1. Invests in the acquisition of evidence through participation in workshops, continued education and pursuit of additional degrees.
- Throughout my rotations, I had the opportunity to attend in services and a conference. During my first rotation in the school system, I attended the National Georgia Autism Conference along with other OT students and OTs/COTAs from the same company. This experience was very eye-opening and a great learning opportunity since the guest speakers were those who are either autistic or a family member of one. I heard firsthand about their experiences and how they have found way to adapt in their life. I also attended workshops through which I learned different strategies to implement while working with children who have Autism. I have attached a photo from the conference. During my second rotation in IPR, I attended an inservice by LiteGait. We were trained on how to use the LiteGait, how to strap the clients into the machine, different goals it could be used for, and how it would benefit the clients. A few weeks after the training, I was able to use the LiteGait on one of my patients for weightbearing, weight shifting, and standing tolerance. I also was able to observe the PT using the LiteGait to help walk clients.
2. Is a knowledgeable consumer of global research related to occupational therapy and utilizes an evidence based approach to practice.
- My educator from my IPR rotation, had learned about neuroifra techniques from an OT who was certified in this technique. Prior to this rotation, I was unaware of this technique. Little did I know my educator in outpatient also knew about this technique and I was able to observe and use it in both settings. In the outpatient setting, we used this technique with a client who has a TBI. She experiences ballistic tremor and ataxia from her injury. During one of our sessions, my educator taped my hand to our clients hand to facilitate normal movement patterns while performing household tasks such as folding laundry. Although it felt different to me, our client was so excited to feel "normal" again and stated she wishes she could take my arm home. This was very cool for me to witness because in the hospital we used a paddle to facilitate normal pattern. I have been able to recognize with clients on my caseload would benefit from this technique and try to incorporate as much as I can with them. Another evidence based approach I have used in both settings with CVA clients is through weight bearing, repetiton, and modified CIMT. By allowing the affected extremity to perform tasks, we are trying to rewire the brain and make those connections to return to normal function. I have attached my discussion board post about using these techniques with CVA and TBI clients.
3. Integrates individual clinical expertise and patient values with the best available external clinical evidence.
- As a practitioner it is important to remain updated with the evidence available to us while being able to apply what we have learned through our experiences. In outpatient ortho, many clients come with a protocol prescribed by the MD while others don't. While studying for his certified hand therapy (CHT) exam, my educator utilized a textbook with all types of protocols which are evidence based. When clients come to the clinic without a given protocol, we often refer to his textbook and calculate how many weeks out the client is from their injury/surgery. The protocols are standardized which we follow for all clients with the same diagnoses, however, if the client is experiencing more pain or has a different presentation then we tend to treat a little more conservatively. Another instance of achieving this objective is through performing joint mobilizations. Joint mobilizations is used to increase range of motion and decrease pain depending on the grade of the mobilization. When we learned this technique in class, it was interesting to perform on classmates, however, I really was able to witness the full effect when performing them on clients who actually can benefit from it. I learned different techniques of joint mobilizations such as distraction and now am able to apply this skill with clients who are limited in their movements. I have attached a picture of the textbook we often referred to.
4. Applies the domain of occupational therapy in gathering, evaluating, setting goals, planning and implementing occupational therapy.
- An important part of occupational therapy is performing evaluations. During my IPR and outpatient rotations, I was exposed to performing thorough chart reviews in the hospital and reviewing MD order in outpatient prior to evaluating clients. Based on the chart reviews and evaluations, I would set goals and create a care plan that would benefit my clients. In outpatient, I would perform re-evaluations as needed to assess the client's progress. I have chosen treatments to cater to the needs of my clients to ensure they are reaching goals. I have attached a screenshot by my educators about my ability to perform evals and select interventions.
5. Contributes to the knowledge base of OT practice by mentoring students, performing research, publishing, presenting and/or teaching.
- During OT school, I had the opportunity to publish and present my research project with my classmates at the Tennessee Occupational Therapy Association (TNOTA) conference in Memphis, TN. We established a critically appraised topic to study the effectiveness of group therapy for activities of daily living (ADL) skills of clients with total hip arthroplasty. This research was developed with the supervision of an OT at an inpatient rehab facility with consideration to the client base seen at the facility. It was an amazing experience to be able to present our research project at an OT conference and educate other OT practitioners about our findings as well. I have attached a picture of my group from the conference with our poster. At my last rotation in the outpatient setting, a level I student had joined us during my final 3 weeks of the rotation. I was able to work with her and teach her how to perform evaluations, the different treatments I was performing and how they were beneficial to the client, and how to document in the system. She would me ask me questions about clients and I was able to answer them to the best of my ability.
6. Incorporates continued education as a lifelong practice with the commitment to remain up-to-date and well-informed.
- Staying updated and well informed with evidence based research is very important in the OT world. With new discoveries and treatment techniques always coming out, we are inclined to follow what the research portrays to give our clients the best treatment available. I have had multiple experiences throughout my fieldwork experience as mentioned previously to attend conferences and in services to further my education. My FWE from my last outpatient hand rotation, who is now a CHT, is always eager to build upon his knowledge to and get certified with whatever comes his way such as Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCE) and Manual Therapy. He has inspired me to participate in multiple continuing education courses and get certified for different techniques to build upon my knowledge base once I begin my career. Throughout my fieldwork experiences, I utilized many research articles for treatments. I also listened to podcasts such as Spill the OT to learn about the settings I was going into. During my school system rotation, we utilized the Handwriting Without Tears curriculum often to teach students how to form and practice writing letters using multi-sensory techniques. As an OT practitioner, that is one thing that I will carry with me from fieldwork. I will ensure to stay updated with the research and attend continuing education courses to stay well informed and provide my clients with the care they deserve. I have attached a screenshot of how to teach capital letters using Handwriting Without Tears.