Seniors Flourish Podcast | Occupational Therapy

The biopsychosocial model and occupational therapy are the perfect match as they both focus on the biological, psychological, and social elements, as well as a person's individual experiences. It is often confused as being a biopsychosocial frame of reference, but it's not, as a model of practice helps organize a clinician's thinking and approach, vs  a frame of reference is a tool to guide one's intervention.

What ...

Caregiving is hard. 

Listen to the personal story Katherine Ayala OTA, shares about being a caregiver to both her mother and father while finishing up occupational therapy school. Stories like hers give us, as healthcare professionals, a perspective to help us love, forgive, strive and be the best we can be. 

A special thank you to Katherine for sharing her story. 

The Patient Driven Payment System (PDPM) for occupational therapy practitioners in SNFs is a hot topic these days. I get questions about what does PDPM mean for therapy and what is PDPM's impact on therapy services all the time and listen to the stories on how this change of payment systems have impacted services provided and jobs.

I was fortunate to be able to get some of your questions answered by Sabrena McCarley MBA-SL, OTR...

What do we need to do to promote occupational therapy? Do we have to? How do we define occupational therapy and what we "do" for our patients?

Brock Cook OT, the host of the occupational therapy podcast, Occupied, and I dive into these questions and hash out how OT's distinct value is communicated in healthcare, with out patients, our coworkers and communities.

Also, check out all the the occupational therapy podcasts a...

Occupation based treatment ideas feel like they should come easy, but sometimes we as OT practitioners find barriers to getting creative and finding the occupations that are meaningful to our clients.

Timisha Tross BS, COTA shares how it doesn't have to be hard to put more occupation, creativity and fun into your occupational therapy treatment sessions - especially if you are working in a skilled nursing facility.

Resources:

Ti...

Neuroplasticity, strokes and occupational therapy go together like peanut butter and jelly. They all need each other to help maximize the outcomes and occupational performance of our patients (or in the case of the sandwich, just taste delicious 😉).

Crystal Cabrera MS OTR/L and Certified Stroke Rehab Specialist shares the research on how to step up our games as occupational therapy practitioners by integrating the 10 Princi...

Have you ever had wanted to volunteer internationally using your occupational therapy skills? Ever dream of exploring cultures, helping others, meeting like minded professionals or promote occupational therapy in foreign countries?

In this episode, Sarah Putt MA, OTR/L and I talk about how she uses volunteering internationally to sharpen her critical thinking skills, creativity, and giving back to the occupational therapy professio...

Even though there is a large percentage of the US population that affiliates with some level of spirituality or God, our current healthcare system does not often put a priority on spirituality and intuition outside of a typical hospital chaplain. Because occupational therapy looks at the "whole person," it is an important aspect of people's lives that we sometimes don't address. Some areas of OT practice integrate t...

Many know that occupational therapists help with driving rehab, but how about driving retirement? It is a HUGE shift to go from driving to not driving and what is our role in preparing our patients with this transition? The more we can help our patients explore alternative options, the easier it will be for them in the future.

Terri Cassidy OTD, OTR/L, Certified Driving Rehab Specialist, discusses what this looks like, as well as h...

Curious what an occupational therapy fieldwork looks like? Guest Chelsea Rowe OTR/L just finished her level II fieldwork and shares her pros, cons, challenges and celebrations of her experience. She also talks about resources she couldn't live without, tips for assessments, productivity and what to expect when diving into fieldwork!

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Occupational therapy practitioners are continuously looking for ways to maximize the potential of their clients that have had a stroke. But what does the research say? Lauren Sheehan OTD, OTR/L & Lauren Souders OTR/L, CBIS dig into the intensity and repetition for task based practice in order to increase the motor function after a person has a stroke. Tips for how to do it, options for technology to assist us and when should we...

 Occupational therapy practitioners improve quality of life in hospice and palliative care by helping people engage in those meaningful occupations, even if it is at their end of life. Karmella Bognot MS, OTR/L shares her experience working with people in a hospice and palliative care setting and how our role as OT practitioners is just as important in this stage of life, as it is when they are younger.

Resources:

The Role of Occup...

I have struggled over the years finding the right treatment options in helping my clients that have Parkinson's Disease optimize function. LSVT BIG is determined to help OT practitioners do this through evidence based intervention! Not only is LSVT BIG treatment customized to each person's specific needs and goals, it helps them more more normally and these strategies can be utilized regardless of the stage or severity. 

Th...

Feeling a bit burned out by OT or maybe looking for a sidegig where you can use your OT skills to revive your passion for your career? There are many non-traditional occupational therapy jobs out there where you can use your skill set for non-clinical positions that will help you to love your work again!

Sarah Lyon OTR/L, OTpotential.com and Meredith Castin PT, DPT, theNonClinicalPT.com share resources and discuss how we can narrow...

Arthritis can be so debilitating to our clients because it is often not always the direct (or only!) reason we are seeing them. Occupational therapy practitioners have a unique perspective to not only treat the diagnosis, but we get to look at our patients holistically and address the things that are important to them, even in an outpatient setting.  

Guest Hoang Tran OT/L, CHT talks pain, when to (or not to) splint, joint protecti...

Have you ever wondered, "how should I be prescribing home exercise programs" or "what type of approach is best to address my patient's upper extremity dysfunction?"

Anthony Mucci COTA and I discuss how we should be using a combination of a biomechanical approach in conjunction with occupation based techniques to help our patients achieve their optimal outcomes. It is definitely not a "one-size-fits-all" ...

Resources from the show:

PDF: Occupational Therapy Supervisory Log

Podcast and Resource Links: Occupational Therapy Specialties and Certifications for OTR & OTA

Occupational Therapy Assistant Supervisory State Requirements

ACOTE standards 

OTA Leadership page on AOTA (lots and lots of stuff on here!)

Standards of practice paper

OT Ethics

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How can the Allen Cognitive Levels help you to provide better treatments for our patients with a cognitive impairment? How can we use this theory to make better discharge planning? How can we help our patient's be successful in their own environments with dementia?

Dr Patricia Cornille OTD and Carol Luhman OTR, both former presidents of the Allen Cognitive Network, share how we can integrate this model into our practice to prod...