover at home.

ily.” -Shelby Disler, OTR/L 

drop off

ttend

Below is an excerpt from my midterm performance evaluation when working on the brain injury team of an inpatient rehab center.

helping individuals be successful and accomplish

to

second

B.S.

s are based on how much time is spent with our clients and the kind of service that is provided. However, even though a client may be receiving occupational therapy and physical therapy services simultaneously, that does not necessarily mean they will be billed for both. It may be more profitable for the institution to do so, but client care and how they are affected is more valuable. If we spend only one unit’s worth of time with the client, instead of charging an occupational and physical therapy treatment/evaluation for each, only one of us will bill for a unit. That way the client is not being unfairly charged for the profit of the institution.

ccupational and physical therapists

essio

llows

It is not uncommon to have a client not look particularly enthused to see the therapy team walk into the room. Nevertheless, by the end of the session, clients almost always claim they feel better and are glad they participated in the session.

goes

in

A part

we hear

serve to

you witness

exhausted countless resources and innovatio

ssist (when needed) to the student.

We were limited to school-based interventions that were/were not normally used.

t right challenge” to yield benefits as opposed to furthering their injur

so it is important to help your client’s through it with verbal encouragement and compassion, while simultaneously being mindful of their limitations and boundaries

ent’s

AROM or PROM

However, after educating the patient on why it is important to keep their affected or fractured extremity moving, they are more willing to participat

almost intentionally cause pain

patients experiencing high levels of pain is an appropriate example.

ke

Experiencing negative emotions is inevitable and being able to set aside one’s personal feelings to maintain a professional demeanor will allow one to best serve the client’s needs in the moment

We

our

are visitation restrictions, and medical professionals are the extent of socialization the clients receive. Gifting a good laugh or smile is an accomplishment and can make a positive difference in the clients’ day.

sk.

Confidence has become the main theme of my acute care rotation

During my free time, I play soccer competitively, read books and poetry, and spend time with loved ones

ct with and treat them.

have been

My top three strengths and areas of improvement were, respectively, fairness, gratitude, honesty and bravery, humor, creativity.

owever, in occupational therapy, sometimes the feedback comes from the clients themselves. According to a Google search, feedback can be defined as “information about reactions to a product, a person's performance of a task, etc. which is used as a basis for improvement.” Therefore, a client’s own reaction or performance serves as feedback and imposes moments of self-reflection. Whether done in the moment during a therapy session or after it is over, every interaction can be taken as an opportunity for growth and learning!

It is common to perceive feedback as something that is communicated from a supervisor, which is a reality

ment

From an occupational therapist standpoint, sessions always entailed giving live custom and individualized feedback.

needed more or less of at the time to them

I was grateful to have supervisors that were also and receptive to feedba

his i

ual sett

rn, be

ties

are b

do

n occupational therapy, it is virtually universal across settings to use occupation as a means to the end.

functional mobility

lthough exercise is seen as a bottom-up approach to therapy, i

In the school system, my supervisor encouraged me to do research and what kind of interventions are evidence-based and which ones are not as well-supported (e.g., hand over hand, weighted vests)

therapists

NOTA

low I have provided a screenshot of a discussion board describing our justification for billing of services within the school system.​

The principle of nonmaleficence is one that I thought would not be often consciously thought of until I arrived to my acute care setting. Seeing patients in critical conditions after the onset of an illness or injury sometimes means they are experiencing high levels of pain and discomfort. While early mobilization can reap positive benefits, it is more important to consider the client’s level of tolerance and willingness to participate. Otherwise, we are placing a negative impact on the client’s wellbein

we

our clinical decisions to promote best and ethical practice for our cl

we are

020)

“You

d client nee

have been

nd of both of

treatment to evaluate,

NBCOT

FW t

I try t

During both Level II fieldwork rotations, I took the initiative in not only discussing every session with my supervisor(s), but also made a point to explicitly ask for constructive criticism in order to facilitate my professional growth

ve in

or the client

Sometimes, we are directly asked what the difference is,

Fortunately,

PT.

the common impression is that we will be going for a walk and generally moving with therapy during the session.

​Part of our evaluations and treatments across settings is educating the client on the role of OT

Google Drive

I had the opportunity to treat individuals who were homeless, struggled with substance abuse, and even inmates.

ey are and what they have experienced

even

de

OT

​​Healthcare professionals should implement non-discriminatory practice, including clients within neglected or underrepresented populations.

cates for clients who have been neglected or underrepresented in the system​​​​Healthcare professionals should im

AAROM versus AROM

ADLs and IADL

owever, in the acute care setting, one can say that the rehabilitative frame of reference is commonly used

I have found they are less explicitly used in the actual practice setting

and as a reward to draw and color the car.

Although school-based occupational therapy was completely virtual due to the pandemic and could be considered a barrier to building a therapeutic relationship to overcome, we made the extra effort to get to know and bond with our students

and

are

n/

Oftentimes, this looked like recommendations of toys/tools and what they would address and/or provision of websites and resources.

re

them

Co

textual communication is a valuable skill I have further developed in the acute care setting. The way we communicate with our clients i

munication with therapeutic use of self is an essential skill regardless of the occupational ther

from a discussion board describing how we implemented a client’s culture into a re-evaluati